The high C really is very special

The cause of the cult of the operatic high C does not lie merely in its technical difficulty, although this certainly is great, but also, and perhaps mainly, in that special ear-popping sensation (which feels like diving into the sea of sound) and spine-tingling sensation (which is really a kind of shiver of pleasure) which it stirs in some listeners, of which I am one. It is for me the principal reason to go to the opera house in person: I find that the spine tingling sensation is not provoked in me by the high C reproduced by any sound system from any recording, no matter how faithful. Even the best sound system of course records and reproduces only a selection of the total sound wave produced by the singer’s voice; and it captures none of the sympathetic vibration from the walls of the hall, its furniture, and the bones and flesh of all the assembled audience.

I am certain some others must experience it this way, too, though I am certain not all, and perhaps even – as you can tell from observing any audience react to a high C – not most. Perhaps some singers at least experience it that way: singing as an intense physical pleasure.