My 'Dichterliebe' recital went off quite well yesterday, though I notice from viewing a not too good videotape that those moments where I couldn't help but 'act' were not as effective as when I just sang. There were moments when my love of the music and my identification with the protagonist were almost overwhelming, and those were certainly not even of average effectiveness. I must however wholeheartedly agree with Lynda Lacy about the necessity for balance. Further we cannot just sing completely coldly and, whatever people say about Callas, she had an average career length and people still talk about her more than about most living singers! So much of what a composer asks of us is just a firm and beautiful line, subtly inflected by what we know of the words and the dramatic situation. Even normal speech ideas can distort the musical line (to my ears) unacceptably, especially with an English speaker, such as myself, where we use variations in loudness and pitch for emphasis. That's one reason why I feel it is so important to sing (for example) German with a German accent, or, strikingly, French with a French accent, as opposed to just getting the phonemes right. And (different thread, but "if you like this you'll love...") while by no means a seasoned pro, I've now done enough acting to understand how very different stage and operatic dramatic skills are, though they have many things in common. Primary among what they do share is a necessity to keep emotional involvment with the character and situation from impinging too heavily on technique. Film and TV acting don't require the same need to project and sustain, as the camera and microphone will pick up all that one needs to convey. Likewise, those singing styles that habitually use microphones need give no attention whatsoever to projection. On an unamplified (and, for some, distant) stage we must resort to artifice to convey all sorts of seeming subtlety or spontaneity. p.s. Taking the rough with the smooth:a subsequent recital of "Dichterliebe" at an old folks home didn't sound half as good: the reasons were classical - lack of sleep, singing through a cold, failing to check the acoustic beforehand. To which I added a couple of refinements of my own: trying to fix all the things I didn't like about the previous day's recital, and regressing to the way I used to sing in the middle of choir tours. I'm sure I'm not the only singer who has to watch out for regression. Be ye warned, young singers! john
At 07:56 PM 8/5/00 -0400, you wrote: > >In a message dated 8/5/00 5:38:34 PM, radishes@r... writes: > ><< I am beginning to believe more and more that the ideal >singer ...acts solely as a vessel for the voice of the composer, >without feeling the need to 'become' the composer. I do >not think that a convincing singer/actress is one who >allows the power of the music to dominate her personality, >but rather, sits back and lets her voice merge with the >composer's legacy (and that of the text of course). >> > >One of Richard Miller's statements I have heard over and over in his >masterclasses is "Take care not to allow the music to rob you of your >vocalism." I do NOT believe he meant that singers should not express the >music as well as they can, but rather that there be a balance. It is also >his philosophy that (I'm trying to quote him accurately) "...true artistry is >possible only when technique permits...". Balance is key. Most singers do >not possess it naturally, but rather must find that combination which >uniquely defines his or her maximum performance. > >Sincerely, >Lynda Lacy > >Lynda Lacy, Director of Choral Activities >Jackson Preparatory School >Jackson, Mississippi >"Allow your voice to serve the music, not the other way around." - B. R. >Henson > ><A HREF="http://hometown.aol.com/lynda313/myhomepage/profile.html">Lynda and >the Fine Arts</A> > > > > > > > John Blyth Baritono robusto e lirico Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
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