April wrote:
> I have also recently been cast in a lead role-
>Maurya in Riders to the Sea. However, this is also my
>first role EVER, so I was hoping to get some advice on
>how to go about learning a role. What steps do you
>take first? How do you break it down? Your advice
>will be greatly appreciated.
I would say the first steps are to play through the score (if your piano
skills are up to it) or listen to a recording while following the score,
and read through the libretto as if it were a play. Keep a pad of sticky
notes nearby and write down whatever insights might come to you about
character, as well as noting any passages that you feel will require extra
technical work.
Then put the recordings away and start learning the music, the same
disciplined way you would learn any music. Whatever your best-disciplined
system is, use it. (For me, the first steps are playing through the notes
on the piano to get the music in my ear and speaking the text in rhythm.
Of course translation precedes this if it is in a foreign language...)
Don't sing through stuff until you've had the chance to make a technique
plan with your teacher. It's so tempting to sightsing the aria or the
really heavy loud parts -- this can lead to inefficient voice technique
habits which are really hard to break!
As for breaking it down, some people do the hard parts first, some do the
easy parts first. Some don't have a choice and simply follow the rehearsal
schedule and try to keep up. For me, if I have this luxury, I evaluate the
resources I bring to the practice session on any given day and work on the
music that best suits that. If I'm in great voice and my breath is flowing
easily, it's a good day to tackle the difficult passages. If I'm
physically tired, it's a good day to work on passages that are less vocally
challenging -- or even do ear training and ensemble study. (I recommend
learning the whole texture, not just your own cues.) If I'm totally
unmotivated vocally, it's a good day to read through a bit of the libretto
and let the back of my brain work on characterization.
Congratulations on your role! Enjoy it!
Naomi Gurt Lind
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