And I think that what makes Cindy's advice--yes, the same things you called "harsh"--so helpful is that sometimes you just need to hear something like that, something direct and honest (and the way Cindy put it isn't even the meanest way it could be said!).
A couple of summers ago I worked with a teacher who told me that my top sounded sort of like an opera singer (I was nineteen) and the bottom sounded like a twelve-year-old trying to sing musical theater or pop. I was a little stunned, but I respected this teacher, so later I thought to myself, nobody has ever said anything like that to me before, what could I be doing better that would change this? And it was partially the impact of that one very direct comment that led me to switch voice teachers at my university, which led me to a much sounder technique, and I'm proud to say that I don't sound like a twelve-year-old anymore.
Maybe some of the people that Cindy is addressing here have never been advised as to what repertoire they should sing--maybe they need that one respected auditioner/teacher to come right out and say what they think, because it's not something they've thought about before. I like the way Cindy words that last paragraph--hearing "lack of a chest voice doesn't make you a soprano" or "lack of high notes doesn't make you a mezzo" could be eye-opening for somebody who thought otherwise. Because it's really not useful to tell somebody who's singing in the wrong fach, "Keep working on it, but don't use it right now."
Or not. And if people aren't ready or don't want to hear what Cindy has to say, the comments will probably fall on deaf ears and be forgotten anyway, so what's the harm in being blunt?
I would also argue that it's hard to tell how these words would be spoken in an online forum. I think Cindy's phrasing could come off as rude and unduly harsh online, but if spoken in person would probably be a lot softer. Not that I think it needs to be.
