Date sent: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 11:35:31 EST
Subject: Re: Musical Theatre Fachs?
To: vocalist
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

alleson,
i don't have a whole pile of musical theater experience so, my advice
might be moronic at best. my observation is that there is a huge difference
between a classical mezzo and a broadway alto. the big difference, to my
humble ears, is that the classical mezzo uses much more head voice in the low
range and that it bears little resemblance to the speaking voice. whereas,
the broadway alto, because she is acting on pitch (maybe that's why it's
called musical theater instead of theatrical music), uses her speaking voice
to sing with which, is mostly chest, if not all chest voice. note; i use
chest and head voice here as a general distinction between timbres.
i think of christa ludwig singing in 'candide'. you'd have to be a
serious opera fan to like it. anyone who loves broadway and is even remotely
off put by opera would accuse this otherwise, great singer of sounding like
mrs. doubtfire. i remember someone, in reaction to hearing marylin horne and
joan sutherland (i think) singing a beatles' song, saying "it was like
getting a drink of water out of a fire-hose"

mike