On Sun, 21 Apr 2002 22:40:36 +1000 Mirko Ruckels <mirkoruckels@i...>
wrote:
>>I've got some exciting news. I'm learning my first opera roles in a uni
production! I'm doing Tamino in Mozart's Magic flute (the entire first act) and
Don Ottavio in the finale of Don Giovanni.
>>I have a question for the list: We're performing the magic flute in german,
so there is are spoken sections, which will be performed in english. The text
in english seems very silly and a bit "tell don't show", in other words,
everything that should be left to the imagination is added into the speech. eg.
"Hello, what are you doing standing there wearing those feathers?" and the like.
It seems very silly and tacky. How can these lines be put across effectively
for a modern audience? Should I go with the campy and silly nature of the
lines, or should I do it earnestly?
Congratulations, Mirko. As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing better than
singing Mozart!
As to your question, I have a teacher who says, "Never schlock schlock". In
other words, if it's silly on the page, if you add more silliness in the
reading, it won't work. Play it totally sincere and straight. And then the
audience will laugh at the silliness on the page. Which will probably work on
stage better than you think. After all, "American Pie" and "There's Something
About Mary" were humongous hits in the movie theaters, and I don't think it gets
stupider than that!
In any event, you director's job is to get it to work on stage. So your best
bet as a beginner is to follow your director's guidance.
Peggy
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
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