Classical Crossover

Classical crossover is a genre that developed as a reaction to a Western Classical Music's relative lack of popularity within mainstream audiences. It aims to take specific western classical conventions and apply them into a straightfoward Pop context to attract outside audiences. Crossover appeal can be achieved in different ways, including classical singers collaborating with pop singers or applying classical instrumentation and techniques onto pop music and vice versa. Classical crossover tracks tend to come most commonly in violin or cello arrangements, operatic vocal tracks, and orchestras backing up classically-trained vocalists, pop singers, or both. Even though more energetic examples exist, most classical crossover tends to be lush, slow-paced, and polished. While original material can be found, it is very common for classical crossover artists to release covers of pre-existing material, with covers of U.S. Billboard Top 40 hit songs being among the most common. Crossover acts may also rely on specific marketing techniques relating to factors like holiday releases, attractive looks, age demographic, and appearances in mainstream media. The genre's popularity started to grow after Luciano Pavarotti performed Nessum Dorma in the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. His success in bringing Opera to a mainstream audience helped acts like Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman popularize a subset of classical crossover known as "operatic pop" (or popera). This genre would apply vocal techniques derived from opera into a light sound with parallels to Easy Listening and Adult Contemporary. Amidst the 2010s, with the rise of streaming services like YouTube, classical crossover would further rise in popularity. Acts like The Piano Guys, 2Cellos, and Lindsey Stirling would put their own interpretations of the genre and broaden the genre's sound. Throughout the genre's popularity, detractors often considered it a shallow, inferior take on western classical music. Despite this, many classical crossover acts and fans tend to see the genre as a means of providing more opportunities for the performers to explore their sound further without feeling restricted within the genre. Many acts and fans of the genre also hope the genre helps increase more people's interest in classical music.