>Hello Everyone, I was wondering if we could talk about classical singers
>in musical theater roles. Reason: I'm a soprano (with a good lower
>register and sing light mezzo rep as well) that just got cast as Evita in
>a community theater production. Wondering what I should look out for in
>this double switch (soprano to mezzo, classical to musical theater style)
>I sang cuts from all the songs for the audition and felt reasonably
>comfortable...but just thought I could use a little discussion about this,
>as it is a big role and have not had much musical theater experience...
As I understand it both from talking to people who have done the part and
from seeing the show, the big challenge with the role is pacing. Eva
carries the show, musically and dramatically, and the speechmaking scenes
require constant energized high belting. Therefore, I would suggest that
you work the music into your voice with utmost care so that you are
building relaxed habits in from moment one. (For me this means resisting
the temptation to sightsing but rather learning the music in my ear first
and working it into my voice SLOWLY.)
I find that when I am singing music that sits low for me, it's best to
continue to vocalize like the high soprano I am. For me, this means
starting my warm-up high, because if I start low & am emphasizing low in my
repertoire work, I tend to add too much heaviness. Your situation may be
totally different, but I do recommend experimenting with different
approaches to vocalizing to see what stands you in good stead for the rest
of the day & week.
Congratulations and best wishes on the role!
Naomi
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