Cantoresq, while I am not a great fan of either opera or chazanus, I think that there is a similarity to them. Not all the operatic songs, but some of the great arias definatally have the same elements are chazanic music. Yossele Rosenblatt was offered a job in the Metropolitan Opera and refused it for obvious reasons but the voice control that he had is what would have made him a star tenor. Chazanus is different than opera, but it is more similar to opera than any other type of music.
I hope you don’t feel that I am knocking chazanus with this comparison, but you have to admit that the ability to hold notes is what makes both type of singers great. You don’t usually find this type of singin in other music forms.