In reference to the suggestion I made regarding Porgi, amor I would like to
further open the floor for discussion (and the possibility for a flood of
opposing emails). The age of the Countess is, I suppose, always a discussion
among singers and directors alike. But, I don't see any reason why she needs to
be played by a more mature woman. Her elegance and poise are often seen as
maturity, but this is not neccessarily so. Her companion, Susanna, who appears
younger than the Countess due to Susanna's vitality and energy, should actually
be close in age to the Countess for their close friendship to be believable.
In addition, I guess I don't partake in the idea that arias should be sung by
singers who are vocally 'ready', both in maturity of voice and technical
knowledge and usage. If that theory were in place for all vocal literature,
most young singers would spend their time vocalizing and few would sing any rep
in their beginning years. (I don't neccessarily disagree with that. . . I
believe far too much emphasis is placed on learning rep and not enough on
learning correct usage of the voice). But, the student studies voice to sing
rep, and, in that light, I believe the aria has an active place in even early
vocal studies. In no way should a student ever be expected to sing the aria as
a 'professional' would and the student should be discouraged from thinking that
he/she should/would/could sound like the 'professional'. Students aren't
expected to sing art song the way professionals do. The aria is a terrific
resource for learning within the confines of healthy vocal study and many offer
few more challenges than the average art song. Ofcourse, it goes without saying
that the aria, like the art song, should meet the student's needs with goals
that do not challenge the student beyond what is comfortably attainable. The
ideas of 'heavy' or 'light' arias or roles should be discarded in the vocal
studio if there is something the teacher feels the student can learn from the
peice and it is understood by the student that the peice is being used as a tool
of development.
To answer a question posed to me, I have studied Porgi, amor (as a young
singer), as well as Dove sono and many, many other Mozart arias. The role of
the Countess is one that I will probably never play, but I found her arias to be
very revealing of a great lyricism, and, ultimately, a freer usage of my voice
(not to mention a poise and centeral usage of my body). Mozart's music works on
so many levels. I can't imagine it not being suitable, as a genre, for any
level of singer and his music can and will offer challenges every step along the
path of vocal understanding.
I guess my point, through all my rambling, is that vocal study shouldn't be
limited to the works that the student will and should perform. Any discussion?
I'd love to here.
Mandi
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