Vocalist.org archive


From:  Lana Mountford <lana@a...>
Lana Mountford <lana@a...>
Date:  Mon Nov 27, 2000  6:02 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist-temporary] "voi lo sapete"- too dramatic?


Greetings!

I've been reading this discussion with some interest. While I can't directly
relate to Molly's predicament (sing "Voi lo sapete" or not as a 20-yr-old
potentially dramatic soprano), there are parts of this that I *can* relate
to. In the sense of being a relative novice as far as voice study (and
particularly opera) is concerned, I can relate; in terms of being a
20-something whose voice is still under construction, I'm well beyond that now
(I'm 49 yrs old).

Those of you who were on the "old" Vocalist have heard my story several times,
so you can tune out if you want. I started voice lessons at age 42 with a
physically mature voice, initially with a teacher who really didn't know what
she was doing (she pegged me as a lyric coloratura soprano with a "volume
problem"). I had never studied voice before, and had only sung in choirs in
high school and college, and I'd gone 15 years without singing *at*all*.
After 18 months of struggling to fit my size 24 voice into a size 4 box, I
switched teachers.

My second teacher said simply that I was *probably* a soprano, possibly a
mezzo with a high extension, but I definitely had a "honkin' big voice" (her
exact words), and she encouraged me to "open your mouth and SING." She was
also appalled at the repertoire my first teacher had me study in an effort to
"lighten" and "brighten" my voice (the worst of the lot included "Come
scoglio" as my very first assigned aria, after two lessons, and "Qui la voce
sua soave ... Viens diletto" from I Puritani as my second about a month
later). Unfortunately, some of that early repertoire consisted of material
that I *could* have done later, had I not already trained by body/mind/voice
to sing it incorrectly (tight, "small," high in the nose). Thank goodness my
first teacher never considered the possibility that I *might* be a dramatic
soprano -- I didn't learn "Pace, pace" and "Dich teurre Halle" until my 3rd
year of lessons with my second teacher when I was 46, but I learned it with
very solid technique. My first assigned aria with my second teacher: "Porgi
amor," and we worked on legato singing with a solid smooth vocal line. It was
like heaven.

Even my third teacher couldn't say with any certainty what my fach is -- as
far as I'm concerned, the jury is still out, even at my age and after 6 years
of lessons. But I do know that working on technically/dramatically difficult
repertoire before my technique had settled down meant that I'll probably never
be able to really sing that material properly. Even though I can tackle new
material with proper technique, I still have tremendous difficulty singing
some of the material I worked on with my first teacher, unlearning the bad
technique.

My advice -- proceed with caution. It is *VERY* difficult to let go of the
"imprinting" that happens when you internalize a piece of music. If it's
something that you'll likely be singing later with a different technique (and
you can rest assured that your technique WILL change as you age), you might
want to think twice about learning it now. If it's an aria that you'll likely
never want to perform ever in your life, then it's probably safe to use it as
a study piece, since you won't have to unlearn it later.

Cheers!

Lana


--
Explain it as we may, a martial strain will urge a man into the front rank of
battle sooner than an argument, and a fine anthem excite his devotion more
certainly than a logical discourse.
~ Henry Tuckerman ~
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Lana Mountford lana@a... Seattle, WA



emusic.com