Hello, my wonderful vocalistic folk!
Five weeks in Italy was wonderful, for spirit and
tongue. I had a nice long vacation and journeyed to
many cobblestoned hill towns, drank far too much
Brunello, entered into conversations with *everyone* I
met, and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Singing in Italy, if you're not a "name" famous singer
in the big houses, appears to be impossible. The
national laws technically allow for it, but it just
never happens. Young foreign singers all go to
Germany. Oh well.
I went to a handful of performances, both big houses
(Milan, Firenze) and little houses (all over the
place). Two observations: native Italian speakers
sing with *fantastically* good diction and with
unbelievably bright voices. The language is so
forward that every voice, whether heavy or not, is
lilting and bright, bright, bright. Almost piercingly
so in opera choruses. The difference in sound quality
(not good or bad, but "muted" softness vs.
laser-bright forwardness) between Italian and
American/English opera choruses is amazing.
Caio, I don't know how you all make yourselves
understood -- Portugese is IMPOSSIBLE to understand!
It's like a throaty, almost Slavic version of
Spanish/French. I could read almost anything, but
hearing it pronounced was something else again. So
much for thinking that Italian, Spanish, and French
can get you through Lisbon without resorting to wild
gesticulations and desperate English.
That's a funky Fleming video
(http://www.scena.org/videos.html), even if her voice
type sounds squally as Butterfly. But, hey -- if it
gets people listening to opera who ordinarily
wouldn't, I'm all for it. Bocelli, Church -- bring
'em on. It's great to see how many young people
(teens and twenties) are making it to the opera in San
Francisco, as first-timers, and are liking it (much to
their surprise). I first started liking this
classical-type stuff via Gilbert and Sullivan when I
was 14. If someone had plunked me down and said,
"This is Tebaldi, she is greatness," I wouldn't have
been very taken with opera; you have to start
somewhere more accessible (especially if you're not
from a musical family and haven't been exposed to
classical music growing up), and if it's G&S or
Bocelli or looking at a beautiful blond Cio-Cio-San,
more power to them. I think we shouldn't be too
critical of singers who generate new enthusiasm for
the art form.
Molly... are you hankering for opera roles, or for art
song literature? There is stuff a dramatic voice can
sing from the beginning. What is in your repertoire
right now, and what sorts of things does your voice
teacher like/not like teaching (some teachers won't
touch bigger stuff, others teach in a "this is how
*your* Butterfly sounds right now" kind of way, others
will let you blow through anything and hurt
yourself... I personally think the middle method is
the best for sensible/monitored progress, but the
first method certainly won't hurt you).
I find ClassicalSinger's comments very helpful --
there are some programs that are full of disgruntled
students' comments, and they tell you exactly why
(i.e., Company X promised me a role with orchestra and
5 coachings, and I sang scenes with piano to an
audience of ten and received 2 coachings instead). I
take the gushing ones with a grain of salt, unless
they're very explicit about what they expected and
received. But what's the difference between talking
to people who have done these programs and reading
their comments on a bulletin board? It's very
subjective, but so are face-to-face interviews.
I think that's all I'm caught up to thus far... I
trust that everything's been well in Peggy's capable
hands.
Isabelle B.
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Isabelle Bracamonte
San Francisco, CA
ibracamonte@y...
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