Tenor Not Sure If He’s As Good As Pavarotti Yet

Max Tenor, a young classical vocalist who has many recordings of himself warming up on his phone, recently had something of an identity crisis as he was listening to a recording of the great Italian tenor, Luciano Pavarotti.

“As I was listening to his phenomenal breath control, his extraordinary dynamic range, and his achingly beautiful phrasing that seems to come from a higher plane of existence, it suddenly hit me: what if I’m not as good as Pavarotti, yet?”

Max Tenor’s world has been turned upside down. “Until now I have always imagined that the experience I have when listening to Pavarotti must be the same experience other people have when they listen to me,” he said. “But what if that isn’t true? Could being me come with a disadvantage?”

Friends have described a marked difference in his behaviour ever since Max came upon these revelations. “Normally conversations with Max are very easy,” said John Man, long-suffering pianist and therapist, “because it is very rare that anybody else ever needs to speak. Now I have to think of things to say about Pavarotti.”

Max was last seen anxiously trying to decide which recording of himself singing a high C was in fact the best one. “If Pavarotti was listening to this recording,” he said, “how much would he want to be me?”