I often find that as a result of my lack of musical knowledge, I am less able to recognize the extent of a performers talent than those who have been trained in the area. For this reason, is it not odd that Verdi, with his “commitment to the human voice”, would be more popular than Wagner who put a greater emphasis on emotional responses in his “music dramas”. I imagine that the general public would find it easier to me moved by Wagner’s emotional dramas than vocalists whose abilities were perhaps beyond their level of comprehension.