Opera Coaching: Professional Techniques and Considerations

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Opera Coaching

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Alan Montgomery

ProfessionalTechniques andConsiderations

Opera Coaching

New York London

Published in 2006 byRoutledge Taylor & Francis Group 270 Madison AvenueNew York, NY 10016

Published in Great Britain byRoutledge Taylor & Francis Group2 Park SquareMilton Park, AbingdonOxon OX14 4RN

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLCRoutledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

International Standard Book Number-10: 0-415-97601-4 (Softcover) 0-415-97600-6 (Hardcover)International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-415-97601-5 (Softcover) 978-0-415-97600-6 (Hardcover)Library of Congress Card Number 2005030679

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Montgomery, Alan, 1946-Opera coaching : professional techniques and considerations / Alan Montgomery.

p. cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.ISBN 0-415-97600-6 (hardback) -- ISBN 0-415-97601-4 (pbk.) 1. Opera coaching. I. Title.

MT956.M66 2006782.1'14071--dc22 2005030679

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Contents

Preface vii

AcknowledgmentsandDedication xi

1: Techniques

Chapter1 KnowingtheScore 3

Chapter2 Recitatives:PracticalMethodsforTeachingThem 21

Interlude1 Decorum 31

Chapter3 PlanningCoachingSessions,PlayingStagingRehearsals,andFollowingaConductor 33

Chapter4 TheStageDirector’sPerspective 41

Chapter5 TheArtofAuditioning 55

Interlude2 DealingwiththeDiva/Divo 71

2: Considerations

Interlude3 ComparingComposerStyles 77

Chapter6 BaroqueOperasandMozart 81

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Interlude4 TheIssueofStraightTones 97

Chapter7 TheBelCantoMovement 101

Interlude5 “ParkandBark” 111

Chapter8 Verdi 113

Interlude6 TheVanishingofLargeVoices 123

Chapter9 FrenchOpera 127

Chapter10 MussorgskyandtheRussians 135

Chapter11 RichardWagnerandRichardStrauss 139

Chapter12 PucciniandtheVerismoSchool 153

Chapter13 Operettas 157

Chapter14 BenjaminBrittenandOtherModernComposers 161

Interlude7 OperainTranslation 169

Chapter15 Conclusions 173

AppendixA AListofVocalFachsandTheirRoles 175

AppendixB NotableandRecommendedEditions 183

AppendixC FavoriteCatchPhrases 191

Notes 195

AnnotatedBibliography 199

Index 203

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�ii

PrefaCe

The trained pianist can make a good living and have a respectablecareer inmanyareas.Oneprofessionalfieldmanypianistsoverlook,however, is that of coaching. Some musicians have no idea what acoachdoes.Thedefinitionissimpleandyetextremelywide-ranging.Acoachhelpsmusicianslearnmusic,althoughthehelpisnotusuallyofatechnicalnature.Thatworkisreservedforthevocalorinstrumentalteacher.Thecoachleadsthemusicianbeingcoachedtoconsidersuchthingsasarticulation,phrasing,tempo,intonation,stylisticconcerns,dynamics,andeventheoverallshapeofapiece.

These issuescanposecomplexchallenges for theyoungmusician,eveninso-called“pure”music—thatmusicwhichhasnotextordra-maticprogram.Aviolinist,forinstance,mustfindthemusicalpathtoperformingafour-movementsonata.Thismeansdevelopingnotonlythetechniqueneededtoperformthework;italsomeansdiscoveringwhere the climaxes and low points might really be. Music ebbs andflows, evenwhen the tempo is relatively constant.Coaching a singerinstead of an instrumentalist presents several significant additionalproblemsnotfoundincoachinginstrumentalliterature.Someinstru-mentalistsliketosaythatthereare“musicians”andthereare“singers.”Intruththereareinstrumentalistsandtherearesingers,andthepres-enceorabsenceofmusicaltalentcanbejustaspronouncedinoneastheother.Theaddedchallengesofbeingasingersometimemakethosesingersseemlessmusicalthantheirinstrumentalistcounterparts.

Asingerishisorherowninstrument,andheorshecanneverbeawayfromit.Emotion,whichmustflowintoeveryphrasetheysing,must not affect their ability to produce their voices. They must alsoperformalmosteverythingtheysingbymemory.Thiscanbeagreat

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challenge,particularlywiththemusicofthetwentiethcenturyorwhenthe opera being performed stretches to several hours. Acting skillsmust also enter into the equation, even if the singer is choosing therecital stageashisorherprimaryperformancevenue.Fewconsider,too,thatsingingistheonlyprofessioninwhichapersonmustactandreact in two or three languages not his or her own. Virgil Thomsonwasoncequotedassaying,“Operasingersshouldneveract.”Thefullquote,ofcourse,goesontosaythattheyshould“react”instead.1Eachnationalitymaythinkthatsinging ina foreign language isprimarilythe problem of that country and that others do not face these chal-lenges.Butonlysingers fromFrance,Germany,andItalyhaveasuf-ficientlywiderangeof repertoire that theycanhaveacareer singinginonlytheirnative language,andmostofthemsingnumerousrolesoutsidetheirlanguage.Itisjustnotanacceptablepracticeforasingertostandandsingbyrotesyllablesandtoneswithnounderstandingofwhatheorsheissinging.

Itisthejobofthecoachtohelpsingerslearntheirrolesinallaspectspossible. This means that a coach must deal with languages, musicalproblems that arise, dramatic and vocal concerns a singer may have,playforrehearsals—musicalandstaging—andbeabletodoamul-titudeofperipheralduties, suchas conductbackstage,play chimesorotherassortedinstruments,andorchestratebandasectionswhenneces-sary.(I’veevenbeenaguestscreamerforthetenorinTosca.)

As with the singer, a vocal coach must have a firm knowledge ofthe basic languages used in Western vocal music: English, French,German, and Italian. Other languages have entered the repertoirerecently as well: Russian, Czechoslovakian, Spanish, Hungarian, andevenFinnish.Thismustgobeyondsimpleword-for-wordtranslating.Itmust includeunderstandingthe implicationsofcertaintexts,boththe sociopolitical for the compositional time (or for our own time),andforthedevelopmentofacharacter.Thecoach,whohasdelvedintovariousareasofvocalcompositionandtheatricalexperiences,willfindthatworkan invaluableasset to the singer trying to learnhisorherfirstrole.Someunderstandingofsinging(evenif thecoachhas littlerealvoice)isalsofrequentlyquiteuseful.

Asimpleexamplewillsufficetodemonstratewhatismeantintheaboveparagraph.InTurandotbyGiacomoPuccini,whenLiùsings“Tuchedigelseicinta”(“Youwhooficearegirded”)sheaddressesTuran-dotas“Tu.”HowdareaslavegirladdressaPrincess inthe informal“Tu!”Butatthatmoment,withthatoneword,Liùstripsasideallrankand speaks to Turandot woman to woman. She has nothing to lose,becausesheknowssuicideisheronlyoption.

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Preface•ix

Thedifficultiesofbreakingintothesingingbusinesscompoundtheproblemsofbeingasinger.Thebusinessofsingingrequiresdetermi-nationtofightagainstrathertalloddsandsellingone’sowntalentandselfonadailybasis.Italsorequiresconsiderableknowledge.Throughcareful study of singers from earlier generations, a singer can learnthekindofvoiceappropriatetoagivenrepertoire.Todaymanyyoungsingers consider the thought that they should familiarize themselveswith theseearlier singers tobe ludicrous.Yet some famousandveryknowledgeablesingershavelearnedreamsfromrecordingsofpeople,whorecordedasfarbackasthedawnofrecordingitself.Amongotherthings, these recordings may actually show the original artists, thuspresenting as closely as possible the thoughts of the composer (whomay, in fact, be accompanying on the recording). It is astonishinghowmuchotherdisciplinesknowabouttheirworkareaandhowlittlemanysingersknoworcare.

The pianist who ventures into coaching singers must also haveawideknowledgeofbothsingersandrepertoire.Thisisnotonlybecausea singer may arrive, with no advance notice at all, expecting to behelpedinstandard(andplentyofnonstandard)repertoire.Thatsamesingermayjustifiablyaskforadviceconcerningcertainrolesorreper-toirechoices.Thecoachwhohasastrongunderstandingofvoicesandofwhatis“usual”inaparticularpieceofmusiccanhelpfarmorethanonewhohaslittleideaofsuchthings.

The guidance behind the successful singer is one of the variousareasofmusicthathassufferedagreatdealoflate.Manyfamoussing-ers have lauded conductors and coaches for the guidance they weregiven. And many also bemoan the fact that good vocal coaches andconductors(thosewhoreallyknowandunderstandvoicesandreper-toire)arebecomingharderandhardertofind.Thisvolumewilldealwithmanyof theproblems facingacoach. It shouldhelp thepianistinterestedinthisfieldfindwaystoopenthedoortoarewardingandlengthycareer.Suchacareerrequireslittlemusicalmemoryworkandfew performance opportunities (unless accompanying assignmentscome along as well). It might even require the coach to play harpsi-chordinperformancesofMozartandRossinioperas.Itdoesattimesrequireimagination,learningtofollowaconductor,andlonghoursinrehearsals—allofthesewithseeminglylimitlessreservesofstrengthandgoodhumor.

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xi

aCknowledgments and dediCation

Iwanttogivethankstomanyfriendswhohavegivenmeencourage-mentinthewritingofthisvolume.Mostparticularly,IwishtothankDr.VictoriaVaughan,whosechapteronthestagemanager’sperspec-tive is quite important. It was her suggestions that led to the manyhoursIhavespentwritingandrewritingthetext.IalsowishtogivespecialthankstoAndrewBertoni,whoseskillwithcomputersenabledhimtowriteoutformethevariousmusicalexamplesappearingwithinthetext.Mycolleague,DanielMichalak,hasalsogivenmajorsupportandideastowardthethoughtsIhaveputforthhere.

I would be remiss if I did not thank Judith Layng, Steven Daigle,VictoriaVaughan,andJonathonField,thestagedirectorswithwhomIhaveworkedmostfrequently.Theyhavegivenmeasolidperspectiveontheconnectionofmusicandtext.RobertBaustian,RobertSpano,Michel Singher, Paul Polivnick, Stephen Lord, and many other con-ductorshavealsogivenmemajorencouragementalongthewayinmycoachingcareer.The lateTiborKozmaandWolfgangVacano taughtmemuchaboutbothconductingandaboutcoaching.Theircarewiththeshapingofmusicshowsitselfinmanyofthechaptersofthisbook.

Thisbookisdedicatedtoallofthesepeople,butmostparticularlytomymother.Shedidnotalwaysunderstandwhatanoperacoachdoesanybetter thanmanyotherpeopledo,but shealways supportedmyefforts,andforthatIcannotgiveherenoughthanksandlove.

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1

1Techniques

Thisportioncoversthebasictechniquesneededtocoachsoloistsandensemblesandaccompanyrehearsals.

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1Knowing the Score

The late conductor Tibor Kozma used to invoke the wrath ofGod on poor conducting students by accusing them of breaking theeleventhcommandment:Thou shalt know thy score.Withhimitwasnot just a matter of generally knowing the right notes. He expectedtheconductortoknowthenotescompletely,andhewantedthatsameconductor tounderstandthe implication inshapeandcolorofeverynoteinthescore.Inotherwords,theconductingstudentneededtoknownotonlytheblackandwhiteofthescore,butalsothegray.Thisdoesnot mean that he wanted every conductor to conduct scores frommemory. He deplored that practice. But one had to know a score sowellthatonecould.Havingthescoreinfrontofyoumeansthatyoucancorrectamistakethatappearssuddenlybutwhichhasneverhap-penedinrehearsal.

Theblackandwhiteofa scoremeans simplyknowingeverythingthat is printed in the score from the first measure to the end. If thedynamics,phrasing,tempi,orbasicshapeiswrong,thentheconduc-tordoesnotknowthescore.Butthegrayareaincludestheintangibles:knowledgeofstylisticconcernsandtraditionsassociatedwithagivenpiece.Theyarejustasimportanttotheknowledgeofthescoreastheblack-and-white notes found on the page. Coaches, even if they playalmost exclusively from piano-vocal scores, need to be able to studythe orchestral scores, improving those vocal scores with notationsfrom the knowledge learned in the fuller score. This may also meanlearningwhicheditionsofscorestotrustandwhichonestoavoid.

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1. THe BlaCk and WHiTe

Around1940,neweditionsbeganappearingthatmadeaconscientiouseffort to correct the mistakes printed in earlier editions. The mam-mothMussorgskyedition,publishedbytheStatePublishingHouseinMoscow,wasoneofthefirst.Althoughitwasleftincomplete,itnone-thelessmademanypeoplerealizewhatmistakeshadcrept intoprioreditions.Italsoshowedclearlythechangesthathadbeenmadebywell-meaninghandsinmanyofMussorgsky’sscores.Thesecriticaleditionsshowedusthat,overtheyears,copyistshadmanagedtoomitormovecriticallyimportantmarkingsinthemanuscripts.Theseincludeacci-dentals (sharps or flats), phrase markings, bowings, and even entiremeasures.The“criticaleditions”ofthemusicofMussorgskyandothercomposers try tocorrect thesemistakesandomissions.Occasionallyerrorsstilloccur,butforthemostparttheproblemshavebeengreatlyminimized. Even standard repertoire works such as La Bohème orL’Elisir d’amore existincriticaleditions.Theirpopularitymayinfacthaveengenderedmoremistakesduetotherepeatedneedforcopyists.Theseeditionsarenotendsinandofthemselves,buttheyareawon-derfulaidinreachingthemostexpressive(andcorrect)renditionsofacomposer’sideas.Theseeditionsincludeorchestralandpiano-vocalscoresofoperas,and theyexist for instrumentalmusicaswell.Theyevenincludealternatepassageswhereacomposermayhavechangedhismind.Nowlibrariesareshelvingthe“criticaleditions”ofcompleteworksofMozart,Rossini,Verdi,JohannStraussJr.,andothers.

Somecoachesareabletoplayfromorchestralscores.Mostcoachesdonot.Inadditiontothedifficultysuchanexercisecreates,therearemanymorepageturns.Manycoacheschoosetoconcentrateonlearn-ing piano-vocal scores. A few operas can be played relatively easilyfromfullscore,mostparticularlythosefromtheBaroqueera.Infact,sincethecompositionsconsistbasicallyofaviolinandcontinuoline,some people choose the full score for those works. But once beyonda work from the classical era, say, Don Giovanni, most coaches willgladlyresorttothereductions.

This does not mean, however, that a coach should avoid lookingthrough the orchestral score. One can learn many things from sucha study. In Verdi’s Falstaff, the last page of the vocal score of act 1,scene1containsmanysixteenthnotes.Theyseemtobeboilingaway,reflectingFalstaff’sfuryathiscomrades’chaste“honor.”Asheischas-ing them as well, it would seem to be a good reduction of what theorchestraplays.Butevenacursorylookintothescore(oradecentlistentoanyrecording)willshowthatabovethechurningviolins,atrumpet

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KnowingtheScore•�

line isdominating the texture,blaringouta rhythmicvariantof the“L’onore!”theme.Acoachneedstowritethisintothescoreandplayitinsteadofallofthoseviolinfigures.(SeeFigure1aandFigure1b.)

Anotherexamplemightbefoundinthearia“Nonpiùandrai”fromMozart’sLe Nozze di Figaro.Onthelastpageofthearia,mostreduc-tionsgivethealternatingfigureofatripletinunison.Butagainstthisis a wonderfully military rhythm in the tympani. This can easily beinsertedandplayedsimultaneouslywiththetriplets.(SeeFigure2.)

Coachesmaybenefit inotherways fromperusingscores. Inaddi-tion to these types of figures, which can be added and played, onecanmakecorrectionsofvocalrhythms,dynamics,andeventext.Themore a coach knows about good editions, the better. Some editionsare excellent although expensive. Others are equally good, but theirpricedoesnotnecessarilyreflectthat.DovereditionsofMozartoperaorchestralscoresarereprintsofthePeterspublicationeditedbyGeorg

Figure 1 (a) Verdi — Falstaff M — Act One, scene 1 Closing (excerpt — right hand only as usu-ally printed); (b) Falstaff M — Act One, scene 1 Closing (excerpt — as one should play it).

Figure 2 Mozart — Le Nozze di Figaro — “Non più andrai” — excerpt from the close of the aria.

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Schünemann and Kurt Soldan and are quite decent. Some editions,evensomethatcostagreatdeal,cannotbetrusted.Eventhebestedi-tionshavesomemistakesnowandthen.Onereasonforthismightbeafirmprintinganoperainalanguagenotitsown.Theengraversmakeerrors in the language simply because they don’t know it innately.Therearealsooperasinwhichearlyeditionshaverhythmsandwordsdifferentfromnewerones,andquestionsariseastothecorrectread-ing — and recordings, even those conducted by the composer, don’talwaysanswerthequestionssufficiently.

TwoexamplesarefoundinLe Nozze di Figaro.ThefirstoccurswhenFigaroissinging“Nonpiùandrai,”hisclosingariaofact1.TheNeueMozartAusgabe(NMA)aspublishedbyBärenreitergivesFigarothefollowingsyllabification:

“conlene-vieisol-i-o-ni,alcon-cer-to...”with“viei”allononenote.

Correctwouldbe:

“conlene-vieisol-io-ni,alcon-cer-to...”with“ei”occupyingthe next note after “vi” and “solioni” being a three- not four-syllableword.

Second,whenAntonioburststhroughthedoorintheact2finale,hecomplainsthatsomeonehasjumpeddownfromthewindowontohis flowers. The translation for the flowers is usually “geraniums.”The original is “garofani,” which refers to a small pink flower indig-enoustoItaly.Thecriticaleditions(includingthePeters/Doverabove)accentthisas“ga-ro-FA-ni,”followingtheusualItalianruleofaccent-ing the next to the last syllable. Unfortunately, the correct accent is“ga-RO-fa-ni.” This may be Mozart’s mistake or a simple printer’serror.Evenif it isMozart’smistake,aneditorshouldcorrect it(pos-sibly footnoting the discrepancy). A later recitative accents the wordcorrectly.

Of course, some composers set words oddly, leaning into wrongaccents.Sometimesthiscanbeonpurpose,aquirkofacomposertogiveapassageunusualliftanddistinction.Bizet’sCarmenisacaseinpoint,withmanyunusualaccentsthatseemwrongbutwhichlifttheordinarytotheinspired.InStravinsky’sThe Rake’s Progress,thecom-posershowsanoccasionaluncertaintywithEnglish.Handel’ssettingof the text for Messiah is frequently altered in performance to erase

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some critical errors in syntax and accent, brought on by his lack ofcorrectspeakingabilityinEnglish.Thushissettingof“IfGodbeforus,whocanbeagainstus”isusuallyalteredto“IfGodbeforus,whocanbeagainstus.”Thesyntaxisthencorrect.

Other mistakes come about when Italian composers elide syllablestogether.Someeditionsmakeinaccuratedivisionsoftheseelisions,andimproperaccentsresult.(Theabove-mentionedexcerptfrom“Nonpiùandrai”isacaseinpoint.)Forthisreason,acoachmustreallyunder-standthelanguages.Heorshemayjustbecalledupontocorrectthetextunderlayinanygivenplace.(Acursorylookatsomeoriginalman-uscriptswillmakequiteclearhowsomeoftheseerrorsgetstarted.)

Learningtoplayascoreusuallymeansalsolearningtosingascore.As painful as this may be for some coaches (and those listening tothem),thereasonsareclear.Whenacoachcansingascore,theknowl-edge of the score and the text is much greater. Then a singer’s mis-takewill jumpoutat thecoach,because it isnotwhatheor shehaslearnedtosing.Besides,acoachwillhavetothrowcuestothesingerthroughoutthecoachingsessions.Learningthetextanddeliveringitincoachings(withnuancesandcolorsappropriatefortherealsinger)can make many shadings of text clear, and it is a wonderful way toexplorethemeaningsofthetextsandtoletthenuancesjumpout.Thesingerbeingcoachedcanlearntoreacttoalinefarmorenaturallyifthatlineisdeliveredwiththeintendedmeaning,whetherlightheartedormenacing.

Ihave found that justbecause recordings alldo somephrases thesamewaydoesnotnecessarilymeanthoserecordingsareallcorrect.Acarefulstudyofeventhemosthackneyedandfamiliararia,suchas“Ladonnaèmobile”inRigoletto,willrevealmanymarkingsthatarealmostuniversallyignored.Groupingofphrasesmayalsomakemoresenseinsomewaydifferentthanthetraditionalphrasingmightindi-cate.Ofcourse,inordertostudythecorrectmarkings,onemustfindscores thatarecorrectlymarked. If amarkingseemsreallyodd—aphrasecarriedoverwhereitmakesnosense—itbearssearchingoutothereditions.Evencriticaleditionsofscoresmightbewrong.Thejoyinsuchsearchingisinthediscoveries,notintheworkatfindingthoserevelations.Ifaphotocopyoftheoriginalmanuscriptisavailable,thatisalwaysbest.

Frequently the score will also contain printed mistakes that needtobecorrected. InGeorgesBizet’s Carmen, thecardscene isusuallyprintedwiththesololinesforFrasquitaandMercedesreversed.Manyconductors want the corrections made, but some do not. The Oeseredition,thoughcontroversialinmanyways,getsthosepartsabsolutely

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correct. In Micaëla’s aria, “Je dis,” the middle section contains anunusualhiccuponthewords“ar-ti-FI-cemaudit.”Bizetwroteanevenrhythm,placingthecorrectlyaccentedsyllableonanunaccentednoterhythmically,butmakingitthehighestnote.HeknewthattheFrenchcan sing against an obvious accent with wonderful results. Someonealongthewayfelttheneedtoaccentthe“obvious”syllableandchangedtherhythmtothehiccup.Itshouldbesungevenly,asBizetwroteit.(AsimilardislocationoftheusualaccentcanbefoundintheSeguidillaatthewords“monbrigadier.”)

Ifalanguagehassomeexceptionstotherules,itisagoodidea,whenpreparingascore,toindicatethem.Evenexpertscannotalwaysremem-ber the exceptions. Underline the s that is occasionally sounded inFrench,sinceitisnotusuallysounded.1Writephoneticallywhatshouldbesung,ifitfliesinthefaceofanormalreading.Namesgiveparticularproblems.Onemustdecidewhethertopronouncetheminthefashionof the languagebeingsungor in themannerof thenames’origin. IsitButterfly(Buhterfly),asinEnglish,orisitButterfly(Booterfly),asinItalian?Argumentmayevenoccuroverthecorrectpronunciationofaword.“Così”ispronouncedwitheitherazoranssoundinthemiddle,dependingonwhatpartofItalyyouuseforreference.

Learning the printed score should start with a pianistic work-through of a score. Some scores have movements of great difficulty.Othersaresimpler,requiringonlyalittleworkingout.Thevocalscorefor Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress needs a good bit of rewriting tomakethescoreplayablebyeventhemosttalentedplayers.Thereasonisnotjustthatitisdifficultmusictoplay,butthatitisfrequentlywrit-teninanawkwardfashion,withhandcrossings,octavedisplacements,and rhythmic difficulties — all of which must be delivered with amusicallyconvincingrendition.Someoftheseawkwardmomentscanbealleviatedwithminorrewriting.AglanceattheaccompanimenttotheoutburstofBabatheTurkinact2willmakethispointveryclear.

Performancesincludethedifficultharpsichordpart,usuallyplayedbyacoach.The“GraveyardScene”gains itswholeaura throughthisinstrument,and,inthisscene,itisquitedifficulttoplay.(Harpsichordandpianoplayinginthepitisanexampleofperformingdutiescoachesmustassume.Thesecanberewardingbutalsoquitedifficult.)

ThebasketscenefromFalstaffwillalsotakeagreatdealofworkforthepianisttoendureplayingallofthewaythroughthesceneinstagingrehearsals.Inadditiontothesheerdifficultyofplayingtheorchestralreduction, thevocalpartsenteratsucha furiouspacethat thesingersneed considerable ensemble rehearsals to get the scene right. Stag-ing rehearsals take many repetitions to get everything blocked and

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staged.Alloftheserequirethecoachtoenduremultipletraversalsofthescene.Thestaminarequiredcanmakeathree-hourrehearsalseemtwicethat!

Learningtosingandplaythescoremayalsomeanmarkingsomeideas about interpretations into the score. An example comes in thelast act of Puccini’s Tosca. I’ve always felt (and Placido Domingo, inMy Operatic Roles,wrote in“agreement”2) thatCavaradossi is justasecstaticaboutbeingset freeasTosca is in tellinghim.Wehearonlyonebrief reference tohispolitical savvy.Tosca says that Scarpiahassignedthepapersfortheirescape.

Cavaradossi: “Laprimasuagraziaèquesta…This is thefirsttimehehasbeensogracious.”

Tosca:“El’ultima…Andthelast.”

Afterthegreaterpartoftheecstaticduet,Tosca“happens”tomen-tionthattheirfreedommustbeprecededbyamockexecution.Cavara-dossi realizes immediately thatToscahasbeenduped.Hisvocal linebecomes monochromatic, even, and uninflected. He knows that theexecutionwillnotbefakebutreal.Thisaddsgreaterpoignancytohis“Parlamiancorcomedolci…”(“Tellmeagainhowsweet…”).Acoachmustfindthesepointsandpresentthemtoasinger.Evenifthedirec-tordoesnotsee things thisway, thesingermayhaveadded insights.TheymaynotuseeverythinginproductionA,butproductionBthreeyearslatermaybringintheseothershadings.

Asingermaysingrolesmanytimesandyetbeaskedtochangebasicconceptions in a new production. One such singer might come to aproductionready todeliverhis“usual”rendition,butadirectormaychallenge him with new ideas. In “Se vuol ballare,” Figaro might beaswaggeringandboastfulservant inoneproduction,aseethingser-vantemotionallywoundedbyhisbest friend in thenext.Takenat atrueminuettempo, itmaynotbeaboutstylishposturing,but itmaybecomeinsteadaboutanegorecoveringitsbalance.Evenifthesingervows to himself never to do it that way again, such ideas will coloraspectsofthenextproductions,too.

Incoachingsandstagings,acoachcanresorttoanythingplausibleat the piano to reproduce the score with flair. The coach may some-timessinglinesthathandscannotcover.Findingmanyofthoseaddednotes, octave doublings, and mistakes to make the score far clearerwillalsomakeitmoredifficulttoplay.Buttheymakethesoundcom-ingfromapianomuchclosertowhatthesingerwillhear.

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Reductions from an orchestral score can produce some of thosemistakes. Copyists, reducing from full score to piano-vocal score,sometimesmakeinadvertentslipsintranspositionorreadingofclefs.Thiscanresultinsomeoddharmonies.Ontheotherhand,omissionofsomenotescanleadtoafalsesenseofharmony.InthefourthactfinaleofLe Nozze di Figaro, theCount’sclimactic“No—no,no,no,no, no” is accompanied with strings in unison. But on the last note,giveninsomepianoeditionsasanotherunison,thereisactuallyaveryprominent second in the horns. It is the crashing dissonance of theCount’sbrutality,anditalsopointsaheadtohisundoing.

Playing (and singing) a score has its own difficulties. Scores likeBerg’s Wozzeck or Lulu increase these difficulties. They simply havetoomanynotes tocoverwith twohands.TheRichards,WagnerandStrauss,wrotescoresthatareequallydifficult.Itbecomesnecessarytofindwaystoplaythemelos (theessentialchordsandmelodicpatterns)and leavesomeof the fancierpassageworkon thepageunplayed.Aswonderfulasitmightbetoheareverynote,apiecelike“TheRideoftheValkyries”requiressomejudiciousfakingtoplayitatonepiano.Thehardermomentsoftheseoperaswillrequiremarkingwhatneedstobeplayedandwhatdoesn’t.Ahighlighter isagreat friendatsuchtimes. Like that page in Falstaff, you sometimes need to know whatthesingerneedstohear.Playthat,andletthesmallerfiligreerecedeinimportance.Thesingerishangingontheharmonicprogressionsandmelodickernelsthatjumpout.ExamplesofthesimplificationprocesswillappearinthechapteronWagnerandStrauss.

In the third act finale to Smetana’s The Bartered Bride, the musicmoves quite quickly. When everyone is singing, Smetana takes thetonality from F major into a momentary D• major. Rather than playevery note correctly (and that is quite a feat in itself), the able coachshouldmaketheharmonicshiftsmoreprevalent,sothesingerscanhearwhattheyneedtohear.(SeeFigure3.)(Thisscorealsoexistsineditionsthatareinneedofconsiderableeditorialcorrections.VocallineshavebeenadjustedfromCzechtoGermanandthentoEnglish,withmanyspecificsofSmetana’swritinghavingbeenlostalongtheway.)

Reductionsaren’tinfallible.Ihavelongfoundthatthepiano-vocalscore for “Una furtiva lagrima” from L’Elisir d’amore by Donizettineedsadjusting.Theopeningpassageasprintedsoundslikea“Ständ-chen”byBrahms,prettybutratherponderous.Thelefthandisprintedanoctave too low. It is aharpplaying in the same register inwhichit will play during the sung portion of the aria (printed correctly inFigure4).Despitethebassoonlinesoundingsomeofthesamepitches

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KnowingtheScore•11

simultaneously with the harp line, it takes only a little practice, andtheappropriateeffectcanbeachieved.

Apassageliketheopeningofact3ofRichardStrauss’sDer RosenkavalierortheturbulentorchestraloutburstthatleadsintoVanessa’saria“Donotutteraword,Anatol”(fromSamuelBarber’sVanessa)arefilledwithcross-rhythmsandintricatecounterpoint,allofwhichapianistmightwanttoplay.Butacoachmustdecidewhat ismost important

Figure 3 Smetana — The Bartered Bride — Act Three — simplification of accompaniment (with the vocal lines shown only partially).

Figure 4 Donizetti — L’Elisir d’Amore — “Una furtiva lagrima” — Introduction shown as it should be played.

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12•OperaCoaching

andfindways toplay that,eliminating therest. In theRosenkavalierexcerpt, thismeansfindingawaytoplayboththepitmusicandthebackstagewaltz, sinceastagedirectorwillusesounds fromboth forspecificactions.Herelisteningtoarecordingmightgiveagoodindi-cationofwhatthemelosreallyis.

TheBarberexcerptalsoincludesbackstagesounds.Whilethesleighbellsarenotabsolutelynecessary,therhythmoftheearlierbell(before“Must the winter come so soon?”) is quite important and helps thesingerknowrhythmicallywheresheis.(Thecoachmaybecalledupontoconductthesebackstagesounds,too.)

Thiscoverssomeideaoftheblack-and-whitestudyofascore.Play-ingascoreatapianoisbydefinitionanapproximationoftheorchestralfabric.Agoodpianistcanmakeapianosounddifferentlydependingonwhatkindofinstrumentplaysagivenline.Thecoachshouldknowifalineisplayedbyanoboeorthefirstviolins,hornsorviolas.EveninBeethoven’s“LesAdieux”sonata,theopeningisdefinitelyreminis-centofhornwritinginanynumberofsymphonies.Thepianistcould(should?)playthepiecewitharoundertone,imitatingahorn’stone.3

2. learning THe gray

Thegraysubstanceassociatedwithascoreisfarmoredifficulttolearn.Itinvolvesabsorbingstyle,tradition,anddifferentdemandsofhistori-cally informed performances. It also necessitates understanding thedifferencesofvocalproductionandornamentation inall styles fromMonteverditoBrittenandGlass.It’saverytallorder,butone,perhaps,notquiteasimpossibleasexpected.

Inthelate1930sLuigiRiccipublished,throughG.Ricordi,aseriesof three books entitled Variazioni–Cadenze–Tradizioni. These booksaredividedintovoci femminili, voci maschili, andvoci miste:onebookfor women, one for men, and one for mixed voices (more arias, andduets).4 The attempt was to put in print variations (embellishments),standard cadenzas, and traditions (cuts and tempo modifications),whichItalianoperahadaccrueduptothattime.Riccicoveredonlythestandardrepertoire inItalyof thatera.Todaysomeof that literaturehasfadedaway,andcertainlymorehasresurfaced.Buttheimportantthings these books give are the principles. If you understand thesecarefullystudiedvariationsfromthewrittentext,youcanunderstandhow theyweremade, and thenmakingdecisionsofyourown isnotso difficult. The volumes are actually fairly comprehensive. EstelleLiebling also gathered traditional cadenzas (adding some new ones,too)forcoloraturasoprano.5

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KnowingtheScore•1�

Ofcourse,historicallysingerswouldhavemadetheirownchanges.Until recordings became the norm and every embellishment wasimpressed in vinyl, singers devised their own ornaments, tailoringthem to their own voices. Some became quite the norm, but otherswere different for each singer. Now everyone tries to sing the samething,whetheritfitshisorhervoiceornot.Andworse,theaudienceexpectsthesamechanges,becausetheytoohaveheardtherecordings.A revelatory exercise is to take various recordings of the tenor aria“Ahsi,benmio”fromVerdi’sIl Trovatore,startingwiththerecitativedirectly preceding it. Begin the collection with Caruso and progresswithasmanyexamplesascanbefoundupthroughDomingo,Pava-rotti, and Alagna. It is possible to use recordings not in Italian, too.Thedifferencesintheariaswon’tbesoeye-opening,buttherecitativesareallquitedifferentonefromtheother.Yet,ifyoudoasimilarthingwith“Unafurtivalagrima”fromDonizetti’sL’Elisir d’amore,youwillfindthetenorsalltakingalmostexactlythesamecadenzaattheend,differingonlyinwhichwordstheyuseforthelastV–Icadence.

Sopranossinging“Regnavanel silenzio” fromDonizetti’sLucia di Lammermoor will sing some cadenzas differently, adding high noteshereandthereastheyseefit,butthemajorembellishmentsofthesec-ondverseofthecabalettawillalmostallbeexactlythesame.Baritonessinging the famous aria “Bella siccome un angelo” from Donizetti’sDon Pasquale will also use the same alteration of the final cadenza,despite Ricci listing several other possibilities, and they will almostallavoidmanyspecificmarkingsDonizettimadesuchasportamento,staccato,andsoon.

Anothergrayareacoachesmustunderstandisthetraditionofcut-tingmusic.ComposerslikeVerdiandDonizettifollowedcertainstrictforms.Thesewerestrictbothinformaloutlinesandinthepoeticscan-sionrequired.Today,thoughwesometimesacknowledgethestrengthof those original forms, we see the many reasons for shortening theoperas. The first reason is the sheer length of some roles. Violetta isquite a trial for even the most technically secure singer. Performeduncut,eachariahas twoverses,and theduetshavesections thatarealmost never performed today outside of recordings. For “Ah, fors’èlui”and“Addiodelpassato”tobegivenwithbothversesintactisverytiring.AddtothatthecompleteduetsfromactonewithAlfredoandfromact2withGermont,andthenthecompleteversionof“Parigi,ocara,”andyouhaveastrenuousrole.

Similarly, the tenor role in La Traviata is taxing for a lyric tenor.Adding his act 2 cabaletta, “O mio rimorso, infamia,” lifts the roleintospinto(dramatic)tenorterritory,eliminatingsomeotherwisevery

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1�•OperaCoaching

goodAlfredos.The lyric tenor justcannot summonthatmuchvocalpower.Thiscabalettaisfrequentlycutaltogether,buteventhosetenorswhoinsistonsingingitusuallyreduceittooneverse.ItisonlyslightlylighterthanthetenorariaVerdihadwrittentwomonthsearlier,“Diquellapira,”fromIl Trovatore,alsoinCmajor.

Cuttinggoesbeyondjustsecondstanzas.DuetcutsaboundintheItalianrepertoire.Somecuts,amountingtoonlytwoorfourmeasures,seemludicrousbutaresometimesmadetomakepassageworkeasier,andensembles,suchasthatonewhichclosesact2ofLucia di Lammermoor,aresoseldomgivencompletethatoperahousechoruseswouldhave to do major restudy of the choruses if those cuts were opened.Acoachneedstoknowthesetraditions,knowingtheprincipleofthecutsifnottheactualcutsthemselves.Cuttingmayinvolvethesingerstaying quiet while the orchestra plays two or more measures. Thisallowsthesingertocatchaneededbreathandswallow,usuallybeforethelast(unwritten)highnote.

Very few printed scores print the optional cuts. What is usuallydoneisthatonefindsapassagethatseemstogoontoolong.Onefindsa place near the beginning where the cut can begin, then finds theending passage. Of course, the keys must match, and the leap mustmakesenseinallvocalparts,thougheventhatcansometimesbewrit-ten around by resolving a voice into the measure following the cut.Thebestwaysphysicallytocutarethese:Atthebeginningofthecut,makealinethroughtheentiresystem(possiblycurvingaroundanec-essaryextranoteofresolution),withabracketseemingtobaroffthecutmusiclikethis:

[

Abovethiswritetheletters:VI–.Afterthecut,writeasimilarmarkas:

]

Abovethiswritetheletters:–DE.Ifthecutisfromonepartofapageto lateronthesamepageorthefacingpage,asingle,darklinecanbedrawnfromthefirstbrackettothenext,allowingthecoach’seyetofollowthelinefromthebeginningtotheendofthecuteasily.Ifthecutinvolvesseveralpages,itishelpfultoputamarkingsuchasthefollowing:

[VI–163/3/5

This means that you cut to page 163, system 3, measure 5. Whenindicating the measure, it almost invariably means the beginning ofthemeasure,nottheendofit.Afterthecutit isseldomnecessarytowritewherethecutcamefrom,sincethatisnotthedirectiononereads

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a score. Paper clips also help to facilitate making such cuts withoutmakingthempermanent.

This system of marking cuts is quite important, for two reasons.In auditions or in staging/coaching rehearsals the cuts are easy toreadandplaythrough.Italsomeansthat,shouldopeningthecutbedesired,thesinglelinecanbeerasedeasilywithlittlelingeringcauseforuncertainty.Howshortsighted it isofsomesingers(andpianists)to mark cuts by scribbling out measures in the darkest possible leadorink,obliteratingtheentirepassage,thusmakingitabsolutelyunus-able at any time in the future. Audition arias that can be sung withcutsonsomedaysandwithoutcutsonothersshouldbe included intwoseparateeditionsinanauditionfolder.Thatwillbecoveredmoreextensivelylater.

Theprincipleofcuttingassumessomeunderstanding, too,ofwhyToscaniniandothersdeemedthecompletescoresunviable.Inoperaslike Il Trovatore, certain cadential or coda sections become exces-sively long—simply toomuchofagood thing.Perhapsmoreprop-erlyoneshouldsaythatmuchisgoodandalittleisweakorrepetitive.Incutting,thesepassagesareshornoftherepetitivenessandarethusstrengthened.Puristshavebeenraisingtheirhacklesaboutthislately,but audiences do not object at all to judicious pruning. And yet, anoccasionally opened cut is just as delightful, because it is not musicthatisoverlywellknown.Itisafreshapproachtoafamiliarscore.

A difficult gray area to approach is that aspect of coaching whichdealswithsomeknowledgeofvocaltechnique.Ifthecoachknowstheteachingstyleandmodalityofagiventeacherandtheweaknessesofagivensinger,heorshecanreinforcetheworkoftheteacherwithoutactually getting into placement, breath support, and so on. Coachesmust have some vocal knowledge. That way, when the singer is facedwithavocallychallengingproblem,thecoachcangiveoptionsonhowtoconquertheproblems.Manycoacheshaveaccompaniedinteachers’studiosfortheopportunitytolearnvocaltechnique,theteacherssome-timesevengivinglessonstocoachesinexchangeforplayinglessons.Itisagoodtradeoff.ThecoachmightalsoinvestinabooklikeThe Structure of Singing: System and Art in Vocal Technique byRichardMiller,whichisinthelibraryofvoiceteachersallovertheworld.7Suchabookwillgivein-depthknowledgetothecoachabouttechnique,knowledgeheorshecanthenuseinhelpingsingerslearnrepertoire.

Asubjectmanysingersdonotunderstandis“marking.”Thisissim-plysingingthemusiclightly,supportingthetonecompletelybutgiv-inglittlerealvoice.Itmayinvolvetakinghighnotesdownanoctaveorevenomittingthem.Thetrickistomarkloudlyenoughforothers

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tohearnecessarycuesonstage.Dancersmark,too,byindicatingthattheyaredoingcartwheels,andsoon,sowhyshouldn’tsingers?Somegreat singers do not like marking, fearing that, when they get tired,they will mark in performance, too. But this is usually not going tobethecase.Markingsavessingersfortheimportantmomentsandisatechniquetheyshouldalllearn.Vocalmarkingdoesnotequatewithdramaticmarking,whichshouldnotbedoneinstagingrehearsals.

IoncecoachedasingerlearningthetitleroleinLucia di Lammermoor. She went up for a high D (in “Quando rapito in estasi”) andmissed it. (As indicatedabove,everyoneexpected thehighD, soshefeltshehadtosingitevenifDonizettididnotwriteit.)Thenotewasvery tight and collapsed almost immediately. She had attempted adiminuendoassheascended.Iexplainedtoherthatitwaslikepullingtherugoutfromunderherownvoice,justwhensheneededreallytogo for it with gusto. I agreed that the diminuendo was a wonderfulideabutsuggestedthatsheshoulduseitassheleftthenoteratherthanasshewentforit.Successwasimmediate.

Whether specificallyor inprinciple, acoachmustunderstand thepresenceofaddedhighnotes.FollowingalmostanyrecordingofRigolettowillrevealtheadditionofmanysuchnotes.Acoachmustunder-standthereasonstheyareaddedandwhethertheyarealwaysadded(thelineusuallyseemstoaimthatway,evenifthecomposerdidnotwrite it). A coach must also understand why omitting added highernotesmightbeanoption.Again,digestingtheRiccivolumesandcare-fulstudyofrecordings(fromvariouserasofrecordingifpossible)aidsinthisimmeasurably.Theseaddedhighnotessometimesinvolveextrabreaths,facilitatedbydroppingsomemeasuresvocally.Theymayalsoinvolve understanding that, correct language accent be damned, thehighnotewillbeheld.InTurandot,Calaf ’sgreataria“Nessundorma”has a fermataon the high B at the end. It isexciting! It is ludicrous,however,because“Vincerò”shouldbeaccentedpossiblyonthefirstor,betteryet,lastsyllable,andmostcertainlynotthesecondone.Yetthatisthesyllableandnoteaccented,andrecordedproofofthisdistortionextendsbacktothesecondgenerationofsingers.Puccinididnotwritea fermataon thenote.Arecentattempt tocorrect thisdistortion (attheMichiganOperaTheaterin2002)wasmetwithcatcallsandboo-ing.Traditionalistsareaverystubbornlot!

Occasionally a coach must understand how to help a singer actu-allyhave theendurance toget throughanentirerole. Itmay involveexplaining things like where to give less and where to talk with theconductoraboutanidealtempo.Somepiecescanbesungatavarietyofspeeds,whileothersrequirecertaintempi.Thismaybebecauseof

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difficultbreaths(tempithataretoofastmakephrasesshorter,butrestsareshortened,too).Itisalsopossiblethatacertaintempoisrequired,becausesomephrasesjusteludethesingerduetotheirsheerlength(afastertempomightactuallyhelpthis).

Whenasingerhasamusicalproblem,thecoachmustfindawaytosolveit.InUn Ballo in Maschera,Ulricahassomeimpressivesingingtodo.Butshealsohasadifficultlineinthemiddleofthebigensembleinherscene,difficultbecauseherlineisconstantlysyncopated.Ifshebreathesinsyncopation,shewillprobablymissthecountingandenduponthebeatratherthanoffof it.Itmightbesuggestedtoherthatshebreatherhythmically,onthebeat,inordertokeepthetemporocksolid.Ifshedoesthis,shewillhavenoproblem.

Indeed,solvingproblemsforthesingerisprobablythemostimpor-tant aspect of coaching. The problems may stem from rhythmiccomplexities, language, range, or other things. How does a singer,for example, learn to spit out the patter employed by Rossini in La Cenerentola at the speed required? It requiresa lotofpersonalprac-tice,repeatingoverandoveratever-increasingspeedsthepassage inquestion.Afrequentlyusedtermis“musclememory,”andthatisquiteimportantwhendealingwithpatter.Musclememoryissimplytrain-ingthemusclesofthemouthtoarticulatethewordsatarapidspeed.InRossini’smusicthewordscomesorapidlythatthesinger’smusclescanfrequentlyfindthewordsandarticulationbeforetheirmindcanthinkofthem.

Thisholdstrue,aswell,intheact1,scene2ensembleofFalstaff.Itisverydifficulttosinginmusicalterms,andtheItalianisquitesophisti-cated.Addedtothatisafast,conversational(arguing)speedthatcantripupeventhebestsingers.

AnotherexampleofthispatterappearsinGilbertandSullivanpat-tersongs.Intheirfamouspattersongs,suchas“MynameisJohnWel-lingtonWells”fromThe Sorcerer, “Modern,MajorGeneral”fromThe Pirates of Penzance, and “The Nightmare Song” from Iolanthe, oneis faced with seeming nonsense that the brain cannot make sensiblequicklyenough.Listssuchasare foundin thosesolosaredifficult inandofthemselvestomemorize,andthenhavingtomakesenseofthemtoanaudienceatsuchrapidspeedsonlycompoundstheproblems.Themuscularmemoryhelpsgetthesingerthroughthesefastpassageswithmuchlessstumbling.Theonlywaytoachievesuchspeed,however,isconstant,carefulpractice.Oncethespeedisattained,then,wherepossi-ble,thesingercaninflectthewordswithmeaningandunderstanding.

Whena singer tries togive toomuchateither the topor thebot-tomofhisorherrange,theauthorfrequentlyusestheterm“optimum

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roarrange,”whichmeansthatrangeinwhichthevoiceprojectseasily,withnoapparenteffort.Avoicehascertainnaturalplacesoffocusandprojection.Atthebottommostvoicesareweaker,withlittleornopro-jection.Intheuppermiddlerangeofavoice,itiseasyforthesingertosingclearlyandwithaprojectingtoneatacomfortablevolume.Ahighnoteusuallydoesnotrequiretheamountofvolumethatmanysingersexpecttopenetratetheorchestralfabric.Ontheotherhand,thebot-tomnoteswon’tcomethroughwithimmensevolumenomatterhowmucheffort isexpended.Theyarebelowthat“optimumroarrange.”This isparticularly important toconsiderwhencoachingduets.Onesingermayhavetobeawareoftheothersinger’spresenceinthe“non-optimumroarrange.”Balancingvoicesbecomesthejobofthesingers,andhelpingthemunderstandtheneedtobalanceistheresponsibilityofthecoach.

Someothernotablevocalandmusicalproblemswillbediscussedinthechaptersdirectlyrelatedtocertaincomposers.

Idonot intendtosuggestthatacoachtakevoice lessonswiththeideathatheorshewillbecomeaprofessionalsinger,butheorshewillbedealingwithprofessional,semiprofessional,andevenstudentsing-ersandmustknowtheterminologytousetohelpthesingernegotiatethe more difficult passages, whether the difficulty comes from emo-tionaloutpouring,rapidpassagework,orlanguage.

Anycoachingsessionmightinvolvesayingthingslike“Youneedtogetabettersupportonthattone”or“Youneedtoshortenthatnote,sothatyoucangetagoodbreathforthenextphrase.”Butthesearenotreallytechnicalterms.Theyareobviousstatements,remindersofwhatthesingershouldknowanyway.Apossibletechnicaldiscussionmightinvolve asking for a slenderer tone to begin a note, one that is morefocusedandperhapsalittlesofterininitialvolume.Thishasawayofenablingthesingertocrescendomoreeffectivelyandtomakeittotheendofthelengthynoteorphrase.Understandingwhataslendertoneis,however,andwhatbenefititmighthavetothesingerarethetechnicalknowledge any coach needs, and without that knowledge, the coachwillnotknowtoaskforthetonalvariety.Othertechnicalareasmightincludeaskingforlessspreadinatone,abrightertone,smootherline,andmoreforwardplacementofthetone.

Aspecificexampleofatechnicalnaturewouldbefoundintheend-ing of the aria “Senza mamma” from Suor Angelica by Puccini. Thesoprano’sclimactichighAissupposedtobepianofadingintonoth-ing.Manysingersareusedtosinginghighnoteslouderthanthat,butsopranoshaveaplacement,asortof tonalpocket, inwhichtheycansingahighAwhichwillfeelrathersmallbutwhichwillhavespinand

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colorwithoutmuchvolume.ItcarriesperfectlyandcanbesustainedforthelengthrequestedbyPuccini.Itisnotimportantthatthecoachknowshowtodemonstrateit.Whatisimportantisthedescriptionofit,andthatinvolvesdescribingthehigh,almostnasalplacement.Thenoteis justabovethepassaggioofmostsopranos,sotheycanfinditeasily.(Asatenormyself,Icanonlywishtenorshadsuchaplace,butwe must resort to head voice or falsetto, which does not match themiddlevoiceaswell,soitisnotthesameeffectatall;itcannotbesus-tainedforalongdurationeither.)

Rapid passagework may involve discussion of support and theorigin of good articulation. Many of these things a coach learns forhim-orherselfbydoingit,andbeforethat,fromteachers,forwhomthey accompany or with whom they take lessons. The goal in thosevoice lessons is not to discover a new Franco Corelli hiding in thevocalfoldsofanoperacoach.Thegoal istodiscoverwhattechniqueisallaboutandtolearnterminologythecoachmayusewhendealingwithasingeroutsideoftheteacher’sstudio.

This vocal knowledge is all used in helping the singer project theblack-and-whiteand thegrayareasof thescores.Thecoachmaynotmake the decisions about these aspects of the scores, but he or shemust know what the traditions are and how a singer must go aboutcreatinghisorhercharacters inthebestwaypossible,vocally,musi-cally,anddramatically.

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21

2recitativeS

Practical Methods for Teaching Them

Most operas have some form ofrecitative.Thewordcomesfromthe Italian term “recitativo” and usually refers to those moments ofdialogueinwhichthemusicalformandimpetusissupplantedbythedramaticneeds.Itisapieceofsungtext,inwhichthephrasingcomesmore from the word inflection and meaning than from a musicalimpulse.“Recitation”thustakesprecedenceovermelodyineitherariaorarioso(amelodicsectionlackingformalstructure).Thisdoesnotinanywayexcusebadenunciationofthoughtsinariasandensembles.Itsimplyimpliesthatmoreattentionmustbepaidtothewordsinrecita-tivesthantomusicalline.EventhelateroperasofVerdi,Wagner,andPuccinicontainmeasuresorphrasesthatshouldbeconsideredrecita-tiveinnature.

The recitatives found in operas ranging from the Baroque era upthroughearlyDonizettiwerepredominantly“seccorecitatives”—lit-erally“dryrecitation.”(TheItalianword“secco”meansthesamethingwhen applied to fine wines — “sec.”) The usual definition for this issimple:voicewithcontinuo(harpsichordwithcelloand/orbass).“Con-tinuo” gives “continuity” to the sung dialogue passages, keeping thesingersinadefinitetonalityandguidingthemforwardinthechang-ingthoughtsthatleadtothenextmusicalnumber.Thefactthatotherchordal instrumentssuchas lute,harpsichord,orevenasmallorgan

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22•OperaCoaching

couldplaythesefiguredbasses,orthatotherinstruments(cello,bass,bassoon,ororgan)mightplay thesinglewrittennote(mostlywrittenasawholenote)isfrequentlynotmentioned.Thatisusuallyanearlierpractice.Itisgenerallyagreedthatthelongnoteshouldbeheldalittlebythebassinstrument,butitshouldnotbeheldthelengthindicated.Bytheearlynineteenthcentury,intheoperasofRossiniandDonizetti,theharpsichordorfortepianosuppliedthechordswithoutrecoursetoasustainingbassinstrumentatall.

Acoachandsingermustrealizethatthechordalrealizationwritteninapiano-vocalscore(andinmostorchestralscores)was,forthemostpart, not written out by the composer. Composers simply wrote thelowestnoteof the chord, andexpected that the continuoplayer, fre-quently theconductorandmaybeeven thecomposerhimself,wouldplay the chord above it as figured. For a while chords not “figured”wereassumedtobe“rootposition”triads(thatistosay:5–3–1).Thiseventuallychangedas thechordprogressionsbecamemore immedi-atelysimpleandeasilyunderstood.

BythetimeMozartwaswriting, infact, thecontinuowaswrittenmuchmorefreely,withlittlefiguration,andwithsomefreedomastowhetherthecontinuostring(s)shouldorshouldnotplay.Today,par-ticularly in larger auditoriums, a cello is often used to reinforce thevolumeofthechordinginstrument.Becauseoftheselargerperformingvenues, microphones are also used to amplify the keyboard instru-ment, at least for the singers to hear, and, purists not withstanding,pianosandelectricharpsichordshavebeenusedaswell.Thepointisnot exactly what instrument is used, but how the chords are playedandtheirpurposeinthefirstplace.

MozartdeclaredthatItalianoperasshouldallhaverecitatives,thattheItalianlanguagesoundedunclearifspoken.Mostcomposersseemto have agreed with his opinion. He also felt, however, that Germansounded much better spoken and sounded awkward if sung in dia-logue passages. Most German operas are either through-composed(not divided into recitative and numbers) and sung throughout, ortheyhavedialogue.

Thechord isgiventohelp thesingerfindandmaintainpitches intherecitative.Foracoachorharpsichordist,themostsatisfactorywayof “realizing” the recitative is to roll each given chord quickly, spac-ingitsothatthesinger’smostprominentpitchisthelastonesounded...whichistosaythetoppitch.Usuallytherollingisdonefromthebottom up, but occasionally one can begin at the top, rolling downand back up rapidly. Since the harpsichord dies away quickly, andsincelongpassagessometimesneedpunctuation,arepeatofthechord

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Recitatives•2�

(shortandnotrolled)cansometimesaddemphasistocertainwords.Thistakesexperimentation.Continualrollingofachord,unrelatedtothewords,beginstosoundlikesomekindofconcerto,obscuringthewords.Instead,thecontinuoshouldbehelpfulanddiscreet.

The practice of rolling chords on harpsichords possibly beganbecauseharpsichordkeysdonotalwaysrespondevenly.Tryingtoplaya chord absolutely together — an easy task in piano playing — mayhaveaninnernotesoundingslightlyearlierorlaterthanothernotesinthechord.Asthis isnotagoodthing,rollingthechordbecameagoodsolutiontotheproblem.

An exit or stage movement can sometimes be “covered” or high-lightedwithasimplearpeggioorscale.AnexampleofthismightbeSusanna’sexitinact1ofLe Nozze di Figaro,justbeforeFigaro’srecita-tiveandaria“Sevuolballare.”

Thatsolorecitative(beginningat“Bravo,signorpadrone”)isagoodexampleofaplacewhereconductorsoccasionallyaddbassinstrumentstoreinforcetheprominentbassline.Theadditionaddsgravitytothelines Figaro sings. Even the earlier generations of conductors (thosefromthe1930sto1950s),whousedharpsichord/pianoonlyforthefig-uredbass,withnocellosorbasses,wereknowntoaugmentthecon-tinuoatthispoint.

The singer’s approach to “secco recitativo” should be basically theopposite of what is frequently done. Many singers try to learn therhythmswrittenbythecomposerandthentryto“freeitup,”topointuptheimportantwordsorsyllables.Instead,singersshouldrealizethatthewrittenrhythmsareonlythebestapproximationsthecomposerscoulddeviseofnaturalspeechrhythms.Theserhythmshavealsobeenadjusted (sometimes artificially) by the composers to fit a 4/4 meter.Therefore, if a singer begins by speaking the Italian, giving it mean-ingandclarity,heorshewillprobably(afterabitofpractice) inflectthewordswithrhythmsquiteclosetothosethecomposerhasgiven.InrehearsalsofHandeloperas,infact,thesingersusedtopracticetherecitativepassagesasdialogueonly,pacing theminaquitedramaticandnaturalway,onlygettingthenotatedmusicafewdaysbeforethefirstperformance.(Thisisanotherreasonthecontinuowassoimpor-tantinleadingthesingersthroughthecorrectchordalprogressions.)1

An older performance practice was that of speeding through therecitativesasfastasasingercouldgo.ThisismuchlikesayingaShake-speareanplayasfastasyoucan,withnocognizancegiventomeaningor to dramatic needs. In recitative the correct speed should be gov-ernedbynaturalspeechtempo.Thismeansthat ifa lineneedstobeslowertoprojectitsmeaning,nothingpreventsthesingerfromtaking

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that time.Ontheotherhand, if thesingerwants tospeedthroughapassage,heorshecan.

Justino Diaz, famous for the roles of Figaro and Don Giovanni,oncehadtosinginaproductionofLe Nozze di Figarothatwasuncut.Hemadethehugerecitativeinthesecondactveryfunnybecausehespedthroughit.Inhisinterpretation,Figarohadhisplan,andnothingcouldpossiblyderailit—orsohethought.Theinterpretationworkedextremelywell.Even those in theaudiencewhospokenotawordofItalianenjoyedthecocksurewayinwhichhedidit.

Composers almost never specify a speed for recitative lines! Theyassume that the singer will understand every word they are singingandinflectthemaccordingly.Thereare,however,questionsthatarise.Oneofthefirstquestionsconcernswrittenrestsintherecitative.Oftenthereseemstobenorationalreasonfortheirpresenceorabsence.Ital-ianshaveapredilectionforelidingsyllablestogether,andsomeoftherestsareprobablytheretoseparatesyllablesthatarebetternotelided.Butotherrestsaretherefornoapparentreason.Theymightbetheretomakethefirstsyllableaftertherestnothaveanaccent,butthereisnoclear-cutanswer.Thebestruleacoachorsingercanfollowmustbetoleavearestoutifitmakesabsolutelynosense.GreatsingersofItal-ianopera(notably,Italiansthemselves)dothisinperformanceandonrecordings,sonon-Italiansmighttakeacuefromthem.

Thisapproachgivestheseccorecitativesthefreedomtheyrequiretobecorrect,afreedomthatworkseverytime.Afterthefreedomisthere,itisgoodtoreviewtheprintedrhythmsagaintoseeifthecomposerhasgivenanyimportantcluetoemphasis.Itshouldbeobviousthatifacomposersuddenlyshiftsfromeighthsandsixteenthstoastringofquarternotes,theremustbeareason.

Another rationale for why the above-mentioned recitative before“Sevuol ballare” might include the bass instruments is because thevoicepartismuchmorerhythmicallyspecific.Itisactuallya“recita-tivo accompagnato,” or orchestrally accompanied recitative. In thiskindofrecitativetheorchestrapunctuatesmorecompletely thesungtext,possiblysustainingchordsundersunglinesandpointingupthechangingmoodsofthetextmuchmorecompletely.

The usual place for a “recitativo accompagnato” is before an aria.TakingLe Nozze di Figaro asourbasis,“Haigiàvintalacausa,”“Dovesono,”and“Dehvieni,non tardar”aregoodexamplesofotherariaswithapreceding“recitativoaccompagnato.”Thesingerhassomefree-dom but must remain quite true to the rhythms given, bending thetempoandrhythmsonlya little toachieve thewordmeaning.SincethishasamoreRomanticfeeltoit,singershavelesstroublewiththis

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Recitatives•2�

styleofrecitative.Unfortunately,theysometimesbecomelessspecificinthe“pointing”ofwords,andthisistheoppositeofwhatthepracticeshouldentail.Theorchestra isused tounderline thesung text,com-mentinginwaysonthedepthandcolorsofthecharacter’sthoughts.Thereforewhatissungcannotbegenericinnature.Thedynamictakenforanygivenlinemayansweranorchestralpunctuationatthesamegeneralvolume,oritmayanticipatethenextorchestralphrasewithachangeofvolumeorarticulationthattheorchestrawilluseinanswer.

When one thinks of either type of recitative, one should beremindedofaphrasespokenbyDonAndrèsinOffenbach’soperettaLa Périchole.Atonepointinact1,heenters,saying(hereinEnglishtranslation), “Otruth, truth, where are you truth?” In recitative it isthesinger’sdutytogivetruthandmeaningtoeveryword.

Itisimportanttonote,too,that,thoughitdoesnotapplytotheseccorecitative, a curious axiom holds true particularly in the accompa-niedrecitativesofopera:Thecomposerwrotetherests,too.VerdiandDonizetti used rests as marvelous moments for collecting thoughts,for surveying situationsbeforecommentingon them.Manyayoungsinger rushes through these, wishing to get to the “important” part(the words), without realizing how absolutely pregnant such pausesandmomentsforreflectioncanbe.

In lateroperas, thosewhicharefromtheRomanticperiod,recita-tives may become more arioso (melodic and rhythmically specific).Butthedramacomesthroughinthesemoments,too.Wordprojectionmust not be slighted. Communication is the most important part ofbeingasinger.

Toworkwithallthesestyles,acoachshouldhavethesingerspeakthe lines with as much meaning as possible. One potential exercise,whichaidsimmenselyintextprojectionandunderstanding,istosayalineswitchingfromonelanguagetotheotherandback.Anexample(againfromFigaro)mightbe:

“Wherearethey,thosebeautifulmoments?”

or:

“Dovearethey,thosebeimomenti?”

or:

“Wheresei,ibeautifulmoments?”

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Stress to singers that linguistic cognates are their friends. In theaboveexample,“momenti”and“moments”arecognates—wordsthatare close enough in one language for a singer, thinking in anotherlanguage,tohavearealemotionalresponse,eveniftheydonotreallyknowthelanguageperse. Afewbasicexamplesofforeignwordsandtheircorrespondingcognateswillhelptoexplain.

French Italian German Englishfleur fiore Blume flower or bloomdémon demonio Teufel demon or devillasse lascia lassen let or allowlettre lettera Brief letter or legal briefcommande commadare Kommandieren commanddeux due zwei twomon mio mein my or mine

Intheabovelist,itiseasytoseethatnotalllanguageswillgiveupthesamecognate,butjustasobviouslysomearequiteclosefromonelan-guagetoanother.

Therequiredvolumeforrecitativeisnotgreat—infact,mostsing-ers tend to oversing secco recitative. Even Mozart complained thatsingers“sang”toomuch,sotheproblemisnotnew.However,thesolu-tionisnottalkingonpitches,becauseavoicemustbesupportedandproducedproperlyinordertoprojecttothebackwall.Whenavoiceisaccompaniedonlybythecontinuo,greatvolumeissimplynotrequired.Theeasiestsolutiontotheproblemistheeliminationoflegato“line,”the lyric binding together of notes in a smooth and uninterruptedphrase. This is what all singers work years to achieve, and such lineis appropriate in the “cantilenas” (literally “singing lines”) of BelliniorMozart.Butparticularlyseccorecitativerequiresnoline.Recitativoaccompagnatorequiresonlyalittlemoreline,momentshereandthererisingtoemotionallysustainedlevels.Approachingtherecitativeswithlesslinebutcontinuedsupportandplacement,thevoiceretainsitscol-orsanditsprojectivecapabilitieswithoutbecomingasustainedgarbleofheldpitchesandindefinitediction.Abadlyproducedvoice,whichhasnonatural line left,willstillsoundbadinrecitative,becausethevoiceisnot“speaking”clearlyonanygivenpitch.

Donizetti used yet a different method to deal with dialogue. Hewouldcomposeanorchestralthemeplayedbehindtheparlandosing-ingofthecharacters.(Parlandomeans“speakingquality.”)Theopening

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Recitatives•2�

of Don Pasquale shows this well, as does the music both before andafter the sextet in Lucia di Lammermoor. In those places the singermust sing with a full tone and with only a semblance of line. Thesinger,thoughnotusuallysingingsomethingonewouldcallamelody,mayactuallytakenoteshereandtherethatarepartofthemelodytheorchestra is playing. It is something between accompanied recitativeandarioso(whichhassomerealmelodicinterest)andcanseamlesslyleadintothenextmusical“number.”

Intheverismooperas,dramaticutteranceisofparamountimpor-tance.Since“verismo”means“realism,”thismeansthatformal,musi-cal concerns frequently are of less importance than the sweepingemotions. The “truth” of the dramatic situations blurs the distinc-tions made by earlier composers between recitative and the musical“number.”(Ina“numbersopera,”ariasandensembleshaveadefinitebeginningandaclearlydelineatedsenseofclose.)MostoftheoperasofPuccini,Leoncavallo,Mascagni,orGiordanoincludepassagesofakindofrecitative.Theopeningofact4ofAndrea Chenier,forexample,orofact4ofLa Bohème areactuallyrecitativepassages.Theyareper-hapsmorestrictlysungintempo,buttheystillretainthesenseofrealdialogue.Themusicalnumbersthatfollowhaveaclearbeginningandendingandaredivorcedfromthesurrounding“dialogue.”

A strange mixture can be found in Smetana’s The Bartered Bridewhere there are recitatives that were originally dialogue. In revisingthe dialogue for inclusion as sung recitative, Smetana wrote in analmostseccostyle,albeitaccompaniedwithorchestra.Donizetti’sDon Pasquale takes a similar course, though it never had dialogue. Thiskindofparlandopassageallowsalittletempofreedom,butalmostnorhythmic freedom. If singersareallowed to take toomuchrhythmicfreedom,theywillfindthat,ratherthanclarifyingthewordsandinten-tions,theywillmakethingsmoremuddled.Thesingerneedstolearnthepassagesrhythmicallyastheyarelearningthewordsandnotes.

OnequestioninrecitativesthatarisesinmusicfromDonizettibackthrough at least Handel and Vivaldi is what to do with appoggiatu-ras. If the composers expected appoggiaturas, why didn’t they writethem?Theanswertothatisthatthedissonanceonthebeatwasanath-ema to the theory of the time. So, rather than officially break rules,theywrotewithappoggiaturasinmind,expectingthemtobeinsertedunofficially.Therearecertainrulesconcerningthemandtheirappli-cation.Thefirstruleconcernsthewrittenleapdownwardorupwardofathirdonastrongbeat.Whendescending,thethirdshouldbefilledin.(SeeFigure5a.)Ifascending,thethirdmaybefilledin,ortheupperneighborofthewrittenpitchmaybesubstituted.(SeeFigure5b.)This

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mayevenbedoneinascendingseconds,inwhichthechromaticnotebetweenthewrittenpitchesmaybesubstituted.(SeeFigure5c.)

Theothermajorappoggiaturatobedealtwithisthatofthedescend-ing fourth or fifth. The leap downward of a fourth or fifth onto thestrong beat is frequently jarring, seeming like terrible voice leading.Instead the upper note of the interval is repeated and the descent isdelayed by one note. This gives the strong beat emphasis, which thewritten pitches seem to avoid. (See Figure 5d.) The other method ofdealingwiththisproblemistochangeseveralmorepitches.Thismayseemlikeheresy,butmanyrecitativeswerewritteningreathaste(andsometimesnotbythecomposer),andthelargerchangesimplyseemsmorenatural.(SeeFigure5e.)

Appoggiaturasarenotusuallyperformedifthedropisonamonosyl-labicword.Italianofcoursehassomewords(like“mio”),whichcanbeconsideredmono-orbisyllabicinnature.Whenmonosyllabicwordsaregivenappoggiaturas,theresultingwhineasthenotesmoveseemswrong.Anotableexceptioncanbefoundattheendof“Comfortye”fromHan-del’sMessiah,wheretheword“God”isusuallygiventwopitches.

This covers most of the problems associated with recitatives. Thenext few chapters will cover planning coaching sessions, following aconductor, coaching from the perspective of the stage manager, andsingersauditioningandhowcoachescanhelptheminthattryingexer-cise. InPart2, Iwilldealwithspecificproblemsassociatedwith theBaroque,Mozart,Rossiniandthebelcantomovement,Frenchopera,Verdi, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss, Mussorgsky and otherRussians,operettas,andtwentieth-centurycomposerssuchasBritten.TheInterludeswilldealwithsmallerbutstill importantissues.Someofwhatwillbesaidmayflyinthefaceofthoughtonstylesofsinging,butitisallbasedonpracticalworkwithsingersinthisrepertoire.

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Recitatives•2�

Figures 5a-e Handel — Alcina M excerpts.

(a)

(b) (c)

(d)

(e)

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�1

interlude one

decorum

Webster’s Dictionary defines “decorum” as: 1. whatever is suitable orproper; propriety; congruity; 2. propriety and good taste in behavior,speech,dress,etc.;3.often in pl. anactorrequirementofpolitebehavior.1

In conducting and coaching, that means taking a somewhat stiffstance toward thepeoplewithwhomyouwork.Forexample, a con-ductor should either memorize the names of every member of theorchestra, or he should refer to them by the position they play (i.e.,1st trombone, 1st stand viola, piccolo, etc.). The concertmaster maybeaddressedbyfirstname,butitbecomesawkwardiftheconductorreferstothe3rdhornbynameandaddressesthe1sthornbyhisposi-tion.Theconductororcoachmustkeepallactivitiesonaprofessionalbasis.Theunforgivableslip indecorumthat ismost frequentlycom-mittedisthepersonalattack,frequentlycombinedwithsarcasm.

AsJohnDonneputitsoeloquently,“Nomanisanisland.”Forthatreasonitisimportanttorealizethatmusicisareflectionoflife.Bothareensembleeffortsandcannotbeaccomplishedwellwithouttheinputofothermusicians.With the isolatedexceptionsof electronicmusic,solopianoliterature,andunaccompaniedworksforsoloinstruments,allothermusicmaking isa collaborativeeffort.Thecompositionsofelectronicmusicraisethedistasteofsomepeopleinpartbecauseitisafixedartformwithnopossibilityofspontaneity.

Withthiscollaborationinmind,itisimportantforanymusiciantorealizethat,unlessapersonisnoteventryingtobeagoodmusician,patience should be the overriding factor in all rehearsals. It may, ofcourse, be necessary to apply professional pressure in order to getthingsaccomplished.Somepiecesandpeopleneedextraefforttoreachacceptableperformancelevels.Butassumingamusicianisworkingat

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�2•OperaCoaching

his or her capacity, it is not a good thing to become impatient witha colleague. Such impatience leads to tensions and impedes progresstowardtheidealgoal.

When working as a coach or conductor, it is important to keepthingsonapositivenote.Theefforttoputmusictogethermayocca-sionallymakethingstense,butitservesnoonetoallowthosetensionstodegenerate intosnidesarcasmandpettycomments.Saying thingslike“I’mjustnotusedtoworkingonthislevel”or“Iwasexpectingtowork with musicians, not children” (I have heard both!) serves onlytheegooftheonemakingthecommentandgeneratesterriblefeelingsandhighertensionsasaresult.

Atsomepointitmaybenecessarytodiscussprivately,eitherwithan individual in question or with collaborative colleagues, problemsbeingfaced.Butsuchsessionsareaboutfindingsolutionsto impedi-ments to the desired perfection in the music making. They are notaboutpersonalityslander.Thecoachwhoisunwillingtoworkwithasingerbecauseheorsheis“stupid”willfindthattherealproblemliesmoreinthecoachthanwiththesinger.Someofthegreatestsingersinoperahaveadifficulttimelearningmusic.

Findingawaythroughasinger’sprotectivearmormaytakegreatereffortthanexpected,butanymusicianwillbristleifattackedperson-ally rather than on a professional level. In music rehearsals coachesandconductorsmustalwaysremembertoworkwiththeproblemandnotsimplytodenigratethepersoncreatingtheproblem.Ihavelearnedthatfindingawaytomakethingscorrectcanopenthedoorforasingertobeafargreaterartistthanearlycoachingsessionsmightindicate.Ihavealsolearnedthatresortingtosarcasmcreatesonlyhardfeelings.

Theremaycomeatimewhenitbecomesobviousthatasingerjustdoesnothavethemusicalknowledgeandbackgroundtolearnaspe-cific role in the allotted time. Then it will take great tact to rectifythe problem by replacing the singer, because such efforts can lead tohard feelings and personal confrontations. Other cast members mayhavebuilt friendshipswiththereplacedsingerandfeel threatenedbythereplacement.Themoreprofessionally themusical staffreacts, themore comfortable the transition to a different singer will be for allconcerned.

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��

3Planning coaching SeSSionS, Playing Staging rehearSalS, and Following a conductor

Salieri’s opera Prima la musica, poi le parolecoversonebasicquestionwell.Whichshouldcomefirst,wordsormusic?Incoaching,it depends! One singer will assimilate a role in a different way fromthe next singer. Some prefer working on notes, slighting words andrhythms at first then picking those up completely in later sessions.Other singers cannot function well without the words being accu-rate.Theexperiencedsingerwillknowwhatheorsheneedsandcanhelpplanacoachingsession.Butwithyoungersingers(andevenwithsomeprofessionalones)thecoachisfrequentlythebestjudgeofhowto approach any given piece of music, including knowledge of thosenumbersthatarecertaintocausemajorproblemsinlearning.

If the music is relatively straightforward, the coach might choosetogodirectlythroughoneportion;anentireduet,anaria,orevenalargerensemblecanbecovered,withtheideaofgettingthesingerusedtotheshapeofthewhole.Thenthecoachandsingerworkonspecificerrors,thingsinneedofwork.Thesemayincludecorrectingrhythms,mispronunciations,pitches,subtlenuances,anddynamics.

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��•OperaCoaching

Rhythms may need firming up. If performance tradition conflictswith the printed page, discussion should develop over which shouldtake precedence. The composer’s printed text is always the startingpoint,butBaroquemusicinparticularincludespassagesinwhichtheprintedtextisnotfollowed.Suchpassagesusuallyinvolvethesinger’srhythmsbeingdifferentfromthoseprintedintheorchestralaccompa-niment:amelodicpassagemightbeeveninthevoiceanddottedintheorchestra.Whetherthevoiceshouldalsodotbecomesthepointofdis-cussion.(SeeFigure6a.)Evenmodernpopularmusichassuchthingsintheunequaleighthnotesofjazzrhythms.(SeeFigure6b.)

Figure 6(a) Handel — Alcina — “Chi m’insegna” — shown as written and as it might possibly be sung.

Figure 6(b) “Honeysuckle Rose,” words by Andy Razaf, music by Tomas Waller — © 1929 Chappell.

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CoachingSessions,StagingRehearsals,andFollowingaConductor•��

But rhythms that need to be followed must be corrected. Singersmaynotseeareasonforevenrhythmsversusdottedrhythms.Buttheanswer can always be that the composer did see a reason. The argu-mentmaypaleabitwhendealingwithtranslations,buttheimpulseoftherhythmfrequentlymakesabigdifferenceintheforceofapieceofmusic.InVerdi’sIl Trovatore,ifLeonoradoesnotscrupulouslydottherhythmsinthe“Miserere,”theeffectcanbequitesluggishandboring.

Some coaches even encourage not following the printed score. In“Vedrai, carino,” fromDon Giovanni,MozarthasZerlina sing “qua”severaltimes.Inthepenultimatephrase,sheendswithtwo“quas”inarow.Somecoachesfeelthatthissoundstoomuchlikeaduck,elimi-nating the last “qua.”But, since itcan be sungbeautifully, and sinceMozartclearlyknewwhathewasdoing,mypersonalfeelingisthatitshouldbesungaswritten.

Singers have an uncanny ability to mangle languages when theydon’tknowthelanguageitselfverywell.ItisperhapsunderstandableforasingertoinsertinadvertentlyanadditionalnintheItalianword“costanza,” making it into “constanza.” This added letter is called a“false friend.” The inserted letter is usually one appearing elsewherein the word, and the singer simply repeats it, possibly being unsureof theexactspellingandpronunciationof theword.Anaddedror lcancreepintoanynumberofwords.Partoftheproblemcomesfromtheoldhabitoflearningwordsbyrote,withnosenseofverbalmean-ingorcontinuity.Evengreat singershaveconfessed torote learning.However, ifasingeroftheroleofAdinasings“d’isparmi”insteadof“d’ispirarmi” in the first duet with Nemorino, it is simply carelessstudy and must be corrected. Some corrections are necessary, too,where doubled consonants make a difference. In Le Nozze di Figaro,if Cherubino (in “Non so più”) sings “ogni dona” instead of “ognidonna,” the difference is important. One means “every gift” and theother means “every woman.” While Cherubino may indeed think ofevery woman as a gift, it is still not what he is singing. Professionalsingerscanmakejustasmanyerrorsasstudents.

InDespina’s“Unadonna”aria(Così fan Tutte),shemustbecarefultosingtheword“anni”andnot“ani.”Theformer is“years”andthesecondis“ass/donkey!”

The German composer Richard Wagner is said to have counseledsingerstopayattentiontothesmallnotes,thatthelargenotestakecareofthemselves.Hispointisaptlytaken.Themainnotesofamelodyassungareseldomwrong,butpickupnotesandpassageworkfrequently

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derailduetosingerslearninghaphazardly.Someofthisfaultylearningcomesfromstudyingrolesbylisteningforhourstorecordings,whicharenotinfallible.SingersofgreatreputemakemistakesrightandleftonourfavoriteCDs,andstudyingthemwillreinforcetheirerrorsinanewgenerationofsingers.Thehearingofsingersalsofrequentlyallowsthemtosubstitutewhattheythinktherecordedperformerissingingandnotthetruenotestherecordingrepresents.Usingrecordingsforlearningnotesisnotagoodidea.Usingthemforstudyofstyles,oldertraditions,andthelikecanbeawonderfulidea.AsTiborKozmasaid,“Study recordings before or after — but not instead of.”1 By that hemeant to study recordings before personal study of a role (learningtheshapeandgeneraltempi),thenlistenfornewideasaftertheroleislearned,butoneshouldneverusetherecordingtolearnthenotesandinterpretationofarole.

It should be pointed out that mistakes, once learned, are muchhardertothrowoutandrelearncorrectly.ThisisparticularlytrueinthedifficultworksofRossiniorHandel.Passagework,suchasisfoundineverycharacterinLa Cenerentola,mustbecleanandaccurate.Thisisthereasonnewcriticaleditionsareemerging.Singerscannotlearnthecorrectpitchesiftheyarenotinprint.

Dynamicsarevitally important.Fora fewyears, thegreat singersseemedtosingindynamicsrangingfromfortetofortissimo.Thesoft-estdynamicsungwasnolessthanmezzoforte.Now,withthereturnof ensemble operas to the repertory and stronger-willed conductors(and more conscientious singers!), dynamics are being reinforced.Eventhestandardrepertoireworks,whichusedtobebellowedtotherafters, are now tailored to the printed dynamics. This saves singersin ways they can hardly imagine, and it also gives wonderful shapetoeverynumber.Themitigatingproblemwithgooddynamics is thehugehallswhicheconomicsdemand foroperas today.Still, even theMetropolitan Opera (seating capacity of around 4,000) is reviewingdynamicswithgoodresults,andensemblesgainanincredibleclarityandbalanceifthesingersarenotalltryingfortheloudestvolumethattheycanproduce.2

Coachesalsomustfrequentlyinsistonpropernotelength.Unaccentedsyllables are sometimes held meaninglessly far beyond their printedvalues,provingthatthesingereitherdoesnotknowthelanguagewellordoesnotcare.Theerrorisalmostnevertheresultofcompositionalexcessbutstemsfromthesingerlandingonthesyllableandsimplynotthinkingaboutthenaturalinflectionofthewords.Eventheaccentedsyllablesaresometimeshelddoubleor triple thevaluesprinted.Thisdoesnotrefertothevocaldisplayofholdingthelastnoteofanaria.

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Castmusicalsenseasidethere,sinceit’sa“moment”forthesinger.Butholdingthelastnoteofaninternalphrasemayclashwithharmonies,beunstylistic,andmayrobsingersofneededmomentsofrest.Besides,thecomposerdidnotwriteitthatway!

Thereisalsothefactthatcoachingsessionsmustaddressensembles,bothinhelpingthesolosingersfindtheirnotesandrhythms,butalsoinputting suchensembles together.Thesolocoaching sessionsmustneverconcentrateonlyonthesolonumbers,howeverimportantthesemay be. Inner voices in ensembles must be rehearsed carefully. Anensemble must be sung with good diction, all consonants explodingtogether,allvowelsmatching,andwithallpassagesexactly together.Inaccurate notes or rhythms must be corrected to ensure the truemeaningoftheword“ensemble.”

Articulations in ensembles also must be enforced and balanced.Manycomposerswrotewithdifferentarticulationsforthevariouschar-actersinanensemble.Thishelpstodelineateonecharacterorgroupofcharactersfromanother.Anensemblesuchasthe“Awakening”sectionoftheact1finaleofCosì fan Tutteisjustsuchanensemble.

When two or more texts are sung simultaneously, it will helpimmenselyifsingerspointphrasestotheimportantwords.Thecoachwillsometimeshavetohelpthesingersfindwordsthatarenotaccentedatexactlythesameplaceasthenextcharacter.Thentheshiftingfocusofimportantwordsfromonesingertoanothermakesmuchmoreofthetextunderstandable.Ensembleslikethosefoundinact1,scene2of Verdi’s Falstaff can actually be made clear in this fashion. It maynotbepossibletofollowallfivetextsatonce,butsomethinglikethreetextswillemergeclearlyenoughtofollow.

Thecoachinanoperacompanyisfrequentlycalledupontoarrangeensemblerehearsals.Thesewillincludeduets,trios,quartets,and,some-times,fullerensembles(minuschorus).Asceneliketheauto-da-féinDon Carlos byVerdi is amassof shifting rhythms, tempi, andemo-tions.Evenwithoutamusicdirector/conductorpresent,thecoachmayhavetoholdsessionstoputthedisparateelementstogether,explainingthe piece occasionally measure by measure so that everyone under-standstheshape.

Noneofthoseloveduets(overwhichaudiencesswoon)falltogetherbythemselves.Itisnotonlyasimplematterofmakingnotesfittogether.Questionsariseoftempo,mood,shapeandbalance,andbothvolumeandstructure.TheDukeandGildainRigoletto;Carlo,Eboli,andPosainDon Carlo;thethreeladiesinDie Zauberflöte;therusticsinA Midsummer Night’s Dream by Britten; and the quintet from Carmen arebutafewexamplesofensemblesneedingconsiderablepractice.

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Thelatterissuealsobringsuparehearsaldevice.ThespeedrequiredfortheCarmenquintetisincredible,yetnotedsingershavesaidthat,oncethenumberis learned,thedictionandspeedarenotsoterriblydifficult to achieve. One cannot start rehearsing at full speed! Eachmemberofthequintetmuststartslowlytogetthewordsintohisorhermouth.Itmaybenecessarytobeginusingonlywords,nonotes.Then,as speed is gradually gained, the notes can be added, too. The quickinterchangebetweenvoicesisyetanotherpartoftheprobleminthatfamednumber.Ininitialrehearsals,thecoachneedstohaveeveryonepracticeitrathermechanically.Themeaningandinflectionsofwordscanbedealtwithlater.Startingtoosoononthe“drama”ofthepiecewill probably mean the singers will never be technically secure. TheFigarowhostartsactinghisway through“Largoal factotum”beforegaining the vocal control of the piece will run into major problems.Oncethephysicaleffortsaremastered,thesubtletiesofthewordsareaddressed, including attitudes like sarcasm, flattery, amorous inten-tions,oranger.

Anumberlikethedelightfulargumentinact2ofSondheim’sInto the Woods, “Your Fault,” is best rehearsed as rhythm divorced frompitches.Everytimeasingersaysthewords,“Soit’syourfault,”heorshemustpointtothepersonbeingblamed.Whenthenotesareadded(andthenthestaging),thistypeofpreparationwillservetomakethenumberquitesecure.

Therewillofcoursecomethedaywhentheconductorentersthepic-ture.Thecoach,inanticipationofthatday,shouldrehearsequickerandslowertempos,keepingthesingersflexible.Settingatempoordeliveryofalinetoosoonmayactuallyinhibitmusicalordramaticexplorationof thescore.Theconductorwillprobablyhaveslightlydifferent ideasandsowillthestagedirector.Conductorsaretheguidinglightforanyproduction.Ifthatlightissometimesdim,itisnotforthecoachtosay.Theconductorentersandbeginsshapingthewholeoperaasheorsheseesfit.Heorshehaspresumablystudiedmusicalstylesandthethrustofthedrama,andmusthelpmakethestagedirector’svisioncometolife. At this point a good coach is absorbing as much as possible theexacttempitheconductorsets,gettingthosetempiintohisorherbodyforthoselaterrehearsalswhentheconductormaynotbeavailable.Thecoachmayevenwriteintothescore,“alittlefaster”or“moresustained.”Thisonlymeansthat,forthatcoach,theconductoristakingaslightlyfasterormoresustainedtempothanthecoachexpected.

Thecoachalsoshiftsalittleatthismomentfromcoachto“orches-tral player,” because it is no longer the coach’s job to help shape the

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singers. The conductor is there for that as is the director. The coachnowmustfolloweverytempochangeasexpertlyaspossible.Listeningtothesingingisnolongerhisorherjob(atleastintheory).Thecoachisnowsupposedtoreflecttothebestofhisorherabilitythesoundthatwillissuefromthepit.

Followingthetemposetbyaconductorisnotreallysuchadifficulttask.Thecoachkeepsthattempo,watchingtheconductorperipherallyuntil the conductor changes that tempo. Dynamics may come fromtheconductorbutarealsoprintedonthepage.Carefulreproductionof those dynamics will help reinforce in the singers what they willhear(andwhatdynamicstheyshouldbesinging).Atthisstage,itmaybecomeclearthatcertainsingersarehavingproblemsnotduedirectlyto the presence of the conductor. If a singer has pitch concerns, thecoachneedstopointthoseout.Itisnotthattheconductorisincapableofhearingsuchthings,buttheconductor’s jobmaybeonadifferentmusicalplaneatthatmoment.Thecoachcantakeasingerasideandpointoutpitchproblemswithoutundueattentionbeingdrawntothesinger.Ifsingershavedifficultiesindealingwithcertainentrancesorrhythms, it may be incumbent on the coach to find a solution. Oneverygoodsolutiontosomeoftheseistherhythmicsubtext.

Indramaasubtextmightbedefinedasatextbeingthoughtwhileotherwordsarebeingspoken.Inopera,therearefrequentlymelodic(andrhythmic)passagesleadingintoavocalentrance.Thesereflecttheideasthesingershouldbethinkingatthatmoment.Ifthesingerwillgivethosemelodiesatextthatleadsuptotheirentrance,theyshouldhave no problem making the tricky entrance accurately. This text isthoughtrhythmicallybutnotsung.AgoodexamplecomesfromDon Giovanni. In the aria “Vedrai, carino,” Zerlina is asked to wait twomeasures between her phrase, “sentilo battere, sentilo battere,” and“toccamiqua.”Manysingerstrytosingonemeasureearlierthantheyshould.Theverynextphrase isexactly liketheone justsung,exceptthat the two empty measures are now sung with the text “sentilo —battere.”IfZerlinasimplythinksthattextduringthefirstphrase,shewon’tmakethemistakeagain.

Duringpianorehearsalsconductorsmustsometimesstopconduct-ing in order to make notes, but this does not mean that the coachshould stop playing. The coach must follow the conductor explicitlywhenheisconducting,however.Theconductorinrehearsalsmaymakemistakes, and the conductor may not follow the singer as the singermightlike.Thecoachistofollowtheconductorandnotthesinger.Theconductormaynotbefollowingthesingeronpurpose, tryingtoget thesingertofollowhim!Iftheconductormakesanerrorduetoadistraction,

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rather than let a rehearsal come to a screeching halt, the coach isadvisedtohelpalittle,althoughthiskindofhelpmustbemomentary.

Acoachmayhavedifferingideasonhowtoimproveanygivennum-ber,butitisnotthecoach’sjobatthatmomenttoputforthhisorherideas.Atsomebreakinastagingormusicalrehearsal,heorshemightraiseaquestion,givea suggestion.But theconductormayhaveverygoodreasonsnottodocertainthings.Eveniftheconductor’srefusaltotakeasuggestionisbasedontheirlackofknowledgeofthescoreortheirown insecureparanoia, itdoesnotmatter.Theconductorrulesthemusic.Ifatempoistooslowortoofast,itisthedirector’sjobtomakesuggestionsandisnotthejobofthecoach.

Oneconductor,whoshallgonameless,wasonceconductingapro-duction of La Traviata. During the Violetta/Germont duet in act 2,atthewords“Ahilsupplizioèsispietato…,”theconductortooktheAncora più vivo withemphasisonthevivo. Ithadasevere,headlongrush.Thedirectorandsingersallcomplainedthatthetempowastoofast.Whenthecoachmentionedthesamething,theconductorasked,ratherbelligerently,whyitwastoofast.Thecoachpointedoutthat,atthat tempo, thedissonances,whichVerdiplaces later in thepassage,go by so quickly that they don’t register. Rather than creating moretension,thequickertempolessenedthetension.Theconductoragreedwiththisevaluation,andheslowedthetempotothetraditionalone.

Coachestakenote:Itisnotalwaysjustthesuggestionthatismade,butitmaybeinpartthetoneusedingivingthesuggestion!

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�1

4the Stage director’S PerSPective

(This chapter was written by Victoria Vaughan for this volume and covers the work of the coach and of others from a different perspective.)

The coach accompanist is a vital member of any opera stagingrehearsalandisoftentheprimarylinkbetweenthemusicalstaffandtheproductionteam.Stagingusuallybeginsoncethecoachhasalreadyworked with the singers and has briefed them on the tempi, rubato,andnuancesof theconductor’s interpretation, inadditiontostylisticconsiderations and other musical preparation. Generally, the coachaccompanist plays the piano (or harpsichord) for stagings, with theconductor or chorus master/mistress present to establish the contactbetweenthe“orchestra”(piano)andthestage.Sometimesacoachwillberequiredtoplaythepianowithoutaconductorpresent,andocca-sionallyseveralmembersofcoachingstaffwillbeinvolved,sothat,forexample,onecoachmightconductwhileanotherplaysthepiano.

Thefollowingsectionscovertheprocessofoperastagingsandsug-gesthowthecoachaccompanistcanbestpreparefortheserehearsals.

1. PrOduCTiOn PersOnnelThestage director1workswithadesignteamtocreatetheproductionconceptforthepieceandisinvolvedwithtalkingtothesingersabouttheirindividualcharactersinlightofthisconcept.Heorsheusesthe

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stagingsessionstogivesingerstheirblocking:wheretobeonthestageat any moment in the opera and how to motivate their movementsonstagedramatically.Additionally,thedirectorwillhelpthesingerstorelatetoeachother’scharacters.

Thedirector’smainresponsibilityistotellthestorytotheaudience,and this is the primary goal of the staging rehearsals. Because eachscenehasadifferentlevelofdramaticintensity(thoughthisdoesnotnecessarilycoincidewiththemusicalscore),thedirectoristhepersonwho plans how each rehearsal period will be used. Stagings vary inlengthbutaretypicallythreehourslong.Itisworthrememberingthatrecitativetakeslongertostagethanariasorensemblepieces,becauserecitativespresentconsiderablymoredramaticmaterialtotheaudience.Morestavesoneachpagemaygivetheimpressionthatmorepageswillbe covered in each staging, but this also does not follow, especiallywherealarge,bustlingchorusisinvolved.Asarule,tenpagesofrec-itativeandariawilltakeuponethree-hourstagingsession.Thistimeperiodcouldinclude:

Amusicalrun-throughatthestartoftherehearsal, toremindthesingerabout the conductor’s interpretationof the section tobestaged.

Basic “blocking out” of the scene. Initially, this will probably bedone without music; then sections of the music will be addedandmayberepeated.

Reviewing the blocking and running through the scene with themusic.

Finalalterationsofthestage“picture”bythedirector.

The director relies on the coach accompanist to provide an accu-rateindicationofthetempianddynamics,sothattheycanusethistodeterminethedramaticpaceoftheopera.Generally,astagingcoversconsecutivepagesofthescore,andthecoachwillusuallybeginatthetopofthesectionandplayitinsegmentsuntiltheassignedpageshavebeenblocked.Thisofteninvolvesplayingthesamesectionoftheoperaover again and again; such repetition should be expected, as it is avitalpartoftheprocessforthesingers,whoarelearningthedirector’sinterpretationfortheveryfirsttime.

Althoughthedirectoristhepersonwhodecidesonthecontentofeachstaging,thestage manager (SM)andassistant stage manager(s) (ASM[s])are inchargeof theactualexecutionof this time.Rehears-als in opera houses where contracts are created in accordance withunionregulationsarethestrictestabouttheuseofrehearsaltime,and

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TheStageDirector’sPerspective•��

the SM is responsible for facilitating this. Much of the SM’s work isdoneaheadofthestagings.Initially,heorshewillbegiventhescenicdetailsintheformoffloorplans,tobeusedto“tapeout”theflooroftherehearsalstudio.Thiscanbeacomplextask,becausesceneryoftenhasseveraldifferentlevels.Theremaybestepsuptodifferent“floors”ofabuilding,orsectionsofthesetthatmoveonwheels(wagons).

The SM may share with the director the responsibility of present-ingvisualmaterialstothesingers,suchaspicturesofthesceneryandsketchesofthecostumes,andexplainingthecoloredtapeonthefloorthat denotes acting areas. SMs also help the singers with the practi-cal elements of staging, byproviding them with the necessary propsand costume pieces. Many companies will use “rehearsal props andcostumes” — that is, props that represent the item but are just forrehearsals.Examplesoftheseincludescrollsofpaper,whereusingtherealitemwoulddamageitlongbeforethefinalperformance.Themostcommon rehearsal costume items are rehearsal skirts, which allowthe singer toget the feelofwearinga longskirtwhile traversing thestage. Singers particularly like to work with rehearsal corsets if theywillbewearingtheminperformance,becauseitisimportantforthemto become accustomed to the restraints on the ribcage. Male singerswilloftenwearrehearsaljackets,suchastailcoatsandvests,forasimi-larreason.Sneakersarenotusefulrehearsalshoesbecausethewearertendstomoveverydifferentlyinthem(normallywithaddedbounce).Womenmaywear“charactershoes”andmenoftenwearanoldpairofformalshoes.Thisaffectsthestanceandvocalproductioninadditiontomovement,whichiswhysingersliketowearthemfromthefirstdayofstagingonward.

Thestagemanagementteamworksinclosecontactwiththecoach-ingstaff,especiallyinthefinalstagesofrehearsal.Themostcommoninteractioniswithregardtostartingplacesinthescoreduringrehears-als,sothattheSMstaffcanfollowthestageactioncloselyandmakenoteofentrancesandpropuse.Thisisespeciallyimportantoncetherehearsalshavemovedtothetheater,whenthepianoisintheorches-trapitandinclosecontactwiththemaestro,whilethestagemanagerisonthesideofthestageandeffectivelyoutofcontactwiththemusi-calstaff.

Theassistant director(s)spendsmuchoftheearlyrehearsalstakingdownnotesabout theblocking, so thatheorshehasavisual recordinthescoreaboutwhereeachpersonisonstage,whichpropstheyareholding, and other important information about the staging. Laterintheprocessit isnotunusualfortheADtoworkindividuallywithcertainsingersonelementsofdramaticdetail.Thismayhappenina

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differentlocationfromthemainstaging,andacoachmaybeassignedtoworkwiththeADforthesetimes.TheADofanewproductionisinvariablythepersonwhorestagestheshowtogoontouroratanewvenueiftheoriginaldirectorcannotstageit.IfthereisnoAD,theSMstaffwillabsorbtheseresponsibilities.

Achoreographer willprobablybeinvolvedwithanyoperathathaseven a small amount of dancing. The choreographer might have hisorherowntroupeofdancers,orperhapsasingledancertoperformasmallinstrumentalsectionofthepiece.Sometimesthechoreographerisemployedtoworkwiththechorusmembers,eithertoteachthemadance(suchasawaltzforDie Fledermaus,oramazurkainYevghenyi Onegin),ortoinstructtheminpostureandstylisticnecessities.Somecompanieswillemployapianistwhoworksonlywiththedancers,butmanywilluseacoachaccompanistforshortchoreographedsections.Oneimportantthingtonotehereisthatdancersarenotusuallyversedinthesamemusicalvocabularyassingersandpianists.Foronething,counting“beats”tendtooccurindivisionsofeight(ratherthanfour)andoftenchoreographerswillgroup twoormoremeasures togetherforthepurposeofcreatingtheirdances.Inotherwords,dancerswillfeelasixteen-barphraseasaunitofeightbeats. Ifyouare indoubt,playthemusiconthepianoorsingittothechoreographer,toclarifywhereitisthattheywantyoutostartorstopplaying.Indoingso,youwillalsohelpanysingerswhoareinvolvedinthedancetoknowhowthemusicalparameterstieinwiththefootwork.Asalways,besuretokeepdetailednotesabouttempi:Ifyouplayatatempothatistoofastfordancers,theymightinjurethemselves.Anexcessivelyslowtempoisequallydangerous,especiallyifthereareliftsinvolvedintheroutine.

2. THe reHearsal PrOCess

Eachrehearsalisplannedtomakebestuseofthetimeandresourcesavailable.Schedulingfortherehearsalwillthereforebebasedonroomsizeandavailability,whichscenesneedblockingaccording towhichsingersareavailableandwhen, theneedsof themaestroandchorusmaster,andtechnicalconsiderationssuchaswhetheritispracticaltomovefromonescenicsetuptothenextinorder(ortotakescenesinadifferentordertospeedupthesetchange).Whenyouarriveearlyfortherehearsal,makesurethatthepianoisinasensibleplaceforyoutobeabletoseeboththeactionandtheconductor.

Atthestartofeachstaging, themaestroorthemaestro’sassistantmayrequestamusicalrun-throughofthepagesthatarebeingcoveredforthatrehearsal.Thisismostlikelyforafirststagingofagivenscene,

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butdoesnotnormallyhappenforreviewsessionsora fullrunofanact.Ifthesingersarenotalreadyfamiliarwiththestage,thescenerywillbe explained,oftenwithphotographsofpreviousproductions ifit is “in repertory” scenery. Drawings of the floor plan will show anaerialviewofthestage,whilerenderingswillillustrateafrontal-viewpicture(sometimesincolorwithcharactersdrawnin)toshowhowitlooksfromtheaudience’sperspective.Thismightallseemunimport-ant for the coach accompanist, but there are several reasons to payattention to these details. Singers up on high platforms onstage willreactverydifferently to theconductor than if theyaredownstage infrontofhisnose,anditispartofthecoach’sjobtobeawareofthis.Itwillhelpyouwhenyouneedtoassisttheirmusicalpreparationofdif-ficultstagingelements.

3. VOCaBulary

Thereareafewwordsandphrasesthatyouneedtoknowbeforewegetto your first imaginary staging. Production staff uses many of thesewords as if they are part of normal English parlance, which can befrustrating to the novice coach accompanist. After a few weeks, youwillfindyourselfusingthemfluently,butthelistbelowwillgiveyouaheadstart:

“Cross Stage Left” or “Stage Right”:Thisreferstothedirectioninwhichanactorwalks,asseenfromhisorherperspectivewhilefacingtheconductor.Whentheaudienceseesthesinger“crossingstageleft,”itmeansthatthesingerisgoingtotheaudience’sright-handside.Ifyouneedtorefertothestagemanager’sscore for singer’sblocking,youwilloften seeXSLorXSRwrittenasshorthand.

“He crosses upstage and she counters downstage”:Abitofhistoryhere, fromwhenstageswerehigherat thebackthanthey were at the front (before the audience seats were built in tiers).In this example, if the male actor “crosses upstage” and away fromtheaudience,thefemalewill“counter”(gotheotherway)bywalkingtoward the audience. A sloping stage is called a “raked stage” and ismadewedge-shapedbyconstructinga largeplatformthatsitsontopoftheactualstage.

Legs, Wings, and Cycs:Thelegsarethelongcurtainsofblackfabricthathangoneithersideofthestage.Thegapbetweeneach leg iscalledawingandisnumberedby

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theSM,withthelowestnumberbeingthefurthestdownstage(calledL.1orR.1forshort).Acyclorama(orcyc)hangsalongthebackofthestageandcurvesdownstageatthesides.Ratherthanbeingpainted(asabackdropinthesamepositionwouldbe)thescreenhaslightspro-jectedontoit,andthelightsorimagecomesfrombehind.Ifitisflatratherthancurved,itiscalledarearprojector(RP)screen.Ascrimisahugepieceoffabricthatoftencoverstheentireprosceniumopeningatthefrontofthestage.Upcloseitcanbeseenthatthefabricisonepieceofseamlessnettingthathasoneparticularlyusefulproperty: ifthelightingisturnedonbehindthescrim,thefabric“disappears,”butifitislitfromthefrontyoucannotseethestagebehindit.Thisallowsthe scenery or actors to move behind the scrim undetected by theaudience.Despitethephysicalbarrier,thesingerswillhearthecoachororchestraperfectlywellfrombehindascrim,andtheywillhavenoproblemseeingtheconductor.Othercommonscenicelementsincluderaisedplatforms,stepunits,andflats(wallsmadebystretchingacan-vasoveralargewoodenframe).

There are several excellent books that cover technical stage termsindetail.Ionazzi19922hasagooddictionaryoftermsforalltheatri-caluse,whileClark20023 isdesignedspecifically foradvancedoperastudents.

4. anaTOmy Of a sTaging

Synopsis:CarmenhasbeenwarnedbyhergypsyfriendsthatDonJosé,heroldlover, is in the area and has been behaving strangely. Defiantly, shechooses tomeethimoutside thebullringwherehernew lover,Esca-millo(theToreador),iswinningabullfight.DonJoséhasafierytemperandcannotbelievethatCarmenhasbetrayedhim.Hetriestoremindherofthelovetheyoncesharedandconvincehernottoleavehim,butCarmendeclaresthatshewillliveanddieafreewoman.TheoffstagechorusthensingsofEscamillo’simpendingvictory,andDonJoséreal-izesthatCarmenistrulyinlovewithEscamillo.Heconfrontsherwiththisaccusationuntilsheadmitsthatitistrue.

The following excerpt is an illustration of how a director mightapproachpartofthefinalsceneofBizet’sCarmen.Mostscenesarecon-siderablylongerthanthisexample,butitshowsyouthelevelofdetailthatneeds tobecovered forapotentially frenetic segmentof action.Thisparticularexcerptinvolvesonlytwocharactersonstage,andtherearenotusuallyanylargescenicunitsonstageduetotherequiredsize

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ofthechorus/paradeatthestartofthisscene.Letusimaginethatthereisadoorattherearofthestageleadingtoanimaginarybullring,butthatotherwisethestageisbare.

During a staging, the director will normally indicate where eachdramaticmomentstartsbyreferringtothetextorthemusicalmate-rial.Heorshemayask for theaccompanist toplayasegmentof themusic on the piano, especially if it is to be finely choreographed, orif there isanystagecombatwheretheprecisetimingof theactionisvitalforsafety.Thephrasesarestagedindividuallyorinclustersthenstrungtogether,andfinallytheentiresegmentisrehearsedfullyafewtimes.Consideringthatthis isaone-minutemusicalexamplefromathree-houropera,yougetsomeideaofthelevelofrepetitionthatcanberequired.Astagingof this scenewould takeapproximately10–15minutestocomplete,includingquestionsfromtheactorsandmusicalcommentsfromthecoachormaestro.

Take a few minutes to look at the example below (Figure 7), andperhapsplaythepiano-vocalscorebeforeandafterreadingthestagedirections,toseehowitallfitstogether.Youmightalsolistentosomerecordings toseehowtheoffstagechoralelementsareclosely tied inwiththisparticularstaging.Nineteensectionsarelabeledonthescore;these correlate with the numbered items below and illustrate how adirector might break the scene into dramatic phrases. Each stag-ingdirectionisfollowedbycommentsinitalicsthatsuggesthowtheactionmayaffectthemusicalpresentation.

Measure �.DonJoséstandsbetweenCarmenandherexit(throughthedoortothebullring).Shelooksforawaytogetaroundhimbutcannotfindone.Luckily, our bullring door is upstage; this is helpful when the tenor is hoping to catch a musical cue for his first note, as Carmen will automatically be downstage of him.

Measure �.DonJosélooksintoCarmen’seyes,butsheturnsawaytoavoideyecontact,whichmightgiveawayher secret love forEscamillo.Free tempo here allows the actors to create tension as she looks away from his gaze.

Measure �.Shewalksaroundhimtotryandexit,buthegrabsherarm.Again, recitative timing allows them to maneuver the grasp safely.

Measure 10. Hegrabsherotherhand,sothatshestandsdirectlyinfrontofhimforthefermata(allowing for connection with the pit).

Measure 11. Shepullsawayfromhisgrasp.This might occur at any time in the music, but if it happens on the word “ jamais” it will add strength to the text.

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Measure 1�. She begins to walk around him; she feels very self-assured about the ease with which she is leaving him. She will walk upstage of him so that she can face downstage and sing out.

Measure 1�. TheybothstopmovingatthesoundofthefanfareandthenoiseofthechoruswhoclaimEscamillo’svictory.Theybothlook in thedirectionof the sound.Eye contact between soloists and conductor is not required during the offstage chorus. This

Figure 7 Bizet — Excerpt from Carmen (Act IV).

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facilitates their turn upstage and allows them complete freedom of movement for the next three dramatic “beats.”

Measure 20.CarmenlooksatDonJoséwithanexpressionofsmugpride;thechorusissingingaboutherlover.

Measure 2�. DonJosérealizesthatEscamilloisCarmen’struelove.We see it in his eyes, expression, and body language.

Figure 7 (continued). Bizet — Excerpt from Carmen (Act IV).

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Measure �0. Carmen sees that Don José now fully understandsabout Escamillo and that perhaps she has pushed his patiencetoofar.Sheseesthatheisbothfuriousanddesperate.

Measure ��.Shetriestoexitagain,thistimeknowingthatifheisdesperate,hemightbecomeviolent.Josérushesupandgrabsherwrist.He has almost two full measures of the new tempo before his musical entrance, but due to the cross rhythms and lack of


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TheStageDirector’sPerspective•�1

clarity in the orchestral accompaniment, he will need to catch the conductor’s beat.

Measure ��.Hespinsheraroundtofacehim(asbefore). Measure ��.Asshefaceshim,hegrabsherotherwrist(asbefore). Measure �1.Shestruggles,pullingbackward. Measure �2.Hepullsherupclosetohisface;shetriestoavoidhis

stare.In avoiding his stare, she can either turn downstage to draw his


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gaze forward to the audience, or she might choose to face the other way because she does not need to sing.

Measure ��.Carmenstrugglesandmanagestopullaway,makingJoséfalltothefloor(perhapstohisknees)intheprocess.More triplets against duplets (“laisse moi”) illustrate her frustration with being captured by José.


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Measure ��.Hereachesupandgrabsherskirtasshetriestoleave.During this act, the gypsy girls usually wear traditional Spanish costume, including a lacy headdress, and each carries a fan.

Measure �2. She pulls the skirt away and turns to confront thesprawledJosé—shefeelsempoweredoncemore,asheliesthereatherfeet.Again, she can make eye contact with the maestro as she stands still above Don José at thefortissimo tremolando.

Measure ��.Tauntingly,sherepeatsthatshedoesindeedloveEsca-millo.Shepatronizeshimwiththephrase“jerépéterai.”

5. OBserVaTiOns and exPlanaTiOnsThisexampleisperhapsexcessivelydetailed,andmorecloselyresem-blesthelevelofexplanationrequiredwhenworkingwithstudentsing-ers than in professional opera. It shows the breakdown of dramaticphrases(sometimescalled“beats”)quiteclearly,however.Inadditiontotheconsiderablemovingaroundthattheactorsneedtoaccomplishwhile singing, it includes references to their expressions and someindicationsastothemotivationbehindthestagemovement.Oftenitisdirectlydrivenbythetext(as#54usestherepetitionofherdeclarationasaformoftaunting),butitcanalsobelinkedwiththemusicalmate-rial.Thesoundsfromthebanda internaandoffstagechorusallowthestageactiontocometoahaltasCarmenandDonJoséstoptolisten.Thishelpsintensifythemomentsofaction,muchlikeameasure’srestofG.P.canaltermusicaltension.Theoffstagemusicalsoallowsforthedirectortoaddtothedramaticmaterialgiventohiminthe libretto.Whilethisexampleusesthemusical“soundtrack”toshowJosé’sreal-ization of Carmen’s love for Escamillo, it could have been used in avarietyofotherwayssuchasafightsequence,orperhapssomechorusmembersrushingacrossthestageastheyarrivelateforthebullfight.


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Ofcourse,notallscenesarelikethis,andnotalldirectorsrequirethislevelofattentiontodetail(thoughsomeprefermore).Butseveralfactsstillremainaboutthissmallsectionofmusic.First, it is impor-tant thatbothCarmenandDonJosépayattention to thedirectorialdetail, not just for their own characters but also to learn about theapproachthattheircolleaguewilltakeincreatingtherole.Ifnothingelse,itensuresthephysicalsafetyofthesingersduringconflictorfightsequences.Theassistantdirectorwillbetakingcopiousnotestoensurethat thedirector’svisionanddetailsof theblockingarerecordedforlaterrehearsals.Similarly,thecoachaccompanistshouldpayattentiontothesedetails,sothattheycansupportthesingersastheyrehearseanydifficultblockingduringtheinitialstagingprocess.IfthedirectorhastoldDonJosé thathe ispsychopathicallyderangedbytheendof theopera (rather thandrivenbyenvy, lust, love,ordespair), itwill altertheway that theactorcreates therole,whichwill in turnaltersomeofthe timbral elementsof thevocalproduction. If thecoachaccom-panistcanincorporatethedirector’svisionofdramaticstructureintotheircoaching,theymaybecomeanindispensableadditiontothepro-ductionteam.

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��

5the art oF auditioning

Some might question why a book on coaching should includea chapter aimed at singers. The answer is simple: Coaches are oftenaskedforadviceandopinionsaboutthispartofthesingingprofession.Themorepointstheyhavetoconsider,thebettertheiradvicewillbe.

Forsingers,gettingajobinvolvesauditioning.Somepeopleconsiderthisasjustsomethingtoendure,neverconsideringthedifficultyandcomplexitiesof theartofauditioning. In the followingparagraphs, Iwill write some things that fly against tradition but are all based onrathersensibleconsiderationofproblemsthateveryoneacknowledgesbutwhichfewsolve.

1. aCCOmPanisTs and reading musiC aT sigHTInpreparingforauditions,fewsingersconsiderthefactthattheaccom-panistorcoachwillbesight-readingmusic,hopefullywithsomemusi-cality and perception. Any number of pieces are absolutely standardrepertoire,andeverycoachshouldknowthem.Buttherearefarmorepieces that any given coach may not know. Therefore taking a diffi-cultRachmaninoffsongintoanaudition(withoutpriorarrangementwith the accompanist) is probably not a good idea. Stephen Sond-heim’smusicalsareverypopular,anditmightbethoughttobeagoodidea,whenauditioningformusictheater,totakehisworksalong.The

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assumptionis false,becausehis tessitura, forwomeninparticular, isquitelow(thusnotshowingthevoicewell),andtheaccompanimentsaresometimesquitenasty.Besides,producersanddirectorsprefertohearsongsthatshowthevoicewellandnotthelatestandmostover-sungworks.

Asimpleruleofthumbisthis:Ifthesingercannotmusicallyreadthemusicatsight,singingonlyoneline,heorsheshouldnotexpectthecoachtobeabletodoso.AnyariafromDonizettimightbepossi-ble,orVerdiorGounod,buteventheresomeariaswillbeunfamiliar.Considerthecabaletta inLucia di Lammermoor toLucia’sact1aria:“Quandorapitoinestasi.”Whatiswrittenandwhatissungarequitedifferent,bothduetotheusual interpolationsandduetothesudden(unwritten)tempochanges.Coachesshouldknowthisaria,buteveniftheydoitisalwayshopedthatalittlerehearsalwillcleartheinterpre-tativeideasup.Ifnorehearsaltimeisavailable,ascoremarkedclearlywillhelpthecoachandsingergetthroughthearia.

Ontheotherhand,itisalwayspossiblethatacoachcanplayevenadifficultpieceatsight.Irecentlyreadthe“HonorMonologue”fromVerdi’s Falstaff in an audition, and, although I had not played it inover20years,thepieceissologicalandwonderfulthatitstickstothecoach’sfingersandmindlikehoney.

2. PreParing THe musiC

Itusedtobenecessarytotakehugepilesofscorestoauditions.Thisisnolongerafactoflife.Withafewexceptions,thoserunningauditionsdonotmindphotocopies,becausetheyknowthatsingersareusingpho-tocopiesasamatterofconvenience.Inthisway,asingercanprepareathree-ringednotebook(probablywith¾-inchrings)withjusttheappli-cablearias in it,andheorshewillnothave tobe thumbingthroughpageafterpageofananthologytryingtofindthechosenexcerpt.

If realbooksareused, it isquite important thatPost-it®notesareusedtomarkthepages.Theystick,buttheydonotleavearesidue.Itisaforbiddensintospendanxiousmomentsthumbingthroughascoretryingtofindthecorrectpageswhiletheaccompanistandthoserun-ningtheauditionswait.

Inpreparingtheauditionnotebook,youcanletpageslieflatandbemarkedwithallmannerofcuts, interpretativenotes,andeven tempoindications.Youcanevenleaveoutomittedpages.Metronomenumbersarequitehandy,andmostcoachescangetfairlyclosetothosenumbers.

Make certain that the complete music has been copied. It is quitedifficulttoaccompanyamusicallinethatconsistsofonlyanoccasional

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TheArtofAuditioning•��

stem(thenoteheadsbeingaboutaninchabovethetopofthepage).Itisequallyimpossibletoinventthebottomnoteswhenthelefthandisomitted.Oncopymachines,understandinghowtousethereductioncapabilities will save many an audition. Usually something between94percentdownto85percentwilltakecareofallarias.Whileitmaybewonderfultomarkvocalthingsonthemusicduringvoicelessons,thesingershouldseetoitthattheaccompanisthasacleancopy,withthemarkingsaddedbeingonlythosepertainingtotheirmusicalexe-cutionofthepianoreduction.

Ifthesingersingsanariaintwoversions,cutandcomplete,puttwocopiesoftheariainplace.Installationofthemusicinthisbinderneedsa littledefensivediscussionaswell,andacoachcanexplain iteasilyto a singer. Many singers put their music in three-ring binders witheach page of music being on the right-hand side, the left side beingonlythebackofthephotocopy.Thismeansthatthecoachmustturnaftereverypageofmusic.Italsomeansthatthecoachhastoeliminatesomeof theaccompaniment,and inawork likeGretchen am SpinnradebySchubert, this isnonsense.Tapingthemusicbacktobackorcopyinginduplexmodewillmaketurningpagesmuchsimpler.Thenthe singer can punch the holes and insert the pages into the binder.Thesingershouldalsokeepasupplyofgummedreinforcingringsonhand,becausetheywillbeneeded.Inariasofthreeorfourpages,itisevenpossibletomakepagesthatfoldout,eliminatingtheneedforanypageturns.

Anothermethodforinsertingpagesinthebookisbyusingplasticsleeves.Therearecoacheswhodisagreewiththismethod,findingthesleevestobedifficulttoturnandtooglossy,butofequalimportanceisthefactthatthispreservesthemusicalittlebetter,andmarkingscanbemadealmostaseasilyonthemusic.Thoughdifficulttofind,plas-tic sleeves inmattefinisharedefinitelypreferable.Theshinysleeves,thoughtheyarefineforkeeping8x10glossyphotographs,arequitereflectiveof lightand,dependingonthe layoutof theauditionroomvis-à-visalightsource,canmakevisibilityofthemusicimpossible.Ifglossyisallthatcanbefound,thecoachcandealwithit.

Thesingershould labeleachariacompletelyenoughfor thecoachtofindthatnextselectionwithoutthesingergoingbacktothepianist’sside.This isusuallydonewitha tabontheoutsiderimof thepaper,with the title carefullywrittenon thepaper tab.Thecoachcan readthetitleandturntoiteasily.

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3. enTering — THe PerfOrmanCe

Manydirectorshavesaidthattheauditionbeginsattheentrance.Thewayasingercarrieshimorherselfandacts inthisdifficultsituationtellsthedirectoralotaboutthewaythesingerwillreactinrehearsalandperformancesituations.Thedirectortakesinthe“costume”oftheauditioner(howtheyaredressed)andnoticesmannerisms,ifany,thatmightbearwatchingforthenextfewminutes.

Mostauditionsareconductedwithagrandpianocenterstage.Evenif the auditions are being held in a room of some size, the piano ismostfrequentlyinthecenterofthe“performing”space(inclassroomsthisisthelecturespace).Thesingerwillwanttostandinthecrookofthe piano to sing the number. This does not mean standing five feetin front of the piano, nor does it mean standing somewhere nearertheendofthepiano.Thecrookofthepianoiswherethepianobends,wherethefrontofthelidisflippedback.Thisputsthesingerintheir“set”andmakesthemlookliketheyareperforming.

Performingiswhatauditioningisallabout.Thesingermustalwaysconsider theauditionprocessasyet anothervenue forperforming. Itshould not be considered as a time for thinking, “Please love me!” Itshouldbe takenasa time forsingingandenjoying theartandactofsinging.“HereIam.Enjoymyabilities.Ifyoulikeme,hireme,butI’mgoingtoenjoyperformingforyouatmyverybestfortoday.”Thesingershouldalsotakethisasacuetobeasmusicalandinsightfulasheorshecanbe.Eventhoughauditioningdoesnottakeplacebeforeapayingaudience,themostsuccessfulauditionsarethosethattreatthemomentasifitwere.“Express,don’timpress”isaverygoodruletogoby.

Sometimesanauditionwillbeheldinaspacewherethepianoisnotcenterstage.Itmaybefartherupstage,oritmaybeanuprightoverattheedgeofthestage.Thismaybeforconvenience,oritmaybebecausethesettingonthestagedoesnotallowforapianotobewheeledintothespace.Insuchcasesthesingerwillhavetofindtheoptimumspacetosing,usually indicatedbystronger lightingdownstagecenter.Thisis,inactingterms,called“findingthelight”anditmayshowthedirec-torsomevaluable insights into thesingeras tohowtheyhandle thisdistractionandtotheirknowledgeofstagesavvy.

Assuming the piano is centerstage, how does the singer get to thepianist togivehimorher themusicandthenswingaround into thecrook?Thisdependsfirstontheplacementoftheentrancedoor.Iftheentranceissomewheretostageleftofthepianist,whetherfromjustoff-stageleftorfromsomewhereinfrontofthestage,thesingerfrequentlyproceedsonthedownstagesideofthepiano,turnshisorherbackon

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those running theauditions,places themusic in frontof thepianist,andgivesinstructions.Thismethodofentrancekeepsthesingeralwaysin full view of those hearing the auditions. It also means that, whilegivinginstructions,thebackofthesingerisfacingtotheauditorsforupto30secondsorevenmore.Thisisnotaverygoodidea.

Recentlyithasseemedtometobeabettersolutiontoproceedontheupstagesideofthepianototheareajustupstageoftheaccompa-nist.Thismeansthatthelowerbodyissomewhatoutofsightforabrieftime,but itmeansthatthepileofmusic isplacedoutofviewontheupstagesideoftheaccompanist.Thebackisthusnevertotheauditors(not thebest sideof thesinger).Thesingercangive theaccompanistinstructionsastotempi,cuts,andsoon,withoutawkwardlyhavinghisorherbacksideshowing.Then,whenthesingercomesaroundtothecrookofthepiano,heorshecanseetheauditors,theauditioningspace,andpossiblywheredistractionsare.Whenenteringfromstageright,thegoalisthesame…gototheupstagesideoftheaccompanist.

Thejourneytothecrookofthepianoisthendonethroughasimplewalkaroundthebackoftheaccompanist(lookingup,notdownatthefeet),andgoingintothecrookofthepiano—never turning his or her back on the auditors,butkeepingfaceforwardwhilesteppingintothecrookarea.Thesingerisnowreadytoannouncehisorhernumber.

A word should be inserted here about giving instructions to theaccompanist. Any cuts should be clearly marked (see Chapter 1 forthebestmethods for this).Scribblingout theunusedmusic issloppyand negates the possibility of ever opening the cut. Again, if twoversionsaresometimessung, includebothcopiesinthefolder.Somesingers are even using computers to scan the music, make cuts, andputinimportantmarkings.

Itisagoodideatoputmetronomenumbersatthetopofthemusic.Evenifthecomposerhasgiventhem,theymaynotbequitewhatthesingerwants.Ifasectionpicksupintempo,indicatethenewmetro-nomenumberthereaswell.

Singinglightlythefirstphraseofthevocallineisalsoaverygoodideatosetthetempo.Thevocalmusclesofthesingerknowthespeedquitewell.Thesingershouldnotsingtheaccompaniment,norshouldtheyconduct.Thoughmanysingersthinkofthemselvesasconductors,fewactually are, and they may actually (read into that usually!) give thewrongtempo.

Anytempodeviation,whetheraccelerando,affrettando,ritardando,or whatever, should be noted. The easiest way is to put a horizontalsquiggleofthedurationoftheritardando.Ifthetempoistoincrease,astraightlinewithanarrowheadindicatingafastertempocanalsolead

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uptoaverticallineindicatingtheendofthetempofluctuation.Some-timesdrawinginthefamouslittleindicationofglasseswillbesufficienttolettheaccompanistknowthatheorshemustwatchforsurprises.Ifaprintedindicationistobeignored(andmanyare),itisagoodideatoscratchoutthemarkingnotbeingfollowed.

Ifembellishmentsarebeingmadeorcadenzasadded,anindicationofexactlywhatisbeingdoneisalwaysquitehelpful.Itwillensurethattheaccompanistwillnotjumpaheadofthesingerorplowaheadandnotlisten.

Pianistsaresight-reading,andthemoreasingercanhelpthemdothat,themoresecuretheauditionresultswillbe.

4. singing THe PieCe

Unless told otherwise beforehand, the first thing a singer will do isintroduce themselves and the piece. Only introduce the first pieceunlesstoldotherwise.Itmaysoundsilly,butitisagoodideatopracticethispartoftheaudition,too.Itisamazinghowmanysingersstumbleovertheirownnamesandthenamesofthepiecestheyaresinging.

Thefollowingisanapproximationofreallybadannouncing:

“My name is JohnDoe,andIwillsing“Chegelidamanina”fromLa BohèmebyPuccini.”

The run-on introduction is quite unclear. Equally unclear is thefollowing:

“MynameisJohnDoe,andIwillsing“Chegelidamanina”fromLaBohemebyPuccini.”

These mistakes are unfortunately not at all uncommon. The firstfliesbysoquicklythattheauditorshavenoideawhatthepersonhassaid.Theyarestilltryingtofigureoutwhoissinging,andtheaccom-panistisalreadystrikingtheA•.Thesecondmakestheauditorsthinksomethinghashappenedtotheirears.Speakingisanintegralpartofmanyoperas,andclearspeakinginanauditionteststhatability,too.Eveninauditionsforcollegeentrance,singersneedtospeakclearly.

Thetitleofthepiece,unlessithasagivennickname—“Musetta’sWaltz,”the“ToreadorSong”—shouldbeannouncedinthelanguageinwhichitisbeingsung.Theoperashouldalsobeannouncedinthecorrectlanguageoftheperformance.Forexample,ifasingerissing-ingOnegin’saria,thetitleshouldbeeitherEugene Onegin orYevghenyi

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TheArtofAuditioning•�1

Onegin,dependingonwhetheritissunginEnglishorRussian.(Andnotethatsomeauditionsrequireariastobesunginonlytheoriginallanguageandkey.)

Acting in auditions is dependent on the kind of audition beingsung.Certainlycollegiateauditionsshouldnotincludefallingdownasifindeathorevenleaningontheedgeofthepianodramatically.Stillsome“attitude”isquiteappropriatetoprojectcertaincharacters,suchasMusettaorZerbinetta.

Terribly long arias, like Zerbinetta’s “Gross’ mächtige Prinzessin”fromRichardStrauss’sAriadne auf Naxos,shouldprobablynotbepro-grammed. If theyareand theauditorasks for thepiece, itwouldbegoodtoofferonlypartofit.InthecaseoftheStrauss,thelasthalfisuniversallypreferred.

Once the introduction is complete, the singer can take a momentto collect their thoughts. It is not necessary then to look over to theaccompanist and to nod furiously in order to get them to play. Thepianist isglancingat themusic,makingmentalnotesaboutwhere tobecareful,notingonemoretimethepresenceofcuts,andgettingintothemoodofthepiece,too.Theywillbewatchingquitecloselytoseewhenthesingerisready.Evenafterthesingerlooksupconfidentlyinanindicationthattheyarereadytosing,itmaystilltakeamomentortwoforthepianisttoplaythatfirstnote.

Intheauditionsituation,asingershouldrealizethattherearegoodandbadaccompanists.Someaccompanistsseemtoknowexactlywhatthesingerwilldoevenbeforethesingerhasfigureditout.Theywillsupport, follow, anticipate, and sight-read music beyond the singer’swildest imagination.Unfortunately,therearealsoaccompanistswithlesser accomplishments. They may be excellent players but may notbeabletofollowandreadatthesametime.Theymaynotbeabletoabsorb the chromatic additions of Fauré at sight. They may stumbleover even the easiest passagework, leaving the singer with a feelingsomethingakintobeingleftstandingaloneinthecenterofthearenaandsurroundedbylions.

The coach’s job is to become as good at the audition process asthey can be. The good audition accompanist is rare, and yet there isnoreasonforthat tobethecase.Mentalpreparationandknowledgeofrepertoiremakethejobnotsoterriblydifficultasthelackofgoodaccompanistsmight indicate.Thewider the repertoireat theaccom-panist’sbeckandcall,thelessheorshehastoabsorbinstantly.Itisofcoursealso thesinger’s job torehearsewith thecoach ifpossible,or,barringthepossibilityofthat,warnhimorherofimpendinghurdles.

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Thesingerwillhelpthis(andimprovehisorherauditionsimmea-surably)bysingingthemusicclearly.Thismeansnotonlygooddiction,but it also implies clear rhythms, accurate counting, observance ofrests,andevenknowingthemusicperfectly.Theclearertheyareaboutmusicalthings,thebetterthecoachcanfollowtheirintentions.

Even the best accompanist will make mistakes on occasion. Thevariablesaresuchthatitisboundtohappen.Itmayevenbeafatiguefactor.Theaccompanistmayhaveplayedacompleterun-throughofanoperaorafullrecitalthenightbefore.Earliersingersmayhavetaxedthementalcapacitiesforsight-readingtothelimit.Whatevertheproblem,thesingershouldacknowledgenomistakes,neithertheaccompanist’snortheirown.

The singer who sings confidently and acknowledges no mistakeswillconveythecontentofhisorhermusicalideaswithfargreaterpre-cision,whiletheonewholetseveryslightimperfectionbotherthemisneverreally“in”thepieceandconveysnoneoftheemotionalintensityof the composition. (Listen to someof thoseopera recordingswherethesingershad littleornoexperiencewithsinging theirroles in thetheater—someweremadewiththesingerpracticallysight-singing—andyouwillheareverynoteinplacebutlittlemusicalunderstanding,no innatephrasingthatcomeswithrealknowledgeand involvementintheproceedings.Whatpriceperfection!)

Showingmistakestotheauditoronlyletsthemknowthatthesingerknew they made a mistake. It really is better not to telegraph thatinformation,sinceitisjustpossiblethattheauditordidnotnotice.

Nosingershouldeverexpectanaccompanist to transposeapieceatsight.Ifthemusiccannotbefoundintheproperkey,thenitshouldnot be programmed. Most arias should be sung only in the originalkey,theexceptionsbeingsomeariasthatare“always”transposedsuchas“Lacalunnia” fromIl Barbiere di Siviglia byRossini (usually sunginCmajorinsteadofD).Traditionallytransposedariasexistinprintin the transposed keys, so expecting the coach to transpose them atsightisnotanoption.

Showinganyrancorwhenanaccompanistmakesamistakeisnotagoodideaeither.Ifthemistakesareserious,thoselisteningwillknowquite well and need no magnifying gesture from the singer. It justmightalsobepossiblethattheaccompanisthasasayincastingorcol-legiateadmission,andpointinguptheirinadequacieswillnotsetwellwithhimorher.

Thesingershouldproceedasifthemusicisemergingperfectly.Ifatempoiswrongandtheaccompanistimmovable,thesingermusteitherdealwithitbytakingtheaccompanist’swrongview,ortheycanstop

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andgraciouslysuggestthatthey,thesinger,musthavegiventhewrongtempo.“I’msorry,buttodayIseemtoneedaslower/fastertempoandIgaveyouthewrongone.Couldwetakeitalittleslower/faster?”

In such circumstances, thanking the accompanist may take greatstrength,butthesingermustgetusedtotheideaofdoingjustthat.Itmakes the singer seem graciousand professional, and it puts a posi-tive spin on the end of the audition. Besides, the accompanist mayhavemadeamistakewhiletryingtocoverupanequallyhugemistakemadebythesinger.Thesingerissometimesoblivioustothedroppedverse or the embellishment not taken; they may be totally unawarehowmanycurvestheythrewthestrugglingaccompanist.Thegracious“thankyou”healsallwounds.

Thesingershouldremain“inthepiece”throughouttheentirepiece,and this includes introductions, interludes, and postludes. While itis a good idea to shorten some of those lengthy pieces, it is not pos-sibletotakeoutallsuchmusic.Zerlina’s“Vedrai,carino”hasalengthypostludeofseventeenmeasuresthatcaneasilybeshortenedtoroughlythree.Butsomesingersassumethattheonlyimportanttimeforthemtobe“with”themusicisduringtheirsinging.Thisassumptionisfalse.

IonceplayedfortwoauditionsbacktobackfortheroleofSusannainFigaro.Thesingersbothsang“Dehvieninontardar.”Thefirstonegaveaperfunctoryreadingoftherecitativeandactuallyputonanactofbeingboredduringthe introductiontotheariaproper(itcan’tbeshortened!). The singing of the aria was not bad, but the mood hadbeenshattered,theauditionlostlongbeforethat.

Thesecondsingerwasclearly“inthegarden”beforetheslightintro-ductiontotherecitativewashalfwaythrough,andshemadethemostoftheariaintroductionbylookingaroundandabsorbingthenightair(whichshe“felt”evenifwecouldnot).Attheend,shecappedtheaudi-tionbyleavinganartificialroseonachair.Asageneralruleitmaynotbeagoodideatouseprops,butthisonceitwasmightilyeffective.Shewas in the garden and absorbing the moment for all to understand.Shegottherole.

This ending moment can be just as important as the singing.Whetherinauditionorinrecital,itisimportanttostaywiththepiecetoitscompletion,andthismayactuallymeanasecondortwobeyondthelastvibrationofthepiano.

5. ansWering QuesTiOns

Aftersingingthefirstselection,thesingercanrelaxandgatherhisorherenergy.Theauditorwillbewriting thoughtsdownandperusing

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therésuméforquestionsheorshemaywanttoask.Thisisnotaner-vous timebuta release time,a timewhen thesingercan let thefirstpiecegoandgetmentallyclearedforthenextone.

Theauditormayaskanynumberofquestions.Itisthesinger’sjobtoanswerascompletelyandasclearlyaspossible.Itdoesnotmeanthattheyshouldvolunteerreamsofinformationbeyondtheparametersofthequestion,butthesimplestanswermightnotgiveenoughinforma-tion either. Here is a brief exchange of questions and answers, givenfirstwithwronganswersandsecondwithhelpfulanswers. (And thesingermustneveranswerwith:“It’sintherésumé.”Ifitwereclearlyintherésumé,theauditorwouldprobablynotask!)

Version 1:

Auditor: Verynice.Doyouhappentoknowtheotheraria?

Singer: Otheraria?

Auditor: Theotherariathatcharactersingsinthesameopera!

Singer: Oh,that.No.

Auditor: Whatelsedoyouhaveinyourrepertoire?

Singer: What?

Auditor: Whatrepertoirehaveyoubeenstudying?

Singer: Mozart, Rossini, Brahms, and Donizetti. A littleFrenchstuff.

Auditor: Anddoyoudance?

Singer: No.

Auditor: Whatelsedoyouhavewithyou?

Singer: Oh, I don’t know, uh, … I guess I could sing theGounod.

Auditor: No,thatisn’twhatIneedtohear.Well,Ithinkactu-allythatIhaveheardenough.Thankyou.

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Version 2:

Auditor: Verynice.Doyouhappentoknowtheotheraria?

Singer: Iamstudyingit,butitisnotquitereadyforperformancetoday.

Auditor: Isee.Whatelsedoyouhaveinyourrepertoire?

Singer: I’vebeenstudyingthearias fromDon Giovanni andCosi fan Tutte by Mozart. I’ve been looking at theBarber of Seville aria.IhaveworkedontheariafromLucia di Lammermoor. I’ve been preparing a set ofBrahms lieder for a recital next month. And I havesomeReynaldoHahnmélodiesforthatsamerecital.

Auditor: Whereisthatrecital?

Singer: Atmyoldcollege.I’mreturningasanalumtosingforthem.

Auditor: That’saniceidea.Doyouhappentodance?

Singer: I’vehadonlyalittleformaltraining,butItap-dancedin the show Anything Goes in high school. I havestudiedandI’mgoodatballroomdancing.

Auditor: That’squitehelpful.Whatelsedoyouhavewithyou?

Singer: IhavebroughtwithmetheariafromGounod’sFaustandtheariafromMassenet’sManon.

Auditor: Let’sheartheGounod.

(after the Gounod)

Auditor: Thankyou.

Singer: Thankyou.(Gathers up music and leaves confidently)

Inthegoodexchangeabove,itisimportantthatthesingerhasmen-tionedanupcomingrecital.Eventhoughitisareturntoacollege,itis

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a“gig,”anditdoesn’tmattertotheauditorwhetheritisapaidperfor-manceornot,itisaperformanceforwhichpreparationisbeingmade.Thesingerisworkingintheprofessioninsomecapacity.

6. seCOnd seleCTiOn — PrOgramming THe audiTiOn

The second selection to be sung may be selected by the singer or bytheauditor.Itdependsonthevenueandthewaythingsaredone.Thesingermustalwayspresentaprintedlistofpossibleselections(calledarepertoiresheet),andthesecondselectionischosenfromthatlist.Thesingermayevenplantosingonepieceand,onthedayoftheaudition,changetoadifferentselection.Collegeentranceauditionsusuallyaskfor two or three selections of the singer’s choosing, but professionalauditionsmayrequiremuchmore,includingarangeoflanguagesandstyles.(Thoseprintedrepertoiresheetsarebecomingmoreandmorethenorm.)

Thesingershouldrealizethatwhichpiecesareplacedonthelistcanmakeorbreakanaudition.Thepieces shouldnormallybe fromoneFachandnotcrossoverintooddterritory.ItmaybeveryshowyforasopranotosingIsoldeandtheQueenoftheNight(ithasbeendone!),butitisanultimatelyfutileideabecauseitonlyconfusesthelistener.Even programming a nearby Fach can be dangerous. For example asopranomaybeabletosingZerbinetta(Ariadne auf Naxos)andAnneTrulove (The Rake’s Progress), but the physical/vocal demands frombotharesoextremethatneithermakesagood“curtainraiser”totheother,anditisalmostcertainthat,iftheyarebothwrittendown,thesingerwillbeaskedtosingtheotheronesecond.

Even closer might be “Lohengrin’s Narrative” (“Im fernen Land“)andFaust’s “Salut demeure,” anda singermight verywell beable tosing both easily. But if the tenor programs the Wagner first, he willmost probably put too much weight in the climax and have nothingleftfortheGounod.Programmingthereforemeansbothwhatpiecesand what order they are sung. If the singer does not want to sing alighter/higherpieceafteraheavier/lowerone,programsomethingelseorsingthelighteronefirst.

Thesecondpieceisusuallychosentoshowsomethingdifferentfromthefirst.Thismaybe language, style,orfioritura.A sopranoable tosing“Tuchelevanitá”fromDon Carlo shouldbeabletosing“Ernaniinvolami” from Ernani just as well, but the earlier Verdi has muchmorefioritura(passagework)andtripsupmanyotherwisegoodVerd-ian sopranos. If it is given as a possibility, it will be picked, becausemost people know how difficult the aria is. (This actually happened

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at a Metropolitan Opera District Audition — the soprano sang Don Carlo beautifullyandErnani withconsiderablymoreeffort.)Thetotalpackagemustbepresentedinthebestwaythesingercan.

7. exiT — reaCTiOns fOr THe singer

Itispossiblethatasingermaybeaskedmorequestionsafterthesec-ondpiece.Heorshemayevenbeaskedforathirdselection.Thesingershouldtaketimegoingintothispiece,gatheringuphisorherthoughtsandvocallyremainingstrength.Nooneshouldrushthesinger.Ifthoserunningtheauditionsaskforathirdpiece,theyareinterested,andthesingershouldletthemwaitamoment.

If they are not asked for a third selection (or even a second), itmeansnothing.Asthelastnoteofthepiecefades,theyshouldstandquietlyuntildismissed.Itmaytakeafewmomentsforthosehearingtheauditionstotalkamongthemselvesabouttherelativemeritsoftheaudition.Thesingerwillusuallybedismissedwitha simple, “Thankyou.”Asmentionedabove,thisrequiresnocommentfromthesingerotherthanareciprocal“Thankyou.”

Then the singer gathers up the music and walks positively fromthe stage. This exit (on the downstage side of the piano) can be justas importantas theentrance.Thesinger should thank theaccompa-nist and show absolutely no reaction to their own singing, whetherthat means “Hooray, I nailed that high note” or “I really sang like apig today.” Some reaction may involuntarily escape, and that can beendearing,butgenerallyitisagoodideanottoshowemotionsabouttheperformancejustpassed.

Iwasoncetoldofanactualauditionthatendedinthefollowingway.Itshowshowimportantansweringconfidentlyandclearlycanbe.

Auditor: Thankyou.

Singer: IguessIknowwhatthatmeans.(Starts to leave.)

Auditor: Waitaminute.Whatdoesthatmean?

Singer: ItmeansIdon’tgetthejob,ofcourse.

Auditor: No, it means the audition is over. That’s all “thankyou”means.There isnotmuchotherway toendanauditionexceptwith“thankyou.”Whatyoujustsaidmeans you don’t get the job. Your audition had put

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youinthe“maybe”file.But, ifyoudon’thaveconfi-denceinyourauditionandability,neitherdoI.

We all haveauditions that are wonderful, auditions that go betterthanwecouldever imagine,and thenagain thereare thosedayswewould like to crawl intoa hole and forget the entire thing everhap-pened.Thesingerwhoishuman,warm,andagreeableisalwaysaheadofthegame.Ifthesingershowsclassallthewaythroughtheaudition,everyonewillknow.

Occasionallysomethinghappensinauditionsthatcanbesototallyunexpectedthatthesingermustreactandthinkonhisorherfeet.Thiscanbeanegativereactiontoachosenselection,anoisycellphonecallinthemiddleoftheaudition,orapersonal,sexualadvancetowardthesinger.The last isaclassless thing for theauditor todo,but thathasnot stopped some famous directors from doing just that. The singershouldbeaspositiveasheorshecanbeinanysituation,defendinghisorherchoiceofmusic(“Itfitsmyvoice,andtheoperaisbeingdonealot lately”),anddefending themselveshowever theymight—includ-ingusingbold-facedlies—togetawayfromthedirector.Itmightbeaploytoseehowmuchintegritythesingerhas,butitmightalsobejustacrassaffront.Thesingermustnotberude(iftheywantthejob),butcompromisingthemselvesmightnotsecurethedesiredposition/role.

Thecoachneedstounderstandthesethingsandpreparethesingerfor various eventualities. You just never know what will happen inthe audition process. During the actual audition process, the coach/accompanistmusttrytobeassupportiveaspossible,andthismayjustincluderunningmusicalandpersonalinterference.Theodd,thought-less,andpersonalrudenessoftheauditors,whilenotdefensible,isjustone more variable in the audition process. No wonder singers dreadtheprocess.Thepositiveattitudewillhelpwardoffnegativeproblems.

Iwillincludehereabriefwordaboutauditiondressforsingers.Menhaveiteasy:Theyshouldwearasuit(blazerandslacksarefine),dressshirtandtie(turtleneckshirtsarealsoacceptable).Apockethandker-chiefisokay,too,butnovisiblebodypiercings(exceptmaybeasmallearring).Womenshouldweara“party”dress,meaningsomethingthatisdressybutnottooformal.Womenmaywearsomejewelry.Menandwomenshouldbepreparedtowearstreetmakeup,particularlyif theauditionvenueisalargestage.Stagelightscanmakefacesfadeaway.Blondsfrequentlyneedtodarkentheireyebrowsslightly.Theauditorneedstobeabletoseetheface,butitmustnotlookgrotesqueeither.Moderationisagoodthing.

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8. THe COaCH as audiTiOnerCoacheshavetogetjobs,too,andthatmeansplayingforconductorsandproducers.Conductorswillwantthecoachtofollowthem,andtheywill alsowant to test theirknowledgeof standardrepertoire.Preparingvarious selections ranging from Mozart to Puccini is not too tax-ing.Butthecoachshouldknowthattherearesomefamousauditionexcerptsforcoaches.AsmentionedinthechapteronStrauss,theact3openingofRosenkavalier is infamousfor itsdifficulty.Equallywellknownisthe“JudenChor”inSalome,alsobyStrauss.Inthatexample,it isexpectedthatacoachwillplaythepianoandsingachosenpart(astheywouldhavetodoinacoachingwherethatpartwasnotcov-ered).The“BasketScene”inVerdi’sFalstaffisalsoadifficultchallenge.Butmostauditionsdealwithstandardrepertoire.

The conductor will also be listening for interpretative ideas, goodand bad. In the Toreador’s aria (from Carmen), it is not a good ideato“interpret”theswaggeringrhythmintheaccompaniment,butitisbetter to play it straight. In these auditions, it is important that thecoach has also studied the orchestral score at least enough to knowwhyapieceneedstogoonewayandnotanother.

Realize that coachesneed toknow thebasic repertoiremore thanthe isolated speciality. The Metropolitan Opera once hired a coachbecause he could simultaneously sing and play Lulu by Berg. It is adifficult andchallenging work toplay, and itwas entering their rep-ertoire.Thecoachwasimpressiveinhisabilitytodothattask.Unfor-tunately,afterthatseasonhewasletgobecausehedidn’tknowworkslikeL’Elisir d’amoreorRigoletto.

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interlude two

dealing with the diva/divo

Into the livesofeverycoachmuststep thehigh-strungdiva(female)ordivo(male),andtheycanbeextremelydifficultpeoplewithwhomtowork.Telltalesignsofbeingadiva/oarethephrases“Iknowthatalready,”ortheequallytelling“Iprefertodoitthisway.”Whentheybegin correcting your languages, then you know you have an egostandingbeforeyou(unlessyouneedtoboneuponyourlanguages!).

Very strong-minded singers who are not divas or divos exist, ofcourse,andtheycanexpress(orargue)theirpointswithequallystrongconvictions. But the true diva or divo takes her or his opinions anddesires forexpressionas theonlyway, sometimes in the faceofverystrong reasons why such ideas are not viable. Their ideas frequentlyhavearingofunmusicalityaboutthem.Theproblemissometimesnotsomuchtheideasbutthedogmaticwaytheychoosetoenforcethemovereventhemostcogentreasonsforprovingthemwrong.

Thepointofcoachingistoinstructasingerinthecorrectwaysofthemusic.Correctmeans,inthiscase,stylistic,dramatic,andmusicalaccuracyandshape.Sowhentheychoosetheirowncourseoremulatetheir favorite recording rather than take the coach’s suggestions, thecoachmustdecidehowtodealwithit.Theproblemmayinvolvesome-thingasbasicaswhentoholdahighnote(ornot),whetherinfacttosingahighnote(thatdoesnotstemfromthecomposer’spen),oreven

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thebasictempoitself.Thefactthatsomeonehasdoneapassageinonefashion on a recording is not a terribly valid argument for its beingcorrect,merelythatthereisprecedencefordoingitthatway.

Thefirstproblemarisesusuallywhenthereisadesiretoshowoffaparticularnote,but thecomposerhasgivensuchanaccompanimentthatholdingitbecomesimpossible.Itsometimestakesgreatdetermi-nationandpatiencetoexplainthereasonswhyanotecannot,withanytaste, be elongated. This samepatiencemustbe employed indealingwiththedesiretoaddtheunwrittennotes.Traditionsmustbemet,ofcourse,butsingersarenotalwaysasadeptatsingingtheaddednotesastheypresumethattheyare,andacoachmustbetactful(butsome-timesquitefirm)infindingotheroptionsthatareinorder.

An example of the “correct” tempo can even arise in an aria asfamiliar as Liù’s “Tu, che di gel sei cinta” (from Puccini’sTurandot).Evenwell-schooledcoacheslovetostretchthebasictempooftheariaouttosomethingmuchslowerthanPuccini’smarking.Thisaffordsnoroomfor thestylisticallycorrectexpansionat thehighnotesordra-matic phrases. A singer must be made aware of not only the correcttempo but the reason why it is correct (and the metronome numberitselfmaynotbeenoughofareasonforsomepeople).

Conversely,inGounodthecoachmayhavetostressthatGounod’smetronomenumbersarealmostuniversallytooslow.NoonewilleversingMarguerite’s JewelSong (fromFaust) at the tempohe indicates.TheMargueritewoulddieandsowouldthemusic.Ontheotherhand,it isgoodtorealize thataslightlyslower than“usual” tempoaffordsthe singer the possibility of singing the repeated “Réponds, réponds,répondsvite”withoutadrasticritardando.

Anotherimportantpossibilityinhandlingthediva/oistodiveintothelanguageanditsimplications.Thiswillincludethestagedirections(intheiroriginal languagesifpossible).Thismakesthesingerrealizethattheymustworkandnotthrowattitude.IfVerdiusestheterm“unfildivoce,”thecoachmustfindoutifthesingerunderstandswhatthatmeans.(Literally,itmeans“onestrandofvoice.”)Andtheymustdis-cusshowtoachievethis.

In the aforementioned aria of Liù, the weighty importance of herusingtheword“Tu”withaPrincessmustbeexplained.Fewsopranoswill have considered that fine point. In using the informal form for“you,” Liù is stripping away the distance between Princess and slaveandisaddressingTurandotwomantowoman.

Itisusuallyeasiesttodealwiththediva/obytakingano-nonsenseapproachtowhatgoesoninthecoachingandbyshowingthemthattheir attitude, so carefully constructed around their persona, does

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InterludeTwo•��

notfazethecoachinthe least.Flatteryiswonderful initsplace,andcomplimentsshouldbeusedwhenworkistrulygood.Butthecoachwho does nothing but pass out the compliments is serving neitherthesingernorhimselfverywell.Mostsingers,eventhoseinquestion,wantto learnthemusiccorrectly,andtheywillrespectthecoachallthemoreforbeinghonestandthorough.Theyarepayinggoodmoneyforexactlythat.Emptyplatitudesarenothelpful.Ifthesingerdoesnotwishtofollowthecoach’sadvice,andthecoach’spointwasvalid,thenthecoachcanalwaysrefusefuturedealingswiththatsinger.

Thedivaordivowhopersistsinretaininghisorherattitudesarounddirectorsandproducerswillquicklyfindtheyarenothiredagain,sothecoachwillnothave todealwith themmuch lateranyway.But itcanbehelpfultoletasingerknowthathisorherattitudeswillnotcutmusterwithotherseither.

Italianoperahouseshavealwayshadprimadonnas…andprimouomos,andsecondadonnasandsecondouomos.ItishistoricallypartoftheItalianoperahousestructure.Buttheslangversionofthatposi-tionisadiva/oandmightjustaswellbereferredtoasaprimadonkey,fortheyarejustasheadstrongandstubbornandfrequentlyknowevenlessthanthatanimal.

Whytheseattitudesexistcanstemfromanynumberoffactors.Per-haps a singer is vocally ill at ease and having problems with a role,vocally, emotionally, or dramatically. The coach, in taking the no-nonsenseapproach,canactuallygetthroughthe“defense”andgettotherealheartoftheproblems.Itisforthatreasonthatcoachesmustconsiderineachcoachinghowtogetatproblems,andhowtoignoretheimagethesingertriessohardtomaintain.Itmaymakeworkingrelationshipsdifficult,butitmayalsojustmakethesingerrealizethatthecoach,whodealswiththeattitudes,isthebestfriendheorshecanhaveoutsideofavocalteacher.Polishingaroughmusicalgemintoasparklingcreationtakestimeandtalentfrombothsingerandcoach.

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2Considerations

This part will deal with specific aspects of style and other problemsthatariseinparticularoperasfromcertaincountriesandcomposers.

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inTerlude THree

COmParing COmPOser sTyles

Manychaptersinthisbookcomparevariousvocalstyleswithanother,inasensepittingcomposeragainstcomposer.Whatmakeseachcom-poserindividual?Everycoachmustdecidethesethingsforthemselvesandmustcodifythethingsthatareacceptableintheworkofonecom-poserandforbiddeninanother.

Foragoodexampleofthis,onemightcompareWagnerwithPuc-cini.Theslightsobinthevoice,quiteappropriateinworksofPuccini,wouldseemoutofplaceandstylisticallyincongruousemanatingfromaWagnerianhero.Conversely,anactingstyle thatmightsuggest thegrand gods and goddesses of Wagner would be quite wrong for therealisticcharactersinPuccini.

Similarly,ametronomicpacemightbeperfectforanensemblefromaMozartianopera,butasimilarsteadinessinRichardStrausswouldkillthebeautyofthework.Strausshimselfsaidthatatempomarkingisreallyonlygoodforfourorfivemeasuresatbest.

Themaindifferencesareusually found in thewayeachcomposertreatsthesettingofwords.InthechapteronMussorgskyandRussianopera, we will find that the pacing of the music depends heavily onthe dramatic pacing of the words. Sometimes what seems as thoughit should musically proceed at a steady pace will require breaks, alldependentontheflowofthewords.

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Inpreparingascore,acoachmustknowtraditionsandlanguages,but he must also understand the different ways in which each com-poser treats diacritical markings, dynamics, ritardandi, and the like.IfPuccinineglectstowritea tempo (ashefrequentlydoesinTosca),itdoesnotmeanthatheexpectsoneritardandotoincreaseonthelastone. If so, the music would come to a complete standstill. For thesethingscoachesmustuseeverytoolpossibletogetatthetruth:record-ings,sourcebooks,traditionbooks.

Even composers of seemingly equal style have major differences.Salieri and Mozart would seem to be quite similar but are not. Dueto the strangewaySaliericadences (ascompared toMozart’s impec-cable senseofmusicalpunctuation), therecitativeswrittenbySalieriaremuchmoredifficulttobringoffthanMozart’s.Acoachexpectingtoworkinexactlythesamewaywithanytwosimilarcomposerswillfindhimselffacingthosedifferenceswithinminutes.

Anotherconsiderationisfoundintheharmonicdifferencesbetweendifferentgenerationsofcomposers.SingerstodayarenotattunedtothemeaningindicatedbythechromaticsofMozart.Duetoconstantexpo-sure to the harmonic language of Wagner, Berg, Britten, and others,singersarenotawareoftheimportanceofMozart’schromatics.Asim-plelookattheendoftheSextetinMozart’sDon Giovanni willshowhowchromaticElvira iscomparedtotheothercharacters.Hercharacter istrulyinanguish,tryingtostandaloneagainsttheirforce,whiletheoth-ersaremerelyangryorhaughty.SingersofElviraareusuallystrugglingtocut through the texturesandarenot thinkingabout theanguishedlineMozarthasgiventhem.Eachphraseisalsotwiceaslongasthosesung by other characters. When they are made aware, they begin tounderstandthenatureoftheensembleandcharactermuchmore.

In the famous “Là ci darem la mano” duet, Zerlina’s infamouschromaticsasshewavers,notbeing“forte”enoughtowithstandDonGiovanni’sadvances,tellreamsabouthercharacter.(Theyalsosome-timestellreamsabouttheintonationofthesinger.)

Awell-sungportamentoisquiteacceptableinPuccini.Heevenasksforit,asdoRossini,Verdi,andBellini.ButMozartalmostneverasksforsuchthings,andtoplaceonewithinaphrasefrequentlyseemsjustasoutofplaceasanunwrittenritardando.

Thehardestthingforacoachistokeepthedifferencesofcompos-ersinhismindandtokeeplookingatmusicwithfresheyes.Thingswealloverlook,eitherthroughtoomuchfamiliarityorthroughmusi-cal saturation from other styles, are frequently things the composerconsideredquiteimportant.Thisistrueaswelloffermatas,boththoseprintedonnotesandthosewritten(orimplied)onrests.InRigoletto,

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InterludeThree•��

forexample,inthefamousaria“Cortigiani,vilrazzadannata,”Verdigives Rigoletto the words “Tu taci?” He follows this with a fermataandthenthesighed“Ahime!”ButfewbaritonestakethetimetoallowMarullonottoanswerthequestion,“You’resilent?”Theyploughaheadintothevocallyresplendent“Ahime,”buttheyinflectitwithonlysomeofthepathositneeds,becausetheytooknofermata.ThisissomethingMozart would not have done and which Puccini would have mademoreobvious.Suchcomparisonsareessentialincoaching.

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6Baroque oPeraS and mozart

It will seem strange to some thatBaroqueoperasandWolfgangAmadeusMozartareputtogetherintoonechapter.ItwillseemequallystrangetoaddtothatdiscussionthesongsofFranzSchubert.Butthereisamethodtothisapproach.

The early operas of Mozart are, in essence, late Baroque in style.Heeven inheritedcertain forms fromVivaldi,Scarlatti,andHandel.A frequentdevice found inBaroqueoperaswas tobeginandend inthe same keys. Mozart did this in his operas without exception. Healso used the da capo aria at times. The attention to words, thoughspecifically treateddifferentlyby thecomposers in thedifferenteras,stillbearssomeofthesametraits,andvocaltechniquesretainedsomesimilaritiesthroughthatentireexpanseoftime.Andthesonglitera-turewillbepartofanyoperacoach’swork.

1. BarOQue OPera TheBaroqueoperasencompassawiderangeofstyles.Inasense,includ-ing Monteverdi and Handel in one grouping called Baroque is likeputtingPucciniandJohnAdamstogethertoday.Inbothcases,thecom-posersareseparatedbyabout100yearsandsharefewstylistictraits.

Monteverdi is such an important composer that his operatic styleneeds some important discussion. Despite a prolific operatic output,

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only three of his operas are regularly performed today. L’Orfeo, L’Incoronazione di Poppea, and Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria are theonlysurvivingoperaswehavefromhim.Thoughtheyarenotidenti-cal in style, they share several consistent traits.Most scenes in theseoperasareconstructedofalternatingpassagesofrecitativeandarioso.Whilesomepassagesmightbecalledmonologues,therearefewout-rightariasasweknowtheminthenineteenth-centurysense.Therec-itativesmustbetreatedsomewhatfreely,butwithstrictobservanceofnotevalues.Itisthetempothatalters,nottherhythm.Theariososec-tionsfrequentlyareinatriplerhythmorinamarchrhythm.Thekeyto these passages is found in the “swing” of the section. Monteverdimayhavealullaby(Arnalta’s“Oblivion”),whichrocksinagentletwotothemeasure,orhemayhaveadancefeelingalmostakintoamod-ern(nineteenth-century)waltz.

Onepractice found inMonteverdi that lastedall theway throughthe bel canto period was the use of C to indicate recitative. Thoughinlateryearsthisbecamesynonymouswith4/4time,inrecitativepas-sagesthesemeasureshave,ineffect,nometeratall.Theyusuallycon-tain fourquarternotes’worthofrhythm,but theymay justaseasilyexpand to include five, six, or more beats. This is not a mistake. InMonteverdi, for example, the measure lengths have more to do withphrasingofverbalnuancesthananymusicalimpetus.

InordertostudyasceneortwofromMonteverdi,letusbeginwiththeL’Incoronazione di Poppea.IntheprologuetoPoppea,theusuallyemployedOverturehasmanyhemiolas,butstillisineitheramajesticpace(bars1–17)orisdancelike(bars18–33).LeppardrepeatscertainsectionsoftheOverturetogiveitmorelength,butsuchrepeatsarenotabsolutelynecessary.Itiscurtainmusicandnotaformaloverture.

Fortuna begins the prologue. Her lines, snide and dismissive, aredelivered with self-righteous pomposity. This means that the speedmustnotbetoogreat.Aslightlyslowerthannormalspeechtempowilldoquitenicely.Themeasuresshouldbe“conducted”orfeltwithlargebeatsforeachhalfnoteinthemeasure.Atthewords“Dissipata,disu-sata,” the “meter” becomes triple, moving along at a simple, flowingpace.Withsuchsyllabification, it isnotnecessary tobesmooth.Thedesiredeffect is relatively legato,but the singermustpointwordsupfor meaning. At “Gia regina …,” the recitative returns. This patterncontinuesuntil thewords“Chiprofessavirtù.”TheNapleseditionoftheoperacalls this anaria. It is in 4/4 timeandhaswonderfulwordpainting on “richezze” and “gloria,” of which the singer must makeuse.Modestembellishmentscanalsobeinserted.Thelastwordofheraria is her name — Fortuna. This requires some embellishment on

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BaroqueOperasandMozart•��

the “-tu-” syllable. In early Monteverdi, the trillo or nanny-goat trillwouldhavebeenused.SomefeelthatPoppea isalreadyattheendofthisera,andasmallflourishabovethenotemightbemoreinorder.(SeeFigure8.)

Virtùanswerswithatiradeofherown.It isstrictlyrecitativeandincludes some wonderful moments of word painting. “Sommergiti”isdepictedinsuchawayasmightindicatethatVirtùdrivesFortunaback. The later word “ascende” literally does that. But Virtù’s entirevocallinehasadifferentcharacterthanFortuna.WhereFortunawashectoring and somewhat aggressive and pushy, Virtù retains shorterphrases, seemingly indicating a stately (stodgy?) character. Note, forexample, therepeatedegoboostat“Ioson…ioson la tramontana.”She is either puffing herself up or terribly insecure. The rising vocalline indicates the former. Her greatest self-congratulatory gesture isher rise up to Olympus. As the phrases beginning “Può dirsi, senzaadulazione” indicate, Virtù can be just as catty as Fortuna. Her firstmention of her rival includes the vocal put-down of the flatted E, anotethatisalmostbluesyinnature.Itisdismissiveinitsownright.

Amore’sentranceiswonderfullyimpudentbutalsoismostlyrecita-tive.TheLeppardeditiongivesalongflourishtounderlinetheentranceitself. (HealsotransposestheroleofAmoreuphigher inorderforalightsopranotoduplicatethe ingenuousqualityofaboysoprano,asdoesCurtis.)TheduetreplybyVirtùandFortunaissnippyandfullofsarcasm.Allofthiscomesacrossonlyifthedictionisreallyclear.Therhythmsmustbefollowedexplicitly,butthereisaflexibilityoftemponot found in later Baroque. It is worth remembering here that the“inventors” of opera considered the words to be of great importance,andcoloringthemwithscalarpassages,leaps,ordescendingorascend-ingwordpaintingwasquiteacceptedasthewaytounderlinethetext.

Figure 8 Monteverdi — L’Incoronazione di Poppea — Prologue — excerpt shown first as written and with two possible embellishments.

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AnevenbetterexampleoftheimportanceofthewordsisfoundinOttone’smonologuefromactI,sceneXII(asnumberedintheCurtisedition). Except for the recurring refrain — “Otton, Otton, torna,tornaintestesso”—thepieceisentirelyinrecitative.Therefrain,sosmooth and seemingly self-indulgent, is in reality more a beginningcry forvengeance.Ottone issimplypushinghimself toact,nowthathe has realized the true nature and danger of Poppea. The recitativeofthesceneisdependentonthesinger’sabilityasanactortoconveythechangingemotionsof thecharacter.HisbitterpiningforPoppeapushes him into extreme measures and into a great depression. ThecoachmustworkwithOttonetofindtheshiftingmoodsofhischarac-ter.Themusicfollowssuit,nottheotherwayaround.Thecoachmustrealizethatthe“metricaccent” isnotreallyapplicablehere,andthatthebarlineisbasicallytoholdthingstogether.

The end of the scene with Drusilla (scene XIII) is an even betterindicatorofthis.Leftalone,Ottonedeclaims,“Letempestedelcor,letempestedelcortuttetranquilla…”Thisisprintedinapatternlook-inglike4/4,butitsingsinatriplerhythm,whichlandson“cor”eachtime. It is in passages like this that a coach and singer must reallyunderstand Italian. As should be obvious from the above, the wordsare of paramount importance. This means not only diction of con-sonantsandvowelsbutwhatIcall“thoughtdiction.”Ifthedramaticimpetusforthewordsdoesnotcomeacross, thesingerhasnotdonehisjob.Theshiftingrhythmsoverthe4/4meteraddgreatlytoOttone’sagitation.Whenthesingerstreatthetextinthisfashion,Monteverdiisconstantlyinteresting…andifnot,hecanbedeadlyboring.

In the French Baroque, the words can require even more point-ing.But theFrenchopera, inworks like those ofRameauandLully,requiresacertainfeelforthedancerhythmsthatoccuraswell.Theseare a far cry from the Italian waltz and march rhythms that invadeMonteverdi. They are almost courtly or balletic in their majesty. Yetthetemposcanprojectawidevarietyofemotionsandintensity.Thedifficultyofsingingtheseworksinthecorrectfashionandthescarcityofeditionshavekeptthemoutoftheactiverepertoire.Thisischang-ingsomewhat.Theaudience,however,mustbetaughtaboutthisrep-ertoire inorder toappreciate it.Perhapsperformances thatdooccurwoulddowelltokeepthedramatothefore,notslightingthecorrectstylisticelements,butalsonotcreatingamusicalstylesostilted thatfewmodernsingersoraudienceswill“get”it.

WiththeworksofScarlatti,Vivaldi,andHandel,theItalianBaroquetookanew turn. (Little seems tohavebeendone inGermany in theGermanlanguageinthefieldofopera.AtleastnoGermanoperaisin

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thecurrentrepertoire.)Theplotsofmanyoftheseoperasarelongoncomplicationandnumberofcharacters,whilesomeofthemareshorton what we call good character development in the later nineteenth-century sense. This makes the coach’s job quite difficult. Helping asingerfindthebasisforacharacterisexacerbatedbythelengthoftheoperasandthe—seemingly—whimsicalwaysoftheplot.TheshiftingloveinterestsinworkslikeAlcinabyHandelmaketheworksconfus-ing and hard to follow. A work like Griselda by Alessandro Scarlattihas some wonderful music, which is pulled down by a large numberof irrelevant numbers for the secondary characters. Even a relativelystrongdramaticstructurelikeHandel’sGiulio Cesare hasmomentsofconsiderablelongueur.Inadditiontothequestforadramaticstructure,though, is the need to have the singers sing with great intensity andbeauty.ThatisthepointofBaroqueopera.Thepurityofsingingmustneverbesacrificedtothenineteenth-century“god”ofhighdrama.Yethighdramamustbeconveyedwithsingularintensity,anintensitycon-veyedthroughwordpointingandnotdemonstrative“acting.”

Then there are those da capo arias! Scarlatti is said to have origi-nated these — he certainly used them extensively. The accepteddramaticideaissimple.ThesingersingstheAsection(usuallyratherlong, in two or three sections), then the ritornello finishes the pieceintheoriginalkey.TheBsectionfollowsandisrelativelyshort(abouta third the length of the A). The key for the B section is frequentlythe relativemajororminor,or itmaybea thirdorafifthaway.Thesinger may add some embellishments here, particularly in the laterportion,wherefrequentlythewordsfromthefirstfewphrasesoftheBarerepeated.ThenthesingerreturnstotheAsection.Thedramaticrevelations fromtheBsectionaresupposed toaffect themeaningoftheA.Hence,tohighlightthischangedperspective,thesingerembel-lishes the notes. It is in actuality as much a vocal embellishment asa dramatic one, but the problem for the coach and singer is to findembellishmentsthatfitthegivensinger.Itisappallinghowmanysing-erslistentorecordingstogetideasandendupcopyingtheornamentssungbyRenéeFleming,BeverlySills,JoanSutherland,orNatalieDes-say(someofquestionablestyle).Theseprobablywillnotfittheirvoiceswell at all,but the singerwould rather riskabad impressionvocallythaninventasetofornamentsdevisedfortheirownvoices.Fewifanysingerstodaycanorshouldeventrytoinventspontaneousornamen-tation through “inspired” improvisation. And some famous singersadmit to employing conservative solutions. It is still the drama thatmustbeserved,notjustthepurist’sneedtohearaddednotes.

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Thesinging stylemustbeexpressive thoughnotoverlyRomantic.Thevolumerequiredfornineteenth-centuryrepertoireisnotnecessaryhere.ThetheatersoftheBaroqueeraheldonly250to750people,andtheirvery intimacy (with twoor threebalconies)aided the singer inputting thenuancesacross. It is a style combiningnuanceandgreattechnique in singing. The written scales, arpeggios, and cantilenasrequiredperfecttechnicalpoise.Theaddedembellishmentsmakethemusicevenharder.Thegoodcoachmustbehelpfulyetstrong-mindedaboutthepurityofsinging.Duetothekindofleisurelypaceandthedramaticformoftheworks,themodernstagedirectorwillfindtheseworks more difficult than a Shakespearean drama. The opera coachwillfinditnolesstaxing.

Buthowtoornament?InFigures9,10,and11thereaderwillfindsome examples of works printed with first the vocal line given, andthenwithanornamentedversion.Thesearebutexamples.Theorna-mentsemployedcanonlyhintatthevarietypossible.

Anotherthingthecoachmustkeepinmindisthecontinuinginflu-enceofdance rhythmsonarias.Thiswas themusicof the time,anditwasmostpopular,socomposersweresuretoemployit.Theliftandbuoyancyofrhythmsfoundindancewillhelpthecoach(andconduc-tor)findthepathtoaproperstylefortheBaroque.Sincedancersdonotslow down, neither (usually) should a sung tempo. Once set a temposhouldproceedalongataverysteadypace,notyieldingtothesinger’spenchant for holding notes or expanding phrases. The chosen temponeedstoreflectthedifficultyofthemostelaboratepassages.The“more

Figure 9 Handel — Alcina M excerpt.

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expressive”wayofsingingisperfectinRomanticmusicorpossiblyeveninmusicoftheClassicalera,butitisnotcorrectinBaroque.Onlythefinalcadencesaretraditionallyexpandedalittle.Eventheremoderationisthekey.Moderationisakeytotheaddedcadenzasinsomeariasaswell.(Thehighlyemotional,adagioariasofsomeoftheBaroqueoperascanembracesomeslightelongationsofrestsforexpressivereasons.Butintheseinstances,thecomposersclearlyindicatethepossibilityforthisbyinterruptingtheconstantrhythmintheaccompaniment.)

Somepassagework,withinasteadytempo,mayhavesome“inégale”sixteenth notes. Stressing the first note of a group of four sixteenthsnotonlyhelps thesingersknowwhere theyare,but italsogivesshapetothepassage,makingitflexibleandbeautifulratherthanamachineonautomatic.Thetenutofirstnotemustnotbetoolong,butmustbeelongatedjustenoughtogivethatshape.

Similarly, it is in the Baroque era that the problem mentioned inanearlierchapterappearsmostfrequently—thatofwritingrhythmsof similar passages differently. Printed in Chapter 3 (Figure 6a) is apassagefromHandel’sAlcina,writtenfirstasitisprintedandsecondas itmightbeperformed.Technically, thechangedrhythmmightbe

Figure 10 Handel — Alcina M #22.

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consideredanembellishment,butthereareconductorswhoconsiderthatHandelactuallyintendedbothpassages,orchestralandvocal,tobeperformedinthesamerhythm.

One wonderfully confusing passage in Figure 12 comes from anumber Scarlatti actually cut from Griselda. The written rhythmsseemreallystrange,butplayingthemerasestheproblemsatonceandshowsthattheyshouldbeperformedinthesecondfashion.

One important facet of Baroque playing and singing is a specificembellishment of rapid decrescendo. The embellishment has beengiven a name by members of Apollo’s Fire, the Cleveland BaroqueOrchestra.JeannetteSorrell,itsmusicdirector,saysthattheycallthisembellishmenta“whaletone.”Withapologiestotheleviathansofthedeep, ithasnothing todowith themexcept for theirphysicalshape.Drawingashapeofawhalefacingleft(withnotailfins!)givesaper-fectimageoftheshapeofthelongishnote.A“soft”attackfollowedby

Figure 11 Handel — Alcina M #23.

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aquickbutlongdecrescendocreatesaseparationquitelightandflex-ible,withoutgreateffortforthesingers.

Sincecoacheswillbeasked(orforced)tocoachoratoriosofthisera,afewwordsarenecessaryinthisareaaswell.ItisgenerallyacceptedthatthenaturalflowandfreedomonefindsintheMozartrecitatives(tobediscussedlater)issomewhatmorerestrictiveinItalianBaroqueopera (though the difference is not as great as some scholars mightmakeonebelieve).Butoratorioisevenmorerestrictive.Therecitativesareshortandusuallyaresungwithmoreemotionalweightthanthatfoundinoperas.Theycarryalsotheweightofsymbolism.The“halo”aroundthevoiceofChrist in thePassionscomes fromthesustainedstrings. (One other symbol of this “halo” is found in the fact thatstrings—madeofgut,orflesh—arestretchedacrossawoodenbridge.

Figure 12 (a) A. Scarlatti — Griselda — as it is printed. (b) Scarlatti — as it should be played.

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ThesymbolismoffleshacrosswoodisaBaroquewayofthinking.)Thevoicesusuallyretainallcorrectrhythmsandarelativelyslowtempo.BachPassionshave some solos that are inordinatelydifficult to sing.EachEvangelistpassage,forexample,iswrittenhighandexposed,therecitativessittingquitehighforthetenor’sprojectionoftext.

Thereare,ofcourse,thesecularcantatasofBach.Anygoodperfor-manceofBach’sCoffee Cantata orTelemann’sCanary Cantata mustbringoutthehumorinherentinthosedelightfulworks.Thewoman’sinsouciantneedforcoffee—“Coffeemussichhaben”—“Imusthavecoffee”—isafarcryfromtheariasoftheSt.Matthew.Yetattentiontoshapeandwordsisjustasimportant.

2. mOzarT

Allofthesestylesrequireagoodvoiceandtechnique.Mozartis,how-ever,thecomposerfromthiserawhospeakstothemostofthoseborninthetwentiethcentury.Hisoperasare,evenintheearlyworks,filledwithpersonality,andthecharactersactnaturally.Thereactions theyshow may be those of a character caught off-guard, or they may befilteredthroughcourtlymannersandmannerisms.ButhowastuteofMozarttogiveusthefleshandbloodofDonGiovanni,Leporello,theCountandCountess,FigaroandSusanna,Osmin,Papageno,Tamino,the Queen of the Night, and a whole roster of others. Each showsflashesofrealhumanity,nobility,foolishness,pride,andevilresidingsidebyside.

VocalizationinMozart(asintheBaroque)requirescarefuldynamicshading. It also demands a purity of vocal line — full and clear butneverforced.ItistemptingforasingerperformingtheCountinFigaro,forexample, toexplodevariouswords inhis recitativeandaria“Haigiàvintalacausa.”Butthemoment“Perfidi”explodesoutofthevocalline,thesingersoundsstylisticallyoutofplace.VerdiandPuccinidonotallowforsuchmomentsofexcesseither,buttheydonotseemquitesooutofplacewiththemaswithMozart.TheportamentoappropriateinthelatercomposersisequallyoutofplaceinMozart’sworks.

Mozart recitatives are amazingly facile and natural. The chapteronrecitativesappliesperhapsmosttohisstyleofwriting.Nolessanauthority than conductor Riccardo Muti has expressed his astonish-mentonMozart’swritingofrecitatives.Hehassaidthattheharmonicshifts,cadences,andshapingofvocallinesinrecitativesaresoaptthattheybecomeuncanny.ThismakestheargumentthatMozartdidnotwritetherecitativesforLa Clemenza di Tito allthemorecogent,sincetheyareofaqualityinferiortothebulkofhisworks.Thoserecitatives

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BaroqueOperasandMozart•�1

seem awkwardly phrased and flow badly from moment to moment.Eventherecitatives(usuallyjettisoned)inhisfirstopera,Bastien und Bastienne,arewellwritten.(Mozartonlywrotepartoftheoperawithrecitatives,andthenstopped.Perhaps thiswaswhenhedecidedthatGermanshouldnotbeusedinseccorecitatives.)Mozartoccasionallyindulges in the “incorrect” accent just to be more expressive. Again,itisvitallyimportantforacoachtolistencarefully,orasingermightjustsing“dunQUE”or“senZA”andmakeashamblesofasubtletyorverbalrhythm.

(Imight justmentionherethatMozart’sdirectcontemporarySal-ierirequiresamuchdifferentapproach.WhileonecansayhismusicisjustinferiortoMozart’s,therealfactisthatitissimplydifferent.Andthe recitatives don’t cadence in nearly the same brilliant and logicalfashion found in Mozart. His musical numbers also show real formandpoise,butnotthesecureinventionMozartshowsineverypage.)

But it is in the musical numbers that a coach must take the mostcare.Particularlyintheensembles,itisnecessarytohavenotonlythenotestogether,butthewordsaswell,balancedsothateachstrandofvoiceandtextcomesthroughclearly.Eachconsonantmust“pop”atthesametimeasthenextsinger’s.Theact2trioandfinalefromLe Nozze di Figaro or the great Sextet in Don Giovanni show these problemsquitewell.Poised,modulatedsingingasaunitmustcarrytheday.Thesingers,who,evenforamoment,trytoout-singeachotherinaworklike the “Farewell” trio from act 1 of Così fan tutte will sound loudandungraceful.InthecomiceffectofhavingFiordiligiandDorabellaslightlytrytooutdoeachother,theeffectmustnotbetooovert,oritbecomes ugly. The coach’s job is to balance such ensembles, vocally,dramatically,andmusically.

In Mozart the generally accepted range of tempi has expanded inrecentyears(usuallytothefaster).Thecoachmusthaveagoodideaoftheusualtempiandapassingunderstandingofthenewertrends.Por-tamentos,cadentialritardandos,andheldnotesarejustnotinplaceinMozart’smusicalfabric.ThecoachwillsometimeshavetohaveafirmideaofgoodMozartstyleandenforceit.

Duetotherangeofacceptedtempi,agoodmethodforrehearsingarias and ensembles (duets, trios, etc.) is to take a slightly differenttempoeveryrehearsal.Thiskeepsthesingersflexible.Whenthecon-ductorarrives, theycanset the tempiandgive the shape theydesireforthepieces.Alwaysbearinmindthatsomeconductorstakeextremetempi,bothslowandfast,anditwouldbewisetopointouttosingerssomeindicationofwhatthe“norm”is.Afriendofminegavemealist-ingofmetronomenumberstakenbysingersandconductorsinvarious

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recordingsof“Ach,ichfuhl’s.”Therangewasmostlyfrom48upto72foraneighthnote.Onerecording,RogerNorrington’s,took106totheeighth!Youreallyneverknowforcertainwhattempotoexpect.

During coaching sessions, some discussion may be necessary tomakesingersawareoftheimplicationsofexactlywhattheyaresing-ing. To generations brought up on Wagner, Berg, Stravinsky, andSchönberg,Mozart’sbriefexcursionsintochromaticscanflybyunno-ticed.ButtoMozart,amomentofchromaticismisimportant.HewasbroughtuponBaroqueexamples,whereevenahalf-stepmightcarrydramaticsignificance.Considertheduet“Làcidaremlamano”fromDon Giovanni.WhenZerlinawaversinherresolve,Mozartgivesheraprogressionindescendinghalf-steps.Itbringsoutherindecisionquitewell(andisseldomintune).

Chromaticsarenottheonlypointwithimplications.Todayanarialike“Vedrai,carino”(alsoforZerlinaandfromDon Giovanni)seemsinnocuous enough. Yet the delicate and sensual insouciance of thepieceisquiteboldforthelateeighteenthcentury.Thesubjectmatter,alwaystastefullyhandledofcourse,bordersonthepersonalandveryprivate.Howelseto“cure”Masetto’sills.Butfewsopranosrealizetheboldnessoftheconcept.Itmaynotgreatlyaffectthewaytheysingthearia,butanawarenessofthisisimportantnonetheless.

SomeofMozart’smusicalnumbersarepredictable,beingbasedontheBaroquemodels.Forexample,“Dovesono”fromFigaroisatfirstadacapoaria,thenbreaksoffenteringintoasectionthatlooksforwardtothebelcanto eraformknownasacabaletta.Manyariashavesimi-larstructures.Themoreformalonesincludetherecitativoaccompag-natoatthebeginning.Butsomenumberstakeonlargerforms.Thesearebasedonanalmostsymphonicstructure.Ariaslike“MarternallerArten” from Die Entführung aus dem Serail or “Parto, parto” fromLa Clemenza di Titoarequitelargeinscope,havingmultiplesectionsandtempi.Thesemustbemusicallyorganizedincoachingsessions,sothatthesingerunderstandswherethepieceisgoing.

ThesymphonicbackgroundofMozarthelpsholdhislargeroperastogether in other ways, too. Trios, like the one from act 1 of Figaro or fromact2of Idomeneo, areallbuilt aroundnonvocal forms.Themusicseemstodictatethedramaunfoldingratherthanformalconsid-erations.HowelsetoexplainnumberslikethesecondactFinalefromFigaro?ThesesymphonicmovementsbringupacontroversialpointinMozart’swriting:thepresenceoftemporelationships.

Atemporelationshipcanbedefinedastwosectionsofmusicthathave differing tempo indications, but which have some relationshipbetweenbasicpulses.Aprimeexamplewouldbethefirstthreesections

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ofthatsecondactFinalefromFigaromentionedabove.TheallegrothatlaunchestheFinaleisinaheadlongrushandincuttime.Thehalfnoteequalsapproximately90beatsperminute.ThissectioncontinuesuptothemomentwhenSusannastepsgingerly(andimpudently)fromthe“gabinetto”asaCherubinoreplacement(usurpinghisB•keyaswell).Acasecouldbemadethatthepulseof theminuetsectioncontinuesat 90, but that the beat switches to eighths. As the Count enters thegabinetto, thetempochangesagain,returningtotheoriginal tempo.ThiscontinuesallthewayuptoFigaro’sentrance,whereatotallynewsection,scene,andtempooccur.

AnotherobvioustemporelationshipoccursinSesto’s“Parto,parto”fromLa Clemenza di Tito.Herethefastersectionmustbetwiceasfastasthefirst.Mozartprovesthisbybringingbackmusicfromthefirstsection,written indouble thenotevalues.Sincethemusiccan’tpro-ceedattwototallydifferenttempi,thesecondtempohastoberelatedtothefirst.Thecodaseemsnottoberelatedtoeitherprevioustempo.

AcasemightbemadethatwholescenesinMozart’soperas,includ-ingseparatenumbers,arerelated.IfallthenumbersfromthefirstsceneofDon Giovanni,forexample,weretakenattempichosenwithanearfortheserelationships,theunitofthescenemightbefelt.Thissounds,onpaperatleast,asifaconductormightbetryingtostraitjacketthingsintoapreconceived mold,but that’s not the case. “Ideal” tempivaryfromproductiontoproduction,andthese temporelationshipsmightactuallyseemwithintherealmofpossibility.Moreclearlythismeansthat all of the following numbers (and sections) would have somepulse relationships:Leporello’sopeningmuttering tohimself (“Notteegiorno”)—pulse inhalfnotes, thefuriouspursuitofDonnaAnna(without the usual accelerando at the entrance), the sword fight, theCommendatore’s death — pulse in quarter notes, and the body ofthevengeanceduet—pulseagaininhalfs.AnewpulsebeginsatthescenechangeandDonnaElvira’sentrance.Someofthesetempimightseemtoofastortooslowifsuchrelationshipsareheldrigorously,butthepossibility stillexists that theywere intendedandthe idea isputforward only for serious consideration, as some people believe quitestronglyinthetheory.

Despiteeventheexistenceofthemostobviousnumberslike“Parto,parto,”someesteemedmusicalexpertsinsistthattemporelationshipsdonotexist,feelingthatthisbindsallmusicians.Whetheraconductororcoachwantstofollowtheserelationshipsornotisunimportant;itisstillavalidpointofdiscussion.Andtoignorethemonprincipleis,toquoteMeredithWillson’sThe Music Man,“closingyoureyestoasitu-ationyoudonotwishtoacknowledge!”

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AnotherquestionthatneedstobediscussedinaMozartiancontextiswhetherornottoornamentMozart’smusic.ThecurrentvogueistoaddornamentationtothevocallineasinBaroqueoperas.Earliercon-ductorsofthe1930sthroughthe1960swouldhaveshudderedatthissuggestion, some of them even eschewing appoggiaturas. It is clear,particularlyintheopera serie ofMozart,thatcadenzasatfinalcadenceswere expected. This discussion is not, however, about the occasionalappoggiaturaorcadenza.It isabouttheactualchangingofthevocallinebyaddingpassingtonesandothersuchdevices.WhiletheseareperfectlyinlinewithBaroquepractice,andtheyrecurinthebelcantoera,Mozart’smusicdoesnotseemtoneedsuchchanges.Butitisalsoavalidargumentthatornamentationdidnotsimplydropoffthefaceof the earth during Mozart’s time. When a conductor asks a singertoornamentanariathatisalreadyasdifficultas“Orsaichi l’onore”fromDon Giovanni,thenoneshouldstarttoquestionthewholeidealof suchchanges.Fora coach, thebest advicewouldbe toadd thingsonly in extreme moderation. A little graceful addition in somethinglike“Sevuolballare”mightbeappropriate.ButaskingDespinatosing“Una donna” with the violin figures instead of her own much clearernotes(measures39through44—“vogliofarsiubbidir,equalreginacolpossoevogliofarsiubbidir”)fliesinthefaceofMozart’sgenius.Itactuallyappearsonarecording(unnamedhere)!

Mozart also requires vocalism free of unwanted portamentos.A few are possible, usually in emotional phrases like the Countess’s“Fa—mmiorcercar,daunamiaservaaita”(Figaro).Butsloppyvocal-ism in Mozart is as unforgiving as faulty intonation. Mozart robbedthesingeroftheselibertiessimplybywritingthewayhedid.

One point about alteration does require comment, however. Inseveral operas, Mozart seems to have written with minor (and somemajor) inconsistencies. The orchestra will play a figure dotted, andthesingerorsingerswillanswerwithnodots.Therecanbenosingleanswer to this problem. Instead, one must study each measure anddecideforthatmoment.AnexamplecanbefoundinthefirstphraseofDonOttavio’s“Ilmiotesoro.”Theorchestrahasadottedfigure,butwhen thesingeranswershiswords“mio tesoro”arenotsupposed tobedotted.Someconductorsfindthistobeaglaringandobviouserror.Others argue strongly that “tesoro” means “treasure” and that toss-ingawaythefirstsyllableof“tesoro”toogliblyfliesinthefaceofthemeaning.Again,eachcasewillbedifferent.

Similarly in Don Giovanni, act 1 finale, the orchestra clearly dotsitsfanfares,butDonGiovanni(andtheothersafterhim)sing“Vivala

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liberta!”withoutdots.Canthisberight?Thedecisionmustbemadebytheconductorastohowstrictlyhewantstofollowwhatiswritten.

Così fan tutte isquiteanothercasealtogether.Thescoreshowsmanyinstances of being written in haste, two of which are given here. IntheSextet,mm.38andfollowing(Dover/Peterspublication),FerrandoandDonAlfonsoareshownsingingasapair,whileGuglielmosingsadifferent rhythmbelow.Thisdoesnotmakeawhole lotofmusicalor dramatic sense. Many people switch the baritones, allowing DonAlfonsotoansweralone,whilethetwoyoungmenarepaired.

Theotherexampleof“hastemakestrouble”appearsintheDuettobetween Dorabella and Guglielmo. Dorabella’s vocal line is “shad-owed”by thefirstviolins frommeasure9 throughmeasure15,withonlyoneortwopitchesnotplayed.Butinmeasure13,thelastthirty-secondnoteisdifferent.Thismakesnosense.TheNMAchangesonetocoincidewiththeother,butdidtheyhavetomakeadecision?Itisillogical that thetwonotesshouldcoexist!Thescorehasmanymoreexamplestoonumeroustoconfrontfortherestrictedspacehere.

Mozart could organize his operas with amazing tonal security.StudyingthetonaloutlineofFigaro,forexample,showsrepetitionsofkeys,pairingoftonalities,andindeedanorderofkeyprogressionnotexperiencedinanyofhis laterworks.Andsomekeyseventakeonasortof“identity”foracharacter(Cherubinoandhis“substitutes”arefrequentlyinB•).

In his later operas, Mozart began simplifying his musical forms.La Clemenza di Tito has many numbers that are formally less com-plicated.Thenatureofthemusicseemsquiteeasy,butuponstudythesingerwillfinditrequiresconsiderablevocalpoise.Thissimplicityisakey to the laterMozart. Itmakes the largernumbers forSestoandVitelliaevenmoreimpressive.TheduetsbetweenAnnioandServilliaor Annio and Sesto are simple. Their textures are much less contra-puntal. The music here also sounds like a close cousin to the operawritten simultaneously with it: Die Zauberflöte. The textures allowwords to come across with much greater clarity and emotion. Suchsimplicityoccursfirstperhapsinthe“Farewell”trioinCosì fan tutte.TherethesimplicityisakintothesongsMozartwrote,andhissongsleadtoSchubert.

Operacoachesarerequiredtocoachsong literature, too,at times,particularlyiftheyareinscholasticinstitutionsorinprivatepractice.Operasingersneed topreparesongrecitals, too,andthey frequentlyleanontheiroperacoachesforthis.

Schubertsongsarenotopera,andsingersshouldnotsingmostofthem as if they were. His songs require a restrained rendition, with

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heightenedawarenessofverbalnuanceanddrama.Whereariasexistona largerdramaticbeat (possiblynomore than twoor three“dra-maticbeats”peraria),asongcanchangesuch“beats”quickly.Thisisdonewithfarmorecolorationofthevoiceanddramaticunderpinningofthetext.Onemustnotforget,however,thatSchubertistheRoman-ticClassicist.Heis“Classical”butleanstowardtheRomanticspirit.

Some of his songs are dramas all by themselves. “Gretchen amSpinnrade” is a whole monologue, a solo drama, written out witheverynuancegiventothevoice,butwitheveryclickandwhirofthespinningwheelclearlyaudible.InthepianoaccompanimentnopedalisnecessaryuntiltheportionwhereGretchenbecomesdreamy,think-ingfondlyofFaust’sstatelybearingandmanners.“Erlkönig”isnolessvivid.Buttheseareovert,earlylieder.Even“AufdemWasserzusin-gen”carriesitsownkindofdrama.Andfull-throatedsinging,whichsuccessfullyconveystheemotionofRomanticarias,mustbetemperedwithamuchwiderdynamicpalette.

SchumannorBrahmsaremuchmoreRomanticintheirapproachestolieder.Theyallowmoreovertdramatocomeout,sometimesrevelingintheself-pityof theirpoems.Schumann’sHeinesettingsconveythebitteroutburstsandharshironyofforsakenlovetoitsfullest.ButinhisrestrainedandClassicalway,Schubertharksbackvocallytotheearliercomposers covered in this chapter. There is unfortunately no way tocoveralloftheliedercomposersandtheirdifferencesinthisvolume.

Inpassingtothenextchapter, itbearsnotingherethatBeethovenandWeberoperasrequireasingingsimilarincleanlinesandformtoMozart,buttheyadditionallyrequiremorevocalheft.TheyalsopointthewaytotheRichards,WagnerandStrauss.

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��

interlude Four

the iSSue oF Straight toneS

ThemostcontroversialvocalquestionoftheBaroqueandMozartianeraisthatofsingingwithwhatiscalled“straighttone.”Straighttoneis, as the name would imply, singing with no vibrato. Such singingis used at times in nineteenth-century lieder and twentieth-centuryopera to indicate emotions ranging from weary to deranged. It issometimescalledforwithindicationslike“tonlos”(literally“withouttone”).AperfectplaceforsuchacolorationwouldbeinthebeginningoftheSchumannlied“IchhabimTraumgeweinet”(“I’veweptinmydreams”),fromDichterliebe.Theretheworld-weary,lovelornsingerisindeepestdespair,andstraighttoneconveysthiseasily.

Itisunfortunatethatwehavenorecordingsofsingersoftheeigh-teenth century, and few composers wrote about the voices per se.Therearestatementsabout theabilitiesofvarioussingers, frequentlyto the detrimental side, but the quality of the voices is almost neverdescribed. Mozart wrote, for example, about the Ferrarese sisters(originatorsof thesisterroles inCosì fan tutte)andaboutthosewhooriginatedtherolesofIdomeneoandOsmin.Butonlyinthelatteristheresomementionoftonalquality.

TheBaroquetreatisesmakementionofakindofembellishmentinwhichthesingerstartsatonewithnovibratoandaddsthevibratoasacolorationdevice.Somemodernmusicologistsandconductorshave

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takenthistomeanthatthenormalsingingstylewaswithoutvibrato.Buttheornament isusedtodayinpopularmusic, too.FrankSinatrausedtheemotive“embellishment”insongslike“NewYork,NewYork,”startingthoselong,lastnoteswithastraighttoneandaddingvibratotoincreasethedynamicrendering.

Thetruthisthatsingingwithoutvibratomeanseitherthatthesingeris“holding”thetonestraightorelse isusingnosupport.Withintri-catevocalpassagessuchasthosegiventoBradamanteandRuggieroinAlcinabyHandel,“holding”thetonemakessuchfastpassagesimpos-sible.Ifdiaphragmaticsupportisnotused,thepassageswilllackclar-ityandprojection.AsingerofBradamantecouldneverpenetratethetexturesoftheorchestrainheraria“Vorreivendicarmi”ifsheisnotsupportinghervoicewell.

Thequestionofsupporthasevencomeintoquestionbysomewhobelievethat the“modern”supportwasa thingunknowninHandel’stime.VocalwritinginAlcina, Giulio Cesare,andmanyotherHandeloperasshowsthatsomesupporthadtobeused.Besidesthat,theoperasofMozartwerelessthanfiftyyearsahead,andariaslike“Comesco-glio” or “Hai già vinta la causa!” cannot be sung without very goodsupportandvocaltechnique.

The Manuel Garcia family, father and son particularly, who wereactive in Rossini’s time, taught voice and began the scientific studyofvoiceproduction,butitiscertainthattheydidnotinventit.Goodvocal technique was established before they came along. Their vocalteachingsindicatethatawell-supportedtonehasafreedomtoit,withalightvibratowarmingthesoundsproduced.Thisvibratoaddstothespinandprojectionofavocaltone.

This modest vibrato is not to be confused with the rapid tremolothat inflicts some singers today, nor can the style of vocal produc-tionrequiredinBaroqueoperabeequatedwiththe“tuttaforza”(fullforce)singingfoundinVerdiorwiththelong,sustainedlinesfoundinWagnerandStrauss.

ChoralsinginginBaroquetimesmustjustassurelyhaveincludedthiskindofeasyvibratoasdidthesolosinging.Chorusestoday,whenasked tosingwitha totallystraight tone, tendtosoundflat inpitch,shallowandcolorless.Whilethiscanbeawonderfuleffect,itseverelylimits their vocal appeal. A straight tone will hinder the choral ren-deringoffastpassages(suchasthechorus“Andheshallpurify”fromHandel’sMessiah)asmuchasavibrato-riddenonewill.

Some solo singers still perform coloratura passages in a sketchyfashion,slippingoverthenoteswithoutreallysoundingthemcleanly.Ifthisistheonlywaysingingwithstraighttonecanproducethepas-

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InterludeFour•��

sages,thenitisfurtherevidencethatsuchsingingcannotbeauthentic.Straighttoneisnotnecessarytoachieveintonationinchoralsinging.VerdiandWagnerchorusesmustbesungwiththesameattentiontointonationasaBach,Handel,orScarlattichorus.

Anotherquestioninsinging,relatedtostraighttone,isthequestionof what constitutes singing in tune. Pianos, harpsichords, and mostorgansaretunedinequaltemperamentsothattheycanplaycomfort-ablyinanytonality.Someorgansaretunedhoweverindifferenttuningscales,sothatthepurethirdssoundclearlyinDmajororCmajor,buttheysoundquiteoddindeedwhenD•majororBmajorisattempted.Oneofthejoysoforchestrasisthattheycantunetothevariouskeysinwhichtheyplay,movingthethirdswiderornarrowertomakethecorrecttonalitysoundoutcleanly.Indeed,thisisoneofthemaindif-ferences between well-trained orchestras and the student orchestrasfound at the high school level. Singers also adjust naturally to singinanygivenkey.Equal temperament isnot innatewith singers.The“ring” of the barbershop quartet is achieved by just this intentionaladjusting,andthey,too,singwithaverymodestvibrato,attimestak-ingtheirtonesstraightinordertoincreasethe“ring.”

ItmustbeadmittedthatorchestrasinBaroqueandClassicaltimesplayedwithnovibrato,orat least far less, than theydo today.Thiscomes from the treatises on string playing published by variousteachersalong theway (includingLeopoldMozart).But itdoesnotnecessarilytransfercompletelytosolosinging.Itmight justbethatit was felt that vibrato would get in the way of fast string passages(as itdoes inrapidvocalpassages).But thebeautiful linesheard instringwriting fromBaroqueandClassicalpieces fororchestramayhavealsobeenexpectedtoreceivethewarminginfluenceofaneasyvibratojustassurelyasitwasexpectedinvocalwriting.(Itmightbeapointtoponderthatthestraighttoneinorchestraswasemployedbecausekeepingthechamberorchestrasintunebackthenmadethecleanest tonepossibleanecessity.)Woodwindsandbrass inensem-bles do not usually play with vibrato even today, but their pitch ismorefixedthanthatofstrings.

Inorchestralwritingconsiderablepointsfordebateariseconcern-ingtheuseofstraighttoneornot.Buttothosewhounderstandvocalproduction,consistentsingingwithastraighttoneisconsideredamis-take,basedonmisinformation,antiquatedthinking,andalackoftheknowledgeofwhatconstitutedgoodsingingbackinHandel’stime.

Animportantpointtoallcoacheswouldbethatvolumeisnotthegoal in Baroque singing (or in most Mozart). Colorful usage of thelanguage(usuallyItalian)pluswell-modulated(withagooddynamic

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100•OperaCoaching

range) and well-produced singing must carry the day perhaps morethaninanyothererastocome.

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101

7the Bel canto movement

Gioacchino Antonio Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti, and Vin-cenzo Bellini are the three composers most associated with what iscalled the bel canto era. Bel canto means, literally, beautiful singing.This means more than just producing a nice vocal tone, however. Itinvolvesthecoloringofwords, theembellishingofvocal lines,andapurityofvocalproductionpeculiartothatageandtothesecompos-ers.The threeare linkedsocloselybecause,although therearegreatstylisticdifferencesbetweeneachof them, theywereallbornwithintenyearsofoneanother.

Difficulties found in Rossini’s operas stem from three things: col-oratura,speedypatter,andtheseeminglyendlessenergyofthemusic.The vocal lines are almost instrumental in their structure. A violin-ist could play Cinderella’s last Rondeau with just as much flair andvirtuosityandsoundmoreidiomaticdoingso.ButRossiniwritesforsingers,andtherearemanysingerstodaywhocansingthescales,trills,arpeggios, andother rouladeswithalmost frighteningease. It seemsthe trouble in thecoloraturacomesnot somuch in theexecutionofthenotesbutinthelearningofthem.Whenasingerlearnsanypas-sageworkincorrectly,ittakesalongtimetounlearnthemistakes.Thecoachmustcarefullyhelpthesingertolearntherightnotes.Groupingnotes intopatternshelpsthesingergrasptheconceptofthepassage.Thenthesingermust learntophrasethepassageworksothat itdoes

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102•OperaCoaching

notcomeoutasmechanicalnote-by-notearticulation.Suchmusicalityisextremelyimportantbecause,withoutit,themusichasnobeauty.

Patterisanothermatterentirely.Figaro,Dandini,andindeedwholecastsmust learnpassages thatflybyverballywithgreat speed.Con-sidertheact1ariaofDoctorBartoloinIl Barbiere di Siviglia.Thearia“A un dottor della mia sorte” begins simply enough. But beginningwiththeallegro vivace, thedifficultyofperformingspeedstepstothefore.TheBartolocannotbeginsinging“Signorina,unaltravolta…”uptospeed.Theonlywaytolearnsuchpassagesistowritethewordsdown(withallrepeats),andthen,whilewalkingtowork,doinglaun-dry,orothersuchmundanethings,saythetextclearlyoverandover,graduallyincreasingthespeed.Musclememorymustbebroughtintoplay here. The physical act of producing the words is what must belearned.Thewordsalsocometoofasttothinkmuchaboutthemean-ing. Thebass-baritone must know the meaning and project as muchofitashecan,butthesheerphysicalactofsingingthewordsisquitedifficult.Besides,itcanbearguedthatRossiniwrote,ashesometimesdid,withaverbaleffect inmind.Bartolo spluttersandsplutters,butwe, the audience, want to know that the singer is really singing thewordsandnotjustfakingthem.(ThissametechniqueisusefulwhendealingwithGilbertandSullivanpattersongs.)Itisimportantforthecoach torealize that thesepassagesmustbesungabsolutely in time,withoutrubato.Thatistheonlywaytogettherhythmicprecisionintoanypassage.Butnoteverysyllableisequallyimportant.Consequently,theonlywayforanaudiencetoget“every”wordistoallowsomesyl-lablestobesofter.Inthatwaytheimportantwordsandsyllablescomethrough,buttheprecisionremains.

A very famous example from Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert andSullivan will serve to demonstrate what I mean more easily than anItaliantext:

IAMtheveryMOdelofaMODernmajorGENeral

I’veINformationVEgetable,ANimalandMIneral…

Thiswillsoundouttotheaudiencemuchmoreclearlythansingingeverysyllablewithequalweightandimportance.

CleansingingisimperativeinRossiniduetotheboundlessenergyhis music seems to have. When a passage is really cleanly sung orplayed, it seems much faster than it may in fact be. The final strettaintheact1finaleofBarbiereshowsthisquitewell.Whenallthedot-tedrhythmsdancealongtogether,andwhenthetripletsflyfromthe

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TheBelCantoMovement•10�

orchestra, the whole piece seems light and full of energy. If any oneelementislacking,thewholethingjustgetsheavier,andafastertempoonlymuddiestheproblem.Andatempothatistooslowwillkillthepiecealmostassoonasitkillsthesingers.

Rossini could also write beautiful cantilenas, but they are not hisnormal milieu. “Lyric” for Rossini is usually typified by somethingakin to the “Cujus animam” in the Stabat Mater. Truly lyric music,like the soprano’s “Sombre forêt (Selva opaca)” in Guillaume Tell, isquitespecialandjustasdifficulttolimnwellasanyRondeaufromtheearlieroperas.Oneproblemtheselyricmovementscallupistheneces-sityoffindingplacestobreathe.Sometimestheeasiestplacemusicallyisimpossiblebecausetheworddoesnotbreakthere.Thecoachmustbeadeptatfindingthebestplaces.

In Rossini’s comic operas, the recitatives chortle along more rap-idly than Mozart’s usually do. He seldom pauses to let a point sinkin. But there are many traditional additions, both dramatically andmusically, which are made. This usually involves acting through thedramaticallyawkwardmoments.Addedpauses,hesitations,chuckles,andthelikearealltraditions.Tolearnthese,thecoachmustresorttostudyingavarietyofsourceslikeRicci,recordings,andoldercoaches.Some of them are actually printed in the back of some scores. Thedirectororconductorwilladdothers.Thoughtherecitativescanstandhandsomelyaswritten,theseaddedinterpolationsarequitewithinthespiritofthelibretto,andtheyaddimmenselytotheaudience’senjoy-mentandunderstandingofwhatisgoingon.

Rossini,morethanperhapsanyotherbelcanto composer,requiressomeembellishments.ThesearealmostallcodifiedintheRiccibookmentionedelsewhere in thisvolume, butmanycanalsobe found inotherpublications.Theembellishmentsmayvary,buttheyremainsur-prisingly limited to a traditional few. Sopranos and mezzo-sopranosdofarmoreembellishingthantenors,baritones,orbasses.Mencan-notusuallymovetheirvoicesfastenoughformanyalterationsofthenotes.Theirchangesusuallyconsistofaddedhighernotes.Themoreacoachcanknowabout thesechangeswithoutalways looking themup, the better. No singer should expect to improvise the embellish-ments,however.Onesuspects that,evenintheBaroqueera,possibleembellishments were worked out in advance. According to RichardBonynge (in an interview during a Metropolitan Opera broadcast),thatwascertainlythecasewiththeembellishmentsusedbyhiswife,JoanSutherland.Hewasneversureexactlywhichembellishmentsshewoulduseinanygivenperformance.Mostartistsfinditnecessarytoknowexactlywhatnotestheyplantouse.Thosewhowait,expecting

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some divine spirit to guide them, end up obviously wavering andunsureinperformance,withconductorstryingtofollowthem.Operaisnotagameofchance.

AnotheraspectofRossini iswhat iscalled theRossiniCrescendo,aspectsofwhichcanbeheardeveninhisfirstopera,La Cambiale di Matrimonio.Theorchestrausuallystartsasmall,motorictheme,sing-ers scurrying along above it. Gradually new patterns are used andothersingersjoinin.Theeffectcanspreadoverseveralpages,butmustbecarefullyrehearsedtomakecertainthattheeffectdoesnotgetoutof hand, with the volume going too loud too soon. (Donizetti andVerdi had their own way of dealing with this kind of ensemble andcrescendo,andthosealsomustbecarefullyrehearsed.)

Despitebeingabel canto composer, Vincenzo Bellinihas amuchdifferent musical style to coach from Rossini or Donizetti. For hisoperas,thecantilenaisparamount.Thinkonlyoftheincrediblebeautyof“Oquantevolte”fromI Capuleti e i Montecchior“Castadiva”fromNormaandoneknowsimmediatelywheretheextremedifficultylies.Suchlegatosingingisquitedifficulttoachieve,andanyimperfectioninthetechniqueshowsimmediately.

Bellini is compared with Chopin with good reason. The melodieshaveasimilarityofarchandpoise.Andthefioriturathatglidesfromthefingersorthroatduringthosemelodiesisofasimilarchromaticism,extension,andgrace.Theseflightsoffancy(forsuchtheymustseem)aredifficult tonegotiate, andacoachwillhave tohave someknowl-edgeofvoiceandvocalismtohelpsingerslearnhowtotraversethesepassageswithease.AswithMozartandRossini,Bellini’smelodiesandfioraturashowoffanyfaultyintonationortechniqueimmediately.

Bellini,aswithChopin,seemstocall forgreatelasticityintempo.But after comparing performances where such facile shifts of tempoarethenormwiththoseinwhichamoreBeethovenianstrengthandrigorisemployed,itbecomesclearthattoomuchpullingoftempoforeverydifficultpieceofpassageworkonlyunravelsthemusicaltapestry.AmoreClassicalapproachseemscalledfor.

Foracoach,however,thetwomostdifficultproblemsaretempiandthe intense recitatives. Some pieces from Bellini are so well knownthatthetempospringstomindalmostwithoutconsiderationofotherpossibilities.ButinascenesuchasthefirstduetbetweenRomeoandGiuliettainI Capuleti e i Montecchi,thetempoindicationcanleadanymusicianintotempieithertoofastortooslow.Someconductorsactu-allysolvetempoproblemsbyshiftinggearsinmid-movement,adjust-ingthetempowhenthemusicbecomesmoredifficult.Thisisdonebyhighly reputable conductors, and perhaps it should be considered as

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viable.Butsuchadjustmentsalsotearamusicfabricapart,bymakingtoomanysmalldivisions.Findingagenerallycorrecttempofirst,onethatfitsallmoments,thenslightlypushingthetemposlowerorfasterseemsabetteroption.

Therearealso,aswithRossini,sometraditions,whichhavebecomepart of the Bellini fabric. Since his operas, other than Norma, havebecome mainstream only in the last few years, these traditions arefewerandlesswellensconcedinourminds.Onesuchtraditioncomesfromthestrettatotheduet“Mira,oNorma.”Inthesecondverseof“Si,finoall’ore…,”at“perricovrarci,”someconductors(notablyRichardBonynge)injectamassiveritardandoforaboutfourmeasures.Thisisnotwritten,anditsinclusionseemsratherwillful.Neithertheverbalnormusicaltextpointtosuchatemposhift.Itiscertainlyatradition,as it isheard inearlierrecordingsaswell,but it shouldbesubject toscrutiny and reconsideration, as should all traditions and embellish-ments.Traditiondoesnotmeanthatapassagemustbedoneexactlythesamewayeverytime.

Perhaps the greater challenge for a coach and singer, however, willcomeintherecitatives.Eveninhislighteroperas,suchasLa Sonnambula,Bellinihasanabilitytoinstillhisrecitativeswithgreatintensity.Hedoesnotallowhissingerstotossofflinessimply,asdoRossiniandDonizetti.Almosteverylinecarrieswithitsomedepthoffeeling.ThisisevenmoretrueinNorma,wherethesubjectmatterinvolvesjealousy,thepossibilityofNormakillingherchildren,andrevenge.Belliniexpectsthe singers to be able to invest lines like “Oh, rimembranza!” (“Oh,remembrance”)withgreatemotion,whetherelationordepression.

Gaetano Donizetti is perhaps the easiest of the three to bring tolife.Hisrecitativessingsonaturally,andhecapturessubtleshadesofmeaning almost as well as Bellini. Donizetti has a less artsy way ofcomposingthanBellini,though,andheisnotasglibasRossini.Whathecanbeisseeminglylong-winded.AstudyoftheensemblesinLucia di Lammermoor orL’Elisir d’amorerevealsensemblesthatbuildbeau-tifullyfromsmallsololinestotuttioutbursts.Thetroubleisthattheysometimesgoonforaratherlongtime.Thegreatstrettaafterthesextetin Lucia di Lammermoor, for example, dramatically sounds wonder-ful,with shifting tonalitieshereand there surprisingusandmakingusperkup.Butonstagethedrawnswordsarenotstrikinganything.They’re waving ineffectively in midair. Everyone just stands aroundand sings.Though the formalneedof thepiece ismet, thedramaticneedkeepscallingoutto“getonwithit.”InDonizetti’sdaysthismaynothavebeenasmuchaproblemasitistoday,withouroverexposuretodramaticpossibilitiesfrommoviesandTV.Itisuptothedirector

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andconductortoknowhowmuchtosingornot.Thecoachneedstoknowthetraditionalcutsemployedwhenconcisionisdesired.

Some cuts are made, too, because singers do not want to (or can-not) sing certain passages. One traditional cut in L’Elisir involvesthecabaletta to thearia“Prendi.”Adinasings thewordsslowly thenlaunchesintoarapid-firepassageoftriplets.Sheistosingthisnotoncebut twice, with Nemorino joining in on the second verse with com-mentsaboutDr.Dulcamarahavingbeenrightallalong(hestilldoesnot “get it”), all climaxing with the soprano and tenor singing highnotes. But lyric sopranos, who might be quite successful elsewhere,donotalwayshavethedexterityforsuchpassages,sothetraditionalcutismade.ThisandvariousrepetitivepassagesinensemblesinvolvethemajorityofcutsinL’Elisir.Donizettihimselfsuppliedsome“ossia”passagestoeliminatesomeofthemoredifficultcoloratura,shouldthesopranoneed it.Someof the traditionalcuts,however,arequestion-able. To cut two bars here and four there just to make things easierdoesnotmakemuchsensetoaconscientiousmusician.Yetthoseandsome very much larger ones occur, whole scenes or numbers beingskippedoverlightlyasiftheywereofnoimportance.

Oneotherkindofcutfoundinthatopera,andindeedinalloftheoperasofthebelcanto era,isthekindimposedonvariouscodas.Afterthemainbodyof anariaorduetor ensemblehasbeen sung (some-timeswithonlyoneverseinsteadofthetwocomposed),thecompos-ersusuallyspinoutthesubjectmatterofthemusictoincludeacoda.Thiscodafrequentlyhasvarioussections,mostbeingfour-oreight-barunits. Some of these sections seem superfluous. They either beat theV–Icadencetodeath,ortheyinvolvecoloraturapassageworksuddenlybeing thrustonsingerswhohavesungnosuchpassageelsewhere intheopera.Asimplecutoffouroreightbarssimplifiesthepassage,butalsoletsitdrivehomemorequicklytotheclimax.AnexampleofthismightbefoundinthetriofromthesecondactofIl Barbiere di Siviglia.AlmavivaandRosinaarebeinghurriedalongbyFigaro,whoistryingtogetthemoutthewindowbeforetheyarediscovered.Buttheyaresohappy that theybeginapassageof thirty-secondnoteson thewords“amor pietá.” It seems as if they will never end. Rossini finally hasFigaroabruptlychangetonalcenterandinterruptthem,urgingthemon. The thirty-second notepassage ishighanddifficult (particularlyforthetenor)andisfrequentlycut,Figarojumpinginseveralmeasuresearlyandsavingthetenorandmezzosomepossibleembarrassment.

InhiscomediesDonizetti’srecitativeswereoriginally,likeRossini’s,oftheseccovariety.Latertheharpsichordwasreplacedwithpiano.Butbythe1830s,heused“seccorecitativo”farmoresparingly.L’Elisirhas

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veryfewpagesofseccorecitativo.By1843,hislastyearofcomposition,Donizettileavesoutthepianoaltogether.Don Pasquale usesarecitativethatisalmostsecco,butthechordsareplayedeithershortorlongbytheorchestra. Donizetti also used another kind of dialogue substitute inhisoperas,somethingheusedtogreateffectinLucia di Lammermoor.

Insteadofheldorsoundedchords,Donizettibeginsaninnocuouslittlemelody,usuallyintheviolins,andhasthesingerssingparlandophrases,notusuallyverymelodic innature,above this.Theopeningof Don Pasquale or the passage leading up to the sextet in Lucia di Lammermoor areperfectexamplesofthis.

Donizetti’smelodiescarrywiththemastrongerprofilethanthoseofeitherRossiniorBellini.Theconceptionofmelodyactuallyseemstobebothfullerandsimpler,pointinginmanywaystothestrongertunesofVerdi.His immenseappealprobably stemsmore fromhismemo-rabletunesthanhisdramaticconvictions,eventhoughthesewereverygood. A coach must help singers keep these robust melodies fittingthebestthatbelcantocanoffer.Theterm“canbelto”isanindication,howeverjokinglyused,ofimproperforcebehindDonizetti’smusic.

Oneotherimportantthingtoconsideristhatthebelcantocompos-ers frequentlygiveamusicalsignal thatmustbefollowedevenwhentheword“ritardando”isnotincluded.Thisisfoundinthosepassageswherethemusicgoesalongatanevenpaceandthencomestoacen-tralcadence.Theaccompanimentstops,butthevocal linecontinues.Thenextmeasuremayhaveanisolatedchordorshortfigureandthevoicecontinues.Inameasureortwo,theorchestraresumesitsregulartempo.This isusuallyanindicationthatthesinger,notdrivenalongbytheconsistentlymotoricnotesintheorchestra,cantakesomefree-dom.The followingpassage from“Largoal factotum” (Il Barbiere di Siviglia)showsthiswell.(SeeFigure13.)

Onecaveatmustbemadeforthethreebelcantocomposers:Theiroperas exist in many bad editions. The faults range from importantmaterialbeingcuttoinaccuratepassagework,andfromincorrectkeystoinaccurateverbaltextorfaultydynamicandarticulationmarkings.Thisismoreextensivelycoveredintheappendix,butitissomethingofwhichallcoachesneedtobeaware.

It remains to finish this chapter with a return to the words “belcanto.”Theexpectationofthecomposerwasthatthesinger,throughenunciationofthetext,minorvocalembellishments,well-modulatedvolume—extremelysoftuptohealthyforte—and,yes,abeautifullyproducedtone,wouldbringthetextandmusictolife.InthistheyharkbacktotheBaroqueera,andlookforward,particularlyinDonizetti,toVerdi.Itmightnotbeanexaggerationtosaythatthefamous“silence”

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ofRossini, theperiodofnearly fortyyearsbeforehisdeathwhenhewrotenooperas,mighthavebeenbroughtaboutbythechangeinvocalstylesasmuchormorethanthechangeincompositionalstyles.Withthepurityofvocalemissionsgivingwaytothetutta forzasingingoflaterVerdi,Rossinimayhavejustoptedtobowoutgracefully.

Figure 13 Rossini — Il Barbiere de Siviglia M “Largo al factotum.”

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Figure 13 (continued). Rossini — Il Barbiere de Siviglia “Largo al factotum.”

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111

interlude Five

“ParK and BarK”

BeforeleavingbelcantoandenteringintoVerdi,Ifeelweshouldtouchonthesingingstylejokingly,affectionately,andaccuratelyreferredtoas“parkandbark.”Whatisthat?

There are moments in operas when people, usually alone onstage,standcenterstageatthefootlightsandsinganaria.Insomeproductionsthis aria is “delivered” in an uninvolved fashion or in a genericallyphrasedway inanattempttoplease theaudience intherafters.Thistendstocomeacrossasashowstagedforthoseinthenosebleedseats,andithasminimaleffectdramatically.Inessence,thesinger“parks”him-orherselfinthemostimportantpartofthestageand“barks”themusictotherafters,whichistosayheorshedoesn’tsingitverywell.Barkingofdogshasnomusicallineormeaning,andneitherdoesthedeliveredaria.

Thistermcanalsobeusedformajorensembles.Eveningoodper-formances,numbersliketheSextetinLucia di Lammermoor takeonanaspectof“P&B.”This isunavoidable insuchnumbers,sincethewholepurposeistoshowthatsomething“restrains”themfromactionat suchamoment.Pieces like thatbecomeanexercise inoutsinginginvolumeeveryothersingeronthestage—ifpossible.Everyonecansmileatthisterminology,andweallrecognizeitspresenceincertain

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112•OperaCoaching

performances.Buthowdowecounteractthenegativeaspectsofsuchaperformancestyle?

Thecoachisthefirstplacethatanantidotecanbefound.InScenas(tobedefinedinthenextchapter)thecoachcanhelpthesingertotearapartthetextandmakethemostof it.Thiswillhelpthesingergainspecificityinthedeliveranceofthemusicandtext.Itwillalsohelptomold the larger forms intoameaningfulunit.Since“P&B”usuallyimpliesanavoidanceofdynamicsanywherelowerthanmf,thecoachcanhelptoreinforcethewrittendynamics,thushelpingthesingertofindnewshadingsofmusicalexpression.

Thevocal teacherandcoachcanworkonmusical line, too.Over-singingusuallyaffectsasinger’sability tosustainbeautifulcantilena(singingline)andbothpeoplecanworkwiththesingertokeeportorestore the line to the voice. Some of the greatest singers of the pastcouldsingVerdiwithimpeccableline,andyettheyhadlittlesenseofthephrasinginFrenchmusic.Oddly,thosesingersmostsuccessfulinVerdiseemillateaseorlesscommittedinPuccini,andviceversa.

The conductor can aid the counterattack on “P & B” by workingthrough arias and ensembles carefully, making sure that text comesthroughwithasmuchclarityaspossible.Theycanalsojudgetempitokeepthemfromgettingtoofastortooslow.Singersarenotalwaysthebestjudgeoftempo,butsomeconductorsdon’treallyrealizetheeffectatempothatisjustalittleextremeoneithersidecanhave.

Thegranderoperasofthemid-nineteenthcenturywillalwayshaveanelementof “ParkandBark,”butwitha little care thosemomentswillbecomehighlightsofdramaandsingingandnotjustmomentstoendure“crowd-pleasing”bombast.

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11�

8verdi

No composer can claim to holda largerpercentageof theoper-aticrepertoiresecurelyinhisgraspthanGiuseppeVerdi.Mostofhispopularitycomesfromtheperiodofcompositionafter1850,witheachone of these operas, Les Vêpres Siciliennes being the only exception,remaining a mainstay in almost every opera house. In the last fortyyears even the earlier operas of Macbeth, Nabucco, and Luisa Miller,onceuniversallyignored,havebecomepopularandwellknown.Andyet the opera coach must understand how Verdi differs stylisticallyfromthevariouscomposersofthebelcanto era.Hisdemandsvocallyareeasier tounderstand, sincewehaveaplethoraof recordings thatablydemonstratewhatgoodVerdisingingisallabout.Weevenhaverecordings of a few singers in the Verdi roles they originated. SinceVerdiissopopular,itonlymeansthatacoachmustobjectivelystudythestyleandknowexactlywhatthosegreatsingersaredoinginordertoseparatestylefromtradition.

Someaspectsofstyleareboundupintradition,butothersarenot.Theaddedhigh-noteendingsofmanyariasaretradition,thoughonemight argue that theyare stylistically correct, too.Style involves theapproach to the singing itself, while traditions are answers to prob-lems that have arisen where the music seems to call out for help —addedhighnotes,cuts,andsoon.InVerdi,styleandtraditionaresointerwoventhatdifferentiatingbetweenthetwobecomesdifficult.Thestyle of singing is strongly limned, with clear diction and emotionalstances(thatarenotquiterealistic).

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Verdi’scharactersareallof thegrandmanner, largerthanlifeandfilledwithintenseemotions.ThesimplercharactersfoundinDonizetti’sL’Elisir d’amore orRossini’sIl Barbiere di Siviglia arenowhere inevi-dence in Verdi, for his operas include counts, Ethiopian princesses,jealousmoors,consumptivecourtesans,aprotestantminister,acrazedgypsy,andevenahunchback.Andnoneofthemareinnormal,every-day situations. These great characters demand a dramatic convictionthatmanysingerstodaycannotmustereasily.Asbefitstheactingstyleoftheday,Verdi’scharacterscantakeuppoeticstances,actheroically,andflyintoragesquiteeasily,usuallywithwonderfullygrandgestures.

ThefamousdrawingsanddescriptionsofDelsarteoutlinethegrandgesturesthatwereusedconsistentlythen.Delsartedemonstratesakindofcodificationtothekindofactingthatwasnormalinthenineteenthcentury.Tousinthetwenty-firstcentury,itseemsartificialandover-blown,butifusedwithtotalconviction,thisblueprintforactingcanbecomequitepowerfulandshowsjusthoweffectivethecombinationofthegesturesandthemusicoftheeracouldbe.Westillusesomeofthesegesturesinasimplifiedformtoday.Themoderngesturesareusu-allymuchmorerestrained,but,ifyoutakeaquicklistentoanyVerdiopera,theword“restrained”willnot,asageneralrule,cometomind.

ThisalsoexplainswhyVerdibecameoneofthecomposerstosettheplaysofShakespearetomusicmosteffectively, forShakespeare’sdra-mascontain emotions that are just asmonumental asVerdi’smusic.Playactorsofthetimeusedtousethosegesturesandoverblownwaysto interpret the high emotions of Shakespeare, too. A simple listento older recordings of actors performing some of the Shakespereanmonologueswillshowanactingstylethatsoundsremarkablyclosetooperatic singing and an uncanny ability to “ham it up” in the mostobviousway.1

Oneof themostprolificdramatistsand librettistsof the timewasEugene Scribe. Auber, Meyerbeer, and even Verdi himself used hislibretti. The young Henrik Ibsen, the dramatist who almost single-handedlychangedthefaceofdrama,wasknowntorailagainstScribe,bothered by the preponderance of chance meetings, purloined let-ters, and mistaken identities.2 These devices did not bother Verdigreatly.Aslongasthedramawasstrongandclearlysetforward,thoseimprobabilitiesonlyaddedtohissenseofdrama.Hisusuallibrettists,PiaveorCammarano,followedthismoldwell.

ReadingVerdi’slettersrevealssomeotheraspectsofhiswriting.Helovedsharpcontrasts,dynamicsthatgofromsofttoextremelyloudoremotionsthatshiftviolentlyfromonetoanother.Afamousexamplecomesinact2ofOtello.TheretheMoorislisteningtoIago’ssoothing

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Verdi•11�

dream—“Eralanotte.”Iagoleadsthesubjectbacktothehandkerchiefashequietlylets“drop”thewords“Quelfazzolettoieri,…certoneson…lovidiinmandiCassio”(“Thathandkerchief…yesterday…I’mprettysure…IsawinthehandofCassio”).Verdiindicatesthatthisline almost falls from Iago’s lips. (Despite the crescendo many bari-tonesemploy,Verdiwritespp,cupo—acoveredtone—andacasual-nessthattotallydisarmsOtello.)Otello’sreaction—“Ah!milleviteglidonasseIddio!”(“Ah,ifGodhadbutgivenhimathousandlives!”)—literallyexplodesfromhim.Thisisfollowedbythegreatduet“Sipelciel.” A coach must find the way to help a singer mold such scenes,understanding that the contrast, whether going from soft to loud ortheotherwayaround, iseffectiveonlyif it issetupcarefully.IfIagosoothinglyspinsthetaleofhisdreamcorrectly,Otellowillbehangingoneveryword,andthecasual(almosthissed)mentionof“Cassio”willquiteadequatelytriggertheexplosionthatcomes.3

ThroughoutVerdi’scompositionallife,hemadegreatusageofrests.In some cases, the rests can say as much about a character’s state ofmind as the words and the music. Many singers do not understandthat,whenVerdistopstheaccompaniment,heisalsogivingthesingera license to have some freedom. Instead, many singers rush throughthe rests in tempo, even continuing with the singing earlier thanindicated, whereas Verdi clearly expected a slight lengthening of therests. The rests are, in dramatic terms, an indication of the pensivethoughts that lead up to the aria. The rests may be the great breathbefore theactualaria is launched. Inanycase, thecoachmustmakethe singer aware of the purpose of the rests, and then they must beworked through to ensure that the correct purpose comes out. ThegreatartistryofaManrico(inIl Trovatore)comesthroughnotinhowheholds the(unwritten)highCat theendof“Diquellapira”but inhowhemoldstherecitativephrases,restsandall,leadinginto“Ahsi,benmio.”

A coach must also find ways for singers to let “terrible” emotionsoutwithouthurtingthevoiceorwithouttheirlosingcontrol.EmotivemomentssuchasManrico’sfourthactconfrontationwithLeonora—“Parlar non vuoi? Balen tremendo! … Dal mio rivalo! Intendo,intendo! Ha quest’infame l’amor venduto …” (“You won’t speak? Aterrible thought!…Frommyrival! Iunderstand, Iunderstand!Thiswretched woman has sold her love …”) — can bring out dangerouslevels of forceful singing. A good coach can aid the singer in realiz-ingthehighest levelofoutburstwithoutapproachingthelevelwhereharmoccurs.Thisisdoneinpartbyusingaveryfocusedvocalplace-mentinpreferencetoawider,open-throatedtechnique.FrancoCorelli

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andMariodelMonacowerenotedforthatfulltenorial squillando(thetenor’s ability almost to cry or scream, but always on pitch and at afeverishlevel),butformostthatkindofsingingisdifficulttosustainforanentirearia, letaloneanentirerole.Othertenors,suchasJussiBjoerling,CarloBergonzi,LucianoPavarotti,andEnricoCaruso,haveusedanarrowerapproachto theupper-middlerange, thehighnotesrelyingmoreon“ping”thanbruteforce.Usingtheverbalnuancescanalsohelpmakethedramaticpointswithoutrelyingonlyonvocalheft.DictionisveryimportantinprojectingVerdiandrama.Shapingmusi-calphrasesisonlypartoftheVerdianstyle;theotherhalfisshapingand enunciating the ideas that make the drama propulsive. LucianoPavarottihasbeencriticizedattimesfor“notacting,”but, insteadofovertactingoutofemotionsandsituations,heletsthewell-articulatedtextspeakforhim.

The vocal technique able to cope with Verdi must also possess agoodsenseofline.Thisisthatkindofsinginginwhichthenotesseemto be bound inevitably to one another. It goes beyond simple legatoandincludesphrasingandcolorationofthevoice.Eventhosepassagesthat might be called recitative require a stronger sense of line thansimilarpassagesinDonizetti.Thoughvolumeisnotthegoalperse,itissometimesnecessarytosingratherforcefullyinordertoprojectwellagainsttheorchestraortoreachthelevelofdramaVerdiintended.

Verdi’s orchestration can occasionally be very heavy, frequentlyan influence left from his earlier education orchestrating for a band.TrumpetsareusedinplaceswhereDonizetti(notoneaccusedofscor-inglightly)wouldneverusethem.

The vibrant singing voice in which vibrato plays a vital role is anecessityinVerdiansinging.Thekindofvibratoemployed,however,mustnotbetoowidenormustitbetooquickortooslow.Thevibratoborderingontremolois frequentlyconsideredquiteunattractive.Yetavoicethat takesontheheavierrepertorytooearlywillgainaslow,wide vibrato and seem worn before its time. A careful study of thefewrecordingsofVictorMaurelandFrancescoTamagno(theoriginalIago/FalstaffandOtello,respectively)willshowsomewhatthekindofvoiceVerdiknewandexpected.Therecordingsshowvoicesthathavebrightfocusandsize,butthesensationofsizecomesfromthebrightfocus,notfromthepushedtimbre.Theoperacoachwillnotbeteach-ingvoicetothesinger,butknowledgeofthevoicewilldefinitelyhelpthecoachunderstandjustwhoshouldsingVerdiandwillalsodeepentheirability toget thebest results fromasingerwithminimaleffortforthem.

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Though an opera coach does not need to understand totally whatVerdimeantby“tinta,”itisimportantforhimtorealizethateachVerdioperahasitsownmusicallanguage.Verdireferredtotintaasthespe-cificcoloreachoperaneededtobeaunitinandofitself.La Traviata,premiered only two months after Il Trovatore, has almost nothingin common musically with that earlier opera. The same can be saidbetween any two Verdi operas. He inserts little musical figures thatcarrythroughascorethathelptounifythepiece.Look,forexample,atthegracenotesthatappearatthebeginningoftheintroductiontoPhillip’s aria, “Elle ne m’aime pas” (ossia — “Ella giammai m’amo”).Thesamefigureappearsattheverybeginningoftheoriginalopeningchorusandelsewherethroughoutthescore.

Generally Verdi has, in some sense, a compositional line directlydescended from Claudio Monteverdi. His music is written with thevocallinepoisedabovethebassline.Theaccompanimentneverinter-fereswiththisconcept,butinsteadithighlightsitanddrivesitforwardwithahomophonictextureatoncecompositionallynewandyetreflec-tive of what went before. The style is of course much different fromMonteverdi, but the superstructure of the opera relies on the samecompositionalprinciples.Eveninthelateroperas,OtelloandFalstaff,Verdi’smorecomplexorchestralunderpinningisrelatedtohisearliercompositionalstyle.

Though Donizetti is also known to have taken great pains withthestructureofthelibrettiofhisoperas,Verdiwentsofarastodic-tate specific poetic kinds of verses, number of lines, and emotionalframework.Readinganyofhislettersrevealsthisindepth.4ThelatertheworkofVerdi, themore letters canbe found.Similarly, the laterthe opera, the longer the Disposizione Scenica (the detailed directo-rialbookofthefirstproduction).Readingsuchlettersandbookscansometimes reveal what Verdi thought about the characters (and thesingers!),thephrasing,andthedramaticfocus.Hewasneveronetobeshyabouttellingthelibrettistswhathewanted!Orsingershowtosinghisoperas!AcoachmightdowelltostudystructuresofdramatoaidinunderstandingVerdi’soperas.

ItwouldbewiseheretomentiontheprevalentmusicalformsVerdiinheritedfromDonizetti.TheseformsremaininevidenceevenintheearlyPuccinioperas,notablyManon Lescaut.ThefirstoftheseformsistheScena.Whilethismeanssimply“Scene”inEnglish,ithasasetformacoachneeds tounderstandandappreciate.TheScenabeginseitherwitharecitativeorwitha tempo d’attacco (tempoof theattack).Theformerisbasicallywhatwascoveredinanearlierchapter.Thelatterisabitmoremusical,includingmomentsofariosoorperhapsevenfull

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versesofmusic.Thissectionisnot,however,formalinstructure,asithasfewrepetitionsanddoesnotcometoafinalcadence.Whenitdoescadence,itleadsdirectlyintothenextsection,whichisthecavatina.

The cavatina (usually an introductory aria) is slow. It may beandante, adagio, or even moderato. The form may be two verses (asinVioletta’s“Ah,forselui…”)oritmaybearomanza(Manrico’s“Ahsi,benmio”).Itwillalwayshavealyricimpetusandcarryanemotionthatiseitherreflectiveorpleading.Itmaybesadorhappy,butitwillcometoacompletelyclearendbeforeproceedingtothenextsection.

The cavatina is followed by the tempo di mezzo. This is not whenthe mezzo-soprano interrupts the principal singer (although thatsometimes does happen). It is the tempo of the middle and refers tothe transitional section of music leading to the cabaletta. It may berecitative innatureor itmaybea tempo that is consistentlymovingforward.Itmayalsohaveseveralsections.Butitwillinevitablyleadtotheclimacticaria:thecabaletta.

Cabalettaisanariaintwoverses,fastinnatureandnormallyheroicor vengeful. Typical examples can be found easily in Il Trovatore, La Traviata,andMacbeth.ThebaritonescenainLa Forza del Destino,beginningat “Morir, tremendacosa—Urna fataledelmiodestino,”(“Todie,whatanawesomethought!—Urnfatalofmydestiny”)leadsinto the cabaletta “Egli salvo.” But as this has only one verse, somepeoplesayitisnotatruecabaletta.Itisofcourseacabaletta,butitisreflectiveofVerdi’swaysofremoldingexistingformstohisowndra-maticneeds.

In act 4 of Il Trovatore, the famous “Miserere” is actually noth-ing more than the tempo di mezzo between Leonora’s cavatina andcabaletta(thelatterfrequentlyomittedsinceVerdihimselfomitteditinhisFrenchversionoftheopera).

Theensembleformisquitesimilar.TakingAïdaasaprimeexample,theact3duetbetweenAïdaandRadamesbeginswithatempo d’attaccowithseveralsections:“Purtireveggo,miadolceAïda…”(“AtlastI’mwithyouagain,mysweetAïda”)isthefirst,while“Nelfieroanelitodinuovoguerra…”(“Eagerforfiercenewbattles…”)isthesecond.Aïdatakesthethirdsectionwith“Nèd’Amnerispaventi ilvindicefuror?”(“Anddon’tyoufear thevindictivewrathofAmneris?”).TheAdagio (as theformalsectioniscalled)beginsat theAndantino,whereAïdasings“Fuggiamgliarboriinospiti…”(“Letusfleefromtheseinhospi-tableglades”),andleadsthroughherstatementtoRadames’srisposta (response), “Sovra una terra estrania” (“To a foreign land”). Thoughthere should be a brief transition back to Aïda’s music, here there isnot. When she takes up her music again, Radames sings with her,

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mutteringsoftansweringphrases.ThisAdagioistheequivalentoftheScena’scavatina.

The tempo di mezzo begins when Radames sings, “Aïda!” and sheanswerswith“Tunonm’ami…Va!”(“Youdon’tloveme…Go!”)Thestretta(thecabalettaoftheensembleform)beginswithRadames’s“Si:fuggiamdaquestemura,…”(“Yes:letusfleefromthesewalls”).Aïdaanswerswiththesamemusic,andthestrettacontinuesstraightthroughto the moment of interruption … “Ma dimmi …” (“But tell me …”)Thenthesceneisloppedoffandthedramaticcodatotheactappears.

AnotherensembleworthyofstudyforformistheGermont-Violettaduet.Therethetempo d’attaccocomprisesseveralsections,theAdagionotbeginninguntilVioletta(quitefarintothescene)sings,“Diteallagiovine …” (“Tell your daughter …”). The stretta, rather obviously,beginsat“Morrò”(“I’lldie!”).

One thing Verdi does almost better than any other composermight be called the duet as conversation. The two duet scenes fromLa Traviata,theduetsofViolettafirstwithAlfredoandlaterwithhisfather,areexcellentexamplesofthiskindofscene.Thedramaunfoldsataleisurelyyetsustainedpace.Thesingersmustunderstandallofthetextandcoloreachwordtellingly.Theyshouldevenbemadeawareoftheform,sotheyunderstandwheretheyaredramatically.Someotherduetsaremorevolatileconversations,butthegreatdifficultyineventhequietestduetsisfindingtheinexorabledramaandmakingitunfold.Ifthecoachcanunderstandthis,itwillhelpthesingersimmensely.

WhenVerdibeganwritingoperas,hisscoreswerenotwrittenwithverymanymarkingstoindicatehowasingershouldsingcertainlines.Ashematured,headdedmoreandmoreofthese.AquickstudyofDon Carlo, Aïda, Otello, orFalstaff willshowhowmuchhebegantoindi-cate. Accents, portamentos (gentle slides from one note to another),vocal indications — such as un fil di voce (literally “one strand ofvoice”) or cupo (covered) — and tenuto marks all become standardfare, and they areplentiful. This compositional traitwasalsopickedupbyMassenetandPuccini.Thecoachmusthelpthesingerrealizeallofthesedutifullybutwithunderstanding.Oncetheeffectisaddedtothenotes,halfofthecharacterizationisdone.

Agoodmusicalexampletostudyformarkingswouldbetheact1duetbetweenViolettaandAlfredo inLa Traviata (this isalsoaper-fectcasefortheduetformdescribedabove).WhenAlfredobeginshisslowverse—“Undifeliceeterea”(“Onedayhappy,ethereal”)—heisuncertainofhimself.Hehasblurtedoutthathe’slovedViolettaforayear,andnowhehastoexplain.VerdiinsertsrestsinthemiddleofthephrasesinordertomakeAlfredoseemtoconsidereveryword.When

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the same music comes again, the rests are fewer, because Alfredo iswarminguptohisstory.Atthewords“misterioso,misteriosoaltero”(“Mysterious,mysteriousandaloof”),Verdiplacesstaccatomarksoverthenoteswithaphrasemarking.Thismarkingmeansthatthesingermustgentlynudgeeachnote,not reallybreaking the legatomomen-tum, but not singing smoothly either. Violetta’s risposta is light andfrivolous, in fact too frivolous. She doth protest too much. She isgreatlyaffectedbyAlfredo’swords.

Skipping to the stretta section, the backstage banda begins again.(Traditionallyabandawasneverorchestratedbythecomposerbutbythelocalcompanies,dependingonwhattheyhadavailable—thetaskoforchestrationcanfrequentlyfalltothecoach!)Violettasays,“Amordunque non più” (“Love, no more about that”). Alfredo replies withaverycurt “Iov’obbedisco.” (“Iwillobeyyou.”)VerdigivesAlfredoaphrasewithmanyrests in it.Thisshowsusthat, tocoverAlfredo’shurt,hebecomesveryformal—onecanalmostseehimbowslightlyandbegintoleave.ViolettasoftensherpointbygivingAlfredoaflower,whichheistoreturnwhenithasfaded.Sinceitisanorchid/camellia(whichdoesnotlastlong),itmeansthathemustreturntomorrow.Acoachmustknowthattheorchestraenterspartwaythroughthissec-tion, warming up the texture and Alfredo’s joyous response. In thisduetacoachmustunderstandwhateachmarkofVerdi’smeans,howtosingit,andhowtoshapethesceneasawhole.Hemustalsoknowhowtoputtogetherthedifficultduetcadenzaattheendoftheslowmove-ment.Thetraditions,suchasritardandiathighnotes,hemusteitherknoworsurmise.Theymustbethereorthestyleisnotright.

One point not covered yet is the tessitura in which Verdi wrotemanyofhis roles.Whether soprano,mezzo, tenor,baritone,orbass,eachroledemandsanabilitytosingasmuchasathirdhigherthaninrolesso labeled in theworksof thebelcanto era.Whilesomeof thetessituracomesfromunwrittenandaddedhighnotes,evenwhatVerdiwrotehangsintheupperfourthofthevoice.Thistessituraiscertainlyinpartsupposedtoaidthesinger inprojectingtheheightenedemo-tionsoverthefullerVerdianorchestra.Butitalsomeansagreatdealof work (and vocal wear) for the singer. (Orchestras, particularly inEurope,mightdowelltoconsiderthiswhenpitchingtheir“A”atlevelsalmostahalfstepaboveA–440.)

All coaches will, at some time, have to put together some of thelarge ensembles that are the climax of some of Verdi’s operas. It isimportant,beforethefirstrehearsal,toanalyzethemanddecidehowto make them not only clear but build to the important climax thecomposer intended. Particularly those ensembles of the later operas,

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like Aïda and Don Carlos, have layers of sound and shifting temposthat build to a pinnacle of sound. But these ensembles do not buildthemselves.Whileachorusmasterwillputtogetherthemajorpartofthechoralwork,itisuptothecoachtomakecertainthatthesoloistslead the ensembles. Even major conductors have underestimated thedifficultyofsomeof theseclimacticmoments,andtheperformanceshavesufferedbecauseof it.Theimportant linesmustcomeout,eachsingerfittingintothewholefabric.

Acoachwoulddowelltostudyolderrecordingstolearnaboutthecutsthattheytake,thecutsthatItalianoperahouseshaveusuallyfol-lowed.Curiously,thepenchantforcuttingVerdistopsaroundUn Ballo in Maschera.There,asVerdimaturedandmadehisoperasmorecom-pact,theneedforcuttingwentaway.ThoughaminorcutortwomaystillappearinAïda orOtello, theyarefarfewerthanthoseoperasofthe1850sorearlier.Also,inthelateroperas,Verdi’ssenseofbalanceissocompletethatanycutcanfrequentlybefeltmuchmorenoticeablythanintheoperasbefore1850.Don Carlo isanexceptiontothis,butitisalso,uncut,almostanhourlongerthanAïda.

It is important for a coach to understand these varying aspectsof Verdi’s output: arias, ensembles, and vocal requirements. When asingerwantstoadvancetolearningthegreatrolesVerdiwrote,agoodcoachmusthelphimacquirethemeanstotraversetheterritorysafely.

Verdi’smusicallegacydemandsabriefreferencetoPonchielli.HisstyleseemsatfirstratherclosetoVerdi’s,andthevocaldemandsaresimilar.OnemightevenpointoutthatthelibrettotoPonchielli’sgreatoperaLa Gioconda waspennedbyArrigoBoito(anagrammedasTobioGorria),librettistforVerdi’sOtelloandFalstaff.Alsothegrandman-ner,theoverblownemotions,andthespectacleareallasmuchapartofPonchielliastheyareVerdi.Theelaboraterubatowritteninby(andalsoaddedto)PucciniandtheotherverismocomposersfirstappearsaspartofthePonchiellimusicallanguage.HismusicshowsacomposerwithmanyofthesametechniquesinplacethatVerdiused,andyethismusicallanguageisdifferent.Ponchielliwascontemporarywithmid-dleandlaterVerdi,buthedoesnotemulateVerdi’searlierstyle.AlsoPonchielli does not usually rise to Verdi’s exalted heights musically,butheisstillanimportantcomposertoconsider.ThoughLa Gioconda doesnotappearallthatfrequently,itisstillanoperamanypeoplelove(andnotjustbecauseofthe“DanceoftheHours”ballet).HerequiresVerdian-stylesinging,andinthisheismoreinleaguewiththeoldermasterthanthenewerstyleofMascagni(hispupil)andPuccini.Somepeople actually denigrateLa Gioconda, but, given a well-cast perfor-mance,onewellrehearsedbothvocallyanddramatically,itisagreat

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show.Coachesmustunderstandthedifferencesinthecomposers,neverassumingtheyoungercomposeristhesamestyleastheolder,becausethedifferencesarejustmajorenoughtobequiteimportant.

Verdi,unlikePonchielli,isverymuchamainstayoftherepertoire,andaslongastherequisitevoicescanbefound,hisoperaswillbeper-formed…andcoachesmustlearnhowtocoachsingersinhisworks.

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interlude Six

the vaniShing oF large voiceS

It seems somehow appropriate that this Interlude should comedirectly after the chapter on Verdi and not long before the chaptersonMussorgskyandtheRichards,WagnerandStrauss.Fortheprob-lemfacingmanyoperahousestodayis the lackofbigvoices in largeenough numbers to satisfy the needs of the various opera theaters.Coachescannot solve thisproblem,butagoodcoachcanhelp thosewhohavethetalentforsomeofthisrepertoiretodevelopitbetter.

Withoutbeingavoiceteacherperse,acoachcanstilllistentosing-ersandtellthemwhentheyaresingingtechnicallyincorrectly.Thisissometimesdonebystressingmatchingvowels. Itcanalsobeaccom-plishedbyworkingonline.Therearefartoomanysingersaroundwhosingwithlittleornosenseof line,withaplacementthatvariesfromnotetonote.Thisisfrequentlyasignthatthesingerispushingtheirvoiceformorevolume,andthatwillleadeventuallytolessvolume.Thetonethesingershouldadoptmustberoundandbeautiful,butitcan-notbedarkenedjustbecausearepertoiremightdemandit.Flexibilityisthekeytosinging,andadarkandweightytonedoesnotmovewell.Asingerwhocansing“Tuchelevanità”fromDon Carlo shouldalsobeable to sing“Ernani,Ernani involami” fromErnani.Theyare thesameFach (theGermanwordforvocalclassification).ButtheErnaniariarequiressomefioritura,andsomeotherwisewonderfulElisabet-tasandLeonoras (inForza) justcannotdo that. (A listofFachs andsomeoftherolesthatfitintoeachonewillbefoundinAppendixA.)

The coach therefore must listen for such pushing and guide thesingerintofindingwaystosingthelargerrepertoirehealthily.Certainroles, like Verdi’s Otello, will always be heavy. And yet, with intelli-gence,asingercanrelyonbrightnessoftoneandwhatmightbecalled

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“ping” to add heft to a lighter voice. This is what carries across anorchestra pit. The full-throated approach espoused by a few singerslike Franco Corelli (who sang only excerpts from Otello) or MariodelMonacocanbeveryexciting,butthosetenorsstillhadaforward“ping”totheirvoices.SuchgreattenorsasLucianoPavarottiorPlacidoDomingotempertheirversionsofthatapproachwithcarefullymodu-lateddynamicsandcleandictionandrhythm.

Operahistoryhasfartoomanysingerswhowereblessedwithlyricinstrumentsandwhohavetriedtopushthatlimitedpalateintoamorevoluminous voice. It does not work, and a coach should advise lyricsingerstobecareful.

Three important reasons can be given for the vanishing of thelarger voices. The first is the lack of patience and perhaps guidancefrom knowledgeable mentors. Singers want to sing the bigger roles.Theyaremorechallengingdramaticallyandmusically(whichmakesthemmorefun!).Thefeesforsingingthelargerrolesarehigheraswell.UnfortunatelynoCountAlmavivainIl Barbiere di SivigliawilleverbegiventhesalaryofaDukeofMantuainRigoletto.SogoodorexcellentAlmavivaspushtheirslenderinstrumentsintothedeceptivelyheavierroleoftheDuke.NoZerlinawillevergarnerthesalaryofaGilda,andthesingerwillthereforepushtogaintheheavierorhigherrepertoire.

Anotherreasonisthatorchestrasaregettinglouder.Thesoftestvol-umeisnolongeraswhisperedasitoncewas,andtheloudestvolumeis sometimes quite a deal louder than the composers ever expected.Europeanorchestrasarealsoknowntotunealmostahalftonesharp,the brilliance being considered laudable. But a singer does not haveapegthatcanturntheirrangehigher.That,coupledwiththeloudervolume,meansthatsingersarestrainingforhighernotesandmorevol-ume,too.Thephysicalnatureofavoicejustcannotdothat.Europeanorchestrasarenotaloneinthisperversity,assomeAmericanorches-trashavedonethesame.

The third reason for vanishing voices of size rests in the theatersthemselves,whichhavegrownforeconomicreasons,too.Inordertopaythesalaries thatsingersandorchestrasdemand, thehouseshavegrown to well over 3,000 seating capacity. The Metropolitan Operaseats4,000!Itdoesnottakeanacousticiantoknowthatavoicethatsounded rich, full, large, and round in a 1,500-seat auditorium willsound rather puny in a 4,000-seat auditorium … unless they push!It does not matter how wonderful the acoustics are; the size speaksagainstit.

Singingstyleshavechanged,andcoacheswouldbenefitgreatlybylisteningtosomeoftheolderrecordingstohearinwhatfashionpeople

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usedtosing.AshortlistentoMattiaBattistinishowsthathisvoicewasamuchlighterbaritonevoicethanweusuallyheartoday.AndyethesangDonGiovanni,Renato(inUn Ballo in Maschera),andthelike.

It can be deceptive in listening to recordings to decide just howlargeavoicereallywas.Somevoicesweremostassuredly large(TitoRuffoandJeromeHinesmusthavehadveritablecannonsforvoices!),butevensmallervoicescanteachanastuteearwhatusedtobeaccept-able.Itmaybethat,ifweexpecttohearsomeoftheoperasrequiringlargevoices,wewillhavetochangeourideasagainastowhatisgoodornot,incorporatingprojectionandcolorsmoreinkeepingwiththerecordedevidenceofwhatcomposersexpectedtohear.

A fourth reason for vanishing large voices is much less simple torectify.Thecurrenttrainingintheschoolsystemsdoeslittletoteachteenagersmusicorvocalproduction.Thisistrueinallcountries,notjusttheUnitedStates.Whenmusicistaughtorappreciatedbyyoungmusicians,itismorefrequentlythe“cool”musicofrock,rap,hip-hop,jazz,andevenBroadwaymusicals.Whilethesearealsovalidmusicalareasofperformance, they donothelp train theperceptions neededfor performing music called “classical.” Vocalists are not sought outevenbyperceptivehighschool teachers. Ifadecentvoiceexists, it isusually such a diamond in the rough that few teachers identify it assuch.Andittakesmuchlessmusicalacumenortrainingtolearnandtoperformthemodernpopmusicthanitdoesclassicalmusic(particu-larlyopera).Operaisjustnotpartoftheactiveculturetowhichyoungpeoplerelate.Thismeansadiminishingpoolofsingers.Ihaveheardexcellentvoices inpeoplewhohavesimplyneverhadvocal training.Thelostpotentialisalmosttragic.Attheveryleast,itexplainsthelim-itednumberofgreatvoicesrisingtothetoptoday.

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9French oPera

French opera repertoire stems from a handful of composers.They share certain compositional traits and stylistic considerationswhile at the same time retaining different specific points about eachcomposer.Berlioz,Meyerbeer,Gounod,Massenet,Bizet,Saint-Säens,Offenbach,Poulenc,Charpentier,andDebussyallsharecertainwaysofwritingforvoicesandevennotationalpeculiarities.Ofthatgroup,onlyDebussyandPoulencarestylisticallydifferentenoughtotreatinaseparateway.

1. nOTaTiOnThe first area that must be covered in a discussion of French operaconcernsthetiednotes.InVerdiaquarternotetiedtoaneighthnotewouldequaladottedquarternote.ButintheFrenchstyleofwriting,aquarter tiedtoaneighthequalsa fullquarter.Without the tie, thequarter is actually somewhat shorter (roughly a dotted eighth). Thisisnotpeculiartooneoftheseesteemedcomposersbutseemstoholdtrueforthemall.(SeeFigure14.)

Another important consideration in French opera concerns thosesyllables that inspokenFrenchare leftunsounded,but that inoperaaregivenpitchandlimitedduration.Thisoccurssofrequentlythatnoexampleneedbegiven.Thereasonforthisanomalygoesbacktostage

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French.Thevanishingsyllablesweresupposedtobesoundedsotheywould project. This is the case, too, in sung theater. For non-nativesingers, the tendency is to accent those syllables by giving the notestheirentireduration.Bearinginmindtheabovestylisticnotation,thenotes assigned to those unaccented syllables should in fact be quiteshort.Thoughnotatedfrequentlyasaneighthnote,thesingerwoulddobettertorememberthe“vanishing”natureofthesyllableandmakeitasixteenth.

2. ranges and TessiTurasAnimportantpeculiarity inFrenchmusicstems fromtheway thosecomposerswrote for the tenorvoice.Those in theabove listofcom-posers(andDonizettiandRossiniintheirFrenchoperas)wroteforthetenorsinatessiturathatfrequentlysitsquitehigh,sometimesasmuchas a third higher than their Italian or German counterparts. This isdueinparttoaheadiervocalproduction,anditisalsoduetoaslen-derertonalideal.TheFrenchoperaticliteratureisalmostalwayslyri-callyattuned.ThatmeansthatthedramaticthrustfoundinVerdi(forexample) iskeptincheckinFrenchopera,withnoneofthoseheroicand dramatic outbursts such as can be found in Otello, Pagliacci, orAïda. OnehasonlytolookatthetenorariasfromDonizetti’sLa Fille du RégimentorAdam’sLe Postillon de Longjumeau torealizejusthowhighthe“norm”couldbe.EvenVerdi,whenhewaswritingDon Carlos andLes Vêpres Sicilienne,gavethetenorrolesahighertessiturathanwashisalreadyhighernorm.Auber,inhisLe Philtre(fromwhichthelibretto of Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’amore is fashioned), also gives Guil-laume(Nemorino)anawfullyhightessitura,sometimesasmuchasathirdhigherthanhisItaliancounterpart.

Oddly,exceptfortheextremelyhightenorwriting,otherrolesarefrequentlygivenaslightlylowercenterofvocalgravity.MargueriteinFaustmaybesungbylightlyricsandcoloraturas,butthetessituraof

Figure 14 French notation — how it is sounded in comparison with what is written and how Ger-man and Italian notation would sound.

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therole(aswithMassenet’sManonorDebussy’sMélisande)liesmuchmoreinthemiddlevoice.Pushingthisareaofavoice,tryingtomakeiteitherlouderorbigger,willcauseittotakeonacurdledsoundthatis not pleasing. The middle voice must be produced securely, with afocused but not a forced sound. The “ping” in the voice carries itacross,notthevocalweight.Properlyrestrainedsingingwillmakethebrillianthighportionsmoreeffective.

ItdoesnottakemuchstudyofGounod’soperas—notablyRoméo et Juliette or Faust — or those of Massenet — Manon, Werther, andDon Quichotte —tofindhighlydramaticmomentsexpressedwithalyric impulse. Bizet’s Pêcheurs des Perles, despite its somewhat moremelodramaticplot,evenmanagestoretainalyricstance.HisCarmen,thoughfrequentlybellowedasifitwereanItalianopera,isjustaslyricandbenefitsfromsingerstreatingitinthatfashion.ThereissomethingaboutFrenchoperathatmakesthemelodiclinesmorelinear.Juliette’sValse,forexample,benefitsgreatlyinliftandforwardmotionifJulietteconsidersthislinearqualityandsingsthe“Jeveux”astwoupbeatstothe downbeat of “vivre.” The rests feel almost scanned to create thislift—almostbutnot entirely!That linearnatureholds true forCarmen’s arias,Berliozmélodies,andmélodies frommanyotherFrenchcomposers.Itseemsmorepronouncedthanin,shallwesay,Verdi.

In this context an explanation of “lyric” is probably in order. Bysinginglyrically,Imeanthatthesingerpaysmuchattentiontowordsandcolors, and that thegeneraldramatic thrust comes through thiscoloration of text, not from tutta forza type of singing appropriate(perhaps)intheovertoutburstsofVerdiortheoutburstsofWagner’sheroes and gods. In this way the voice can retain a pure and undis-tortedline,thelinearbeingconsideredmorethansinglenoteaccents.Whendonewell,thesingerissaidtobeperformingwith“taste”andthepublicdoesnot reactaswildlyas theydo for themoreextrovertdramaticdisplays,but theknowingaudiencememberwillknowjusthowdifficultthe“lyric”stanceistomaintain.

The French language calls for a certain forward placement forpropersound.Tonally, thisputsthevoiceintoagoodplace,too.ThelanguageismorefocusedthansomeoftheotherEuropeanlanguages,and this helps the singer. Many vowels, notably the “a,” are brighterthan their Italian counterparts. For non-Francophone singers (thosewhodonotspeakthelanguagewithgreatfluidity)thedifficultycomesin part through the many nasals. A singer cannot sing beautifullyandusetruenasals.(ThisholdstrueeveninAmericancountrysing-ers!)Thispointiscontroversial,becausesometeacherswillinsistthat

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1�0•OperaCoaching

asingermustuse truenasals.Butsuchasoundhas limitedcarryingpower and is frequently unattractive. A good coach must have ideason how to approximate the correct sound without allowing the toneactuallytogothroughthenose.Thisisaccomplishedbestbysingingorsayingthenasalcorrectlyandthenfindingawaytoopenthevowelsome and retain the essence of the true nasal. (This is impossible todemonstrateinprint.)

3. rePerTOire

Althoughtherearemany,theoperasthatcomprisetheFrenchrepertoirecan be summed up in a list of about six operas. Without denigratingBerlioz as a composer, it is a fact that his Les Troyens, Béatrice et Bénédict,andsoonarenotstandardrepertoireoperas.Theyalsohaveastylealltheirown,becauseBerliozwritesinlonglinesandarchingphrasesthatarepatentlyhisstyle.Acarefulstudyofhisworksalonewouldtakeseveralpagesandbeusefulonlyonceinawhile.

Similarly,the“other”operasofGounod,Bizet,andMassenetwon’tbecoveredhere.TheonlyimportantFrenchoperastomakeuptheFrenchrepertoireareGounod’sFaustandRoméo et Juliette,Bizet’sCarmen(butnothisPêcheurs des Perles or Jolie Fille de Perth),Massenet’sManonand Werther (but not his Don Quichotte), and Offenbach’s magnumopusLes Contes d’Hoffmann(butnothisoperettas).ThesesixoperasarethecoreofwhatwecalltheFrenchrepertoire.ThecomposersMey-erbeer,Delibes,andHalévymaybequiteimportanthistorically,butinthiscontextthereisnotenoughspacetocoverevensoimportantanoperaasLes Huguenots.Itjustwillnotcomeupveryfrequently.Ariasfromtheseoperasmayappear,butapplyingknowledgeofotherFrenchrepertoireandsomeknowledgeofbelcantowillgetthecoachthroughsomeoftheseworkswell.Thenumberofisolatedariasbythesecom-posersissmallandcanbeeasilylearned.

All of these operas call forth an acting style that stems from thewordsthemselves.HenryHiggins’sfamousquotefromtheLernerandLoewemusicalMy Fair Lady frequentlycomestomindwhenworkinginFrenchopera:“TheFrenchdon’tcarewhattheydo,actually,aslongastheypronounceitproperly!”1

Inthiscontext,to“pronounceitproperly”meansgivingthewordstheir due. The librettos of Eugene Scribe are poetically rather wellmade, but the plots sometimes reek of the odd letters and mistakenidentities.Despiteastrongdesiretounderenunciatethetextsonoonewillknowhowinaneitmightseem,asingerhasreallytoworktogettheseoperasacross.

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FrenchOpera•1�1

Intheabovelist,JulesBarbierandMichelCarréappearthreetimes.Theyalsowrotequiteafewotherimportantoperalibrettos(orlivrets)for French operas. Their poetry is frequently more inspired thanthatofScribe,and theirdramatic slant ismoremodern,hencemoreacceptable. They really seemed to know how to catch the essence ofanydramaticsituation.Coachesmustalwaysbelisteningtobecertainthattextsactuallycomethrough.Thegenerally,slightlylowertessitura(exceptforthetenorsandsomebaritones)wasgivenbythecomposersinthehopethatthesingersmighthavesomesuccessatwordprojection.ThedependencyonclarityoftextisoneoftheFrenchtrademarks.

TheformalityofFrenchoperaticmusicstemsfromtheearlyinsis-tence on ballet. Therefore it becomes natural for Manon to sing agavotte.AndvariousportionsofmusicusethekindofrhythmicvervefoundinFrenchballetmusic.Ofcourse, therearethose lengthybal-letsintherepertoireofthegrandoperas.Theyarealwaysaproblemtostage,andyettheyaresointegraltosomeoftheplotsormusicalbal-ancethatleavingthemoutcanmeanasevereholeinthemusic.

Another important trademark of all French music can best beexplainedwiththismaxim:Ifthecomposerdoesnotaskforrubatoorritardandos,donot include them.Thestretchingofaphrase isquiteacceptable in Italian literature, but, though it is a major temptation,particularly in some songs of Fauré, it is not acceptable in Frenchoperasorsoloinstrumentalworks.Someworksmayseemtocallforahighlyrhapsodicstyle,butthegreatestteachersofFrenchmusicargueotherwise. The composers usually are so specific about portamento,ritardando, tenuto, and the like, that they do not need a “helpinghand”fromaperformer.Thismeansthatanastutecoachmustbefirmagainst such added improvements, but must also be certain that allmarkingsarefollowed.Ascore likeManonbyMassenet issorepletewith markings that it becomes a real accomplishment to reproduceevenhalfofthem.Totalityisthegoal.

Tradition is not a license to avoid the rubato rule. In Roméo et Juliette, Juliette’s Valse has a traditional ritardando every time sheascends to the high A. Yet a listen to those sopranos who actuallystudiedtheariawithGounodshowsthattheydonottakethisliberty.Sopranosanddirectorsmaywantit,andconductorsmayallowit,but,facingthatdilemma,mysuggestionisthatmoderationisbetterthanthehugeritardando. Iprefernochangeof tempobecauseIfindthattheyouthfulenergyisservedbetterwithno“romantic”interpolation.

Thispenchant forpurityof lineandexpressionand itsabsence insingers (even those of the nineteenth century) is at least in part theexplanation for Rossini’s strange forty-year silence. Living in Paris

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at the time of his last success (Guillaume Tell, 1829), he despairedof singers taking the time to learn a proper technique to continuethe really refined singing to which he had become accustomed. Thenewerdemandforvolume,squillando,andsoonallledawayfromthewell-modulated and poised tone. Meyerbeer also felt this movement,andhis lateroperasreflecta lessdemandingattitude towardsingers.Berlioz,composingearlyenoughtoavoidsuchtrends,actuallycanbeconsideredoneofthebestexamplesofthisrefinedstyleofsinging.Hisvocalwritingshowsupfaultytechniquesmercilessly,andthatcanbeamajorreasonthathisoperasarenotmorefrequentlyperformed.

Bizet’s Carmen is so frequently performed that many commentsarenotinorder.Buttheslenderervocalproductionalludedtointhischapteractuallyhelpsprojectthemusictoadegreethattheovertsob-bing, shouting, and chesty singing employed in some performancescanneverdo.Theoperaispopular,butwoebetidethesingerorcoachwho thinks it is easy. Carmen is not just a vamp, but is a complexcharacter. She may be a mezzo-soprano role, but the tessitura is notso uncomfortable even for some sopranos. Tenors tackling Don Joséshouldrealizethattryingtooverpowertherolewillleadtorealprob-lems.Theproblemwiththeroleisthatitstartsoutasalyrictenorroleandendsasadramatic.Thetoreador,Escamillo,isalowbaritonerole,onetoofrequentlyshoutedthroughinsteadofsung.

ForPélleas et Mélisande DebussytookhiscompositionalcueinpartfromWagner’sParsifalandinpartfromMussorgsky’sBoris Godunov.The former has a constant orchestral underpinning (one cannot callit accompaniment) that enlightensandhighlights every thing that issung. The vocal line rides over this carpet with quite natural inflec-tion.Thevoicesarekeptinthecentralvoiceforthemostpart,enablingthesingertoprojectthetextcarefullyandcompletely.ThenaturalisticwayofwritingrhythmsforthevoicesstemsfromDebussy’sstudyofWagner’s Parsifal and Mussorgsky’s work. Debussy may not providequiteasmanyshiftsoftempoasMussorgsky,buthecertainlytakeshiscueonhowtowriteconstantlyshiftingsubtlemoodsfromtheRussianmaster.Thesometimesbrokenlinesandshort,angularnatureofsomesungphrasesstemdirectlyfromthelateWagnerstyle(seetheexcerptin the chapter on Wagner). If the orchestral palate derives from theImpressionisticschool,thevocalwritingcomesfromthetwomastersmentioned. A coach must never underestimate the difficulty of thiskindofwriting.Particularlyinthelateracts,thepropulsivenatureofthemusiccombinedwiththeemotionallyrisingdramacanmakesing-ersforgettolearnthecountofthemusicsecurely.Withoutabsolutely

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FrenchOpera•1��

securerhythmthemusicbecomesaterribleguessinggame,andmusicofthisnaturecannotholdtogetherthatway.

TheFrenchlanguagehasnorealornaturalaccent.Itseemstobealessinflectedlanguagethan,say,EnglishorGerman.Despitethetruthofthisstatement,certainwordsdorequiresomecorrectaccent,evenif the composer writes against the normal accent. (See earlier com-mentsaboutBizetandCarmen.)Coachesmustunderstandthecorrectaccentsandhelpsingersachievethem.ThisattitudetowardtheFrenchlanguage explains also the dramatic reserve sometimes found in theoperas. It also means that, in roles like Mephistopheles, the singermustactuptheprojectionoftext,buthemustnot(asthefirstsingerofMephistoapparentlydid)overacthimself. It isafine line,andthedifference in that stylistic concern may explain why French opera isnotalwaysaspopularasItalian.Overtoutburstsworkwell inItalianoperasbutnotinFrenchones.

Imustmentiontwooperasherebecausetheyarerevivedoccasion-ally and because, although they share certain traits with the otherFrench composers, they also have difficulties all their own. GustaveCharpentier is noted for only his opera Louise. The writing of theoperaisacombinationoftraditionalFrench,verismo,andevenalittleminimalism(yearsbeforesuchastylecameintobeing).Anaria like“Depuislejour”soundseasyuntilasopranotriestoprojectthepurelineof thepiece.Then the truedifficultycomes to the fore.Acoachmustnotunderestimate sucha sectionofmusicas theopeningof act2. It will require many hours of coaching. The music is quite diffi-cult,theaccompanimentdoesnothelpthesingersatall,andthesunglanguageisnot“stageFrench”but“streetFrench,”withrequisitecon-tractionssuchaswehearinAmericanallthetime.Francophonesing-ersmayhavelittletroublewiththelanguage,butthegossipsessionisformidable.

Poulenc’s opera Dialogues des Carmélites is yet another case. Themusic is frequentlygently lyric,but itrisestoveryintenseemotionalheights. The orchestra frequently carries the melodic thread (as inPuccini), with the voices picking up portions of the melodies. Justas frequently, however, the voices may rattle off various highly par-landophrasesandthenjumpbacktothemelody.Theoperaismostlythrough-composed, and there are very few arias. The characters,however,arevividlydrawn,andasingermusttrytoachievethevari-ous levels of dramatic conviction each role requires. As an example,Madame Lidoine’s aria “Mes filles” from act 3 is a perfect depictionof her strength and courage, her implacable and unflappable naturerising to the horror facing her and the other nuns. (Leontyne Price,

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1��•OperaCoaching

whoperformedtheroleearlyinhercareer,recordedthisaria,bridg-ing into the second section to complete it, eliminating the jailer.) Acoachshouldtakethemetronomenumbersasfact.Ricordioriginallypublished the piano score without over half of the orchestral inter-ludes.Theyhaverecentlybeenadded,and,acquiringascore,asingerorcoachshould look for themostrecent“ristampa”date.Thenewerversionstillretainsafewmajormistakes,andthecoachmaywanttostudytheorchestralscoretofindthese.

(Productionteamsandcoachestakenote:Thesoundoftheguillo-tineinthefinal,terrifyingsceneisaccomplishedbyslidingamachetedown a metal rod of roughly 36-inch length, landing in a block ofwoodatthebottom.Amicrophoneplacedquitecloseshouldpickupthesound,amplificationmakingitthedesiredloudness.)

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1��

10muSSorgSKy and the ruSSianS

The first important hurdle in Russianoperawillalwaysbethelanguage itself. Cyrillic is a different alphabet, and that alone makesRussian difficult. Add to that vowel sounds that are totally differentfromWesternlanguages,andwebegintogatheranappreciationoftheproblemsfacingWesternmusicianswhenconfrontingRussianopera.

In reality, most opera houses will deal with only a few Russianoperas. Until recently, even the Metropolitan Opera would performtheseworksinEnglish.Butaroundthirtyyearsagothatchanged.Themostcommonlyperformedoperas intheRussian languageareBoris Godunov and Khovanschina by Mussorgsky, and Yevghenyi (Eugene) OneginandPique Dame (Pikovaya Dama)byTchaikovsky.TheoperasofRimsky-KorsakovandRachmaninoff(andafewothers)aresosel-dom performed outside of Russia itself that they do not bare closescrutinyhere.TheotheroperasofTchaikovskyareseldomdustedoffeven there. Prokofiev’s operas, notably Love for Three Oranges, War and Peace, and Betrothal in a Monastery, or Stravinsky’s Mavra, arefrequentlyperformed,ifatall,intranslation,thoughthatischanging.Glinka ishistoricallyquite important,buthedoesnotfigurepromi-nentlyintoanyone’srepertoire.

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ThefirstthingacoachmustunderstandaboutRussianoperaisthegiveandtakeofthedialogue.Therefore,evenifdealingwiththeoperasin English, the coach must make the singer realize that one phrasemayanswerthepreviousoneinaslightlyslowerorfastertempo.Theswitch from one character to another may not continue at a metro-nomicpaceeither.Theremayevenbeaslightpausebetweenmeasures.Onemeasuremaypushaheadinarathersprightlytempoandthenextmaylanguish.Aneasyexampletostudy(notproducedhereduetothelengthoftheexchange)canbefoundinact1,scene1ofOnegin.IntheconversationsleadingintoOlga’sariaandafterit,Tatianaisfilledwithennui and Olga is chiding in a good-natured way, while Larina andFilipyevnaareexpressingdifferingdegreesofconcernaboutTatiana’semotionallanguor.Thetempothroughouttheexchangemustebbandflowdependingonthenatureofthewords.Evenwithinastatement,there may be need for a brief dramatic breath. Each character mustthinkofwhatshewillsaybeforespoutingit.

UpontheapproachofLensky,thereisaswitchto6/8.Heretherhythmbecomesmuchmorepreciseanddifficult.Tchaikovskyexpectstheanxi-etyofapproaching“company”toinfectallofthemwithakindofterror.Inanalmostcomicfashion,hehasthemusicplungeaheadtoadramaticstop,effectivelyplacingthewomeninareceiving line.(Theeffectalsoseemstogive themapasted-onsmile thatradiates thekindof“hello”thatissupposedtomaskcomicallytheirearlierconfusion.)TchaikovskyjustneverembracestheRussianculturethewaytheRussianFivedid—Cui,Balakirev,Borodin,Rimsky-Korsakov,andMussorgsky.

ModesteMussorgsky’sBoris Godunov isconsideredaseminalworkat least in part because of the completely original way Mussorgskydealt with the text. He is perfectly able to keep a steady tempo forextended passages. The Polonaise and Love Duet in the Polish Act,Varlaam’ssongaboutKazan,andFyodor’sclappingsongareexamplesof suchmoments.But thegreatmonologuesofBorishimself requiretotalimmersioninthetext.

Listening to the great monologue as an example for study, withscoreinhand,willshowanycoachwhatImean.Themusicebbsandflows,dependingonwhetherBorisiselatedordepressed,indignantorforthright.Boris addressesFyodor inone fashion, andmuseson thenatureofhisregimeinanother.

The lengthyariamayshowat least to someextenthow importantthewordsare.Mussorgsky,unlikeMassenet,Verdi,orPuccini,wroteonlysomeofwhatheexpectedtobeperformeddramatically.Partofthisstemsfromhisbeingonlyapart-timecomposer.Buthealsomayhavethoughtthatwhathewantedwassoobvious,dependingonthe

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MussorgskyandtheRussians•1��

phrasing of the words, that he “knew” the singer would inflect thewordsproperly.Healsoknewthataknowledgeablesingerwouldsepa-ratewordsthatneededtobeseparated.ItisforthisreasonthatcoacheswhodonotknowRussianneedtofindRussianspeakerstohelpinthecoachingofthisliterature.

ItbearsmentionherethattheCyrillicalphabetisnotsodifficulttomaster,andidiomatictranslationscanhelpacoachlearnmuchaboutthelanguageitself.ThisisnottosaythataRussianexpertisnotneces-sary,justthatinitialworkreallycanbedonewithoutrecoursetosuchtutors.Acoachshould learntomakeagoodtransliteration(RussianwordswrittenintheLatinalphabet)fromwhichtostart.

The aforementioned example also shows that tempi can fluctuateconsiderably,eveninplaceswherethecomposerdoesnotsoindicate.IntheGermanRomantictraditionthiskindofrubatoisusuallybasedonthemelodicandharmoniccontoursofthemusicitself,butinRus-sianmusic,aswiththelaterFrenchstylewithwhichithassomecloseaffinity,therubatoisallbasedsolelyonverbalnuance.Thisrubatocanevenbefoundinmusicwithouttextifthatmusicismeanttoreflectaverbalsource—Orthodoxchant.

TheRussianFiveandTchaikovskywerealwaysatodds,andincom-paringMussorgskyandTchaikovskyonecanunderstandhowthatis.Mussorgskyleansheavilyonthefolkforms.ExceptinapiecelikethemonologuefromBoris,hereliesheavilyonRussiandance,Orthodoxmelodies,andfolksongstyles.Thesearesimpleinstructure,andtheycanbereadilyassimilatedbyanaudience.OnehasonlytothinkoftheInnkeeper’ssong,Varlaam’sKazanSong,theClappingSong,Feodor’sPopinkanarrative,Marina’saria,orthePolonaisetounderstandthis.Khovanschinahasthesekindsofpiecesinitaswell.Thefolkelementisalwayslurkingnearthesurface,throwingintoreliefquitesharplythedialogue-typepassages.

Tchaikovsky uses folk melodies some, too. But whole scenes canhappen without one reference to such melodies. The harmonic pal-ette,while clearly “Russian,” is also influencedbyWesternpractices.TheQuartet,LetterScene,orthefinalduetfromOneginareallcom-posedinastrictlyRussianRomanticstyle,lingeringoncertainwordsandphrasesand relyingon the considerableverbalprojectionof thesinger. They do not, however, have folk or church elements present.Tchaikovsky reserved those for the few times he needed to indicatecertainsocialsituationsormilieus.InOnegin,thechorusofpeasantsinact1 follows the folk-inspiredelementclosely.And in the famousRomeo and Juliet Overture,healludestotheOrthodoxchant.

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Beyondthefolkelements,onewillfindstrongcharactersinRussianopera, living their livesandplotting theirschemeswithgreatpower.Tchaikovsky’sHermann(Pique Dame)orOneginaregreatcharacterstudies.HisJoanofArc(Orleanskaya Dieva — Maid of Orleans)isanequallystrongrole,withwonderfulopportunitiesbothforsingingandfordramaticcharacterization.Mussorgsky’sBorisisofcoursestrong,thedramaticpossibilitiesbeingasdeepasinarolelikeHamlet.Butofequalinterestareotherroles,likeShuisky,Marina,Dmitri,Shaklovity,Khovansky senior, and Marfa. A coach must understand the dra-maticpossibilitiesofeach,thevocaldemandsofeach,andthestyleofeachcomposer,andhelpthesingertocometogripswiththesegreatoperas.

Itwillhelpacoach immensely ifhecanfindways to transliteratethe Russian into the Roman alphabet. This will help initial pronun-ciation.Followthiswithagoodtranslation(literaland idiomatic) inordertounderstandthecomplexitiesofthescenes.

The coach will initially find that coaching Russian opera is quitedifficult,but,onceacquaintancewiththestyleandlanguagebecomesmoreingrained,thecoachwillbegintounderstandthereasonsforthe“traditional”elementsthatappearinsomanyplaces.Itispartiallyforthisreasonthat thebesteditionspossibleshouldbesoughtout.Thiswillensurethatwhatthecomposersactuallyputdownonpaperwillcomethroughandbetranslatedintorealdrama.

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11richard wagner and richard StrauSS

In dealing with the late German Romantic school of Wagner,Strauss, and also Humperdinck, we must first acknowledge that thecoach must do some considerable “woodshedding” in order to playthosecomposers’scores.Learningtoplaythesescores isataskcom-parable to learning several of Beethoven’s late sonatas all at once. Itis true that inplayinga scoreat thepiano,acoachdoesnothave toplayeverynotewritten.Thereduction is supposed to showwhat thesingerwillhearandfrequentlygoesbeyondthecapabilitiesofeventhebestcoachestoplayeverynote.Still,achievingevenamodestdegreeofexpertiseatplayingthescoreswillrequirehoursofpractice.Ittakestimeandefforttogetallofthechordscorrectlyplayedandtofindjustwhatisimportanttoplay.Thisissometimesreferredtoasplayingthemelos, thesoundingcomposition,asopposedtoeverynote thecom-poserwrote.Pridemaymakeacoachwanttoplayeverything,butitisprobablynotgoingtobepossible.

Partofthereasonthesescoresaresodifficultistheincreasedchro-maticismfound in theoperasof thesecomposers.Printedscoresarenotalwaysperfect eitheratgettingallof thenotesprintedcorrectly.Sometimesalittlerearrangementoftheexactwritingcanmakelittleauraldifferencebutcanmakeanimmensedifferenceinthedifficultyofwhatisplayed.

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Another reason for the difficulty in playing comes from the con-trapuntalmethodthesecomposersusedforcomposing,anorchestralfabricthatincludescombinedmusicalmotivesandlayeredtextures.Anotableexampleofthisisfoundintheopeningofact3ofDer Rosenkavalier (anauditionpieceforcoaches!),andincludessomeextremelydifficultpassagework,followedby4/4timeinthemainorchestraanda waltz from the orchestra backstage. Without playing necessarilyallofboth,acoachmustsuggest thatbotharecontinuingandexist-ing simultaneously, fighting for supremacy. The orchestral writingbecomes not so much a true accompaniment (as in bel canto operasorVerdi)butarunningtapestry,commentingontheactionandemo-tionsofthecharacters.Thisaccompanimentsometimesbecomesquitedense and heavily orchestrated. It also may take over for whole sec-tions, transitions from one scene to another or lengthy passages ofstageaction(andoccasionallyinaction)thattakestimetounwind.TheaforementionedRosenkavalier excerpt,thoughnowordsaresungdur-ing itsplaying,has tobe learnedbecause itwillbeplayedat stagingrehearsalsandmustbeclearforthepeopletolearnthestagingofthepantomimethattakesplace.

With an orchestral underpinning of this nature, the vocal linesare no longer just melodic utterances. They become a counterpointinthemselvestotheorchestralfabric.Thevoicemustridea linethatfloatsontopoftheorchestraonemomentandthenmayplungeintothe middle of that texture the next. Such vocal lines bear little rela-tionship tosongsor regulararias.And theparlandonatureofmanyof these linesmakes the rhythmquitedifficult.A lookat the roleofBaronOchs inDer Rosenkavalier will showhowchallenginghisroleis for these exact reasons. Not only is he rhythmically difficult frombeginningtoend,spoutingfirstinstructionstoalawyer,thenlecher-ous,leeringjibesatSophieandthen,laterstill,hispompousfeelingsofinjusticesagainsthimself,buthemustalsosingmostofhismusicinViennesedialect(quite far fromhighGerman).Allof thismustflowfromhismouthinaneasystream(filledwithmanywrittenepithets)and inawide-rangingvocaldisplay that includesanexposed lowD.Parlando in theRichardsmustnotdegenerate into thekindof sing-ingthatseemsasmuchbarkingassinging.Bothoftheexcerptsfoundlaterinthischapter,onefromParsifalandonefromSalome,invitethekind of approximate pitch singing appropriate in Berg, but it is notappropriate in Wagner or Strauss, where accurate pitches, rhythms,andgoodsingingmustalwaysberemembered.

Thepoetryisimportant,too,andcanbeastumblingblockforthesingerlearningthemusic.Wagnerwashisownlibrettist,ofcourse,and

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RichardWagnerandRichardStrauss•1�1

hestrove forsomeverydeepmomentsof introspection.Monologueslike those found in Hans Sachs (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) orWotan (the Ring) bring out the soul of the character, inner turmoilalwaysbeingat the forefront.Whenhischaractersbecomeheated inhighemotion(particularlysensual),however,theycanlapseintowhat,toatranslator,seemslikebabble.PassagesoftheloveduetfromTristan und Isolde are nearly nonsensical divorced from the dramatic situa-tion.Earliertexts,whilesimplerinsomeways,arenolessdifficulttomakerealthanthelaterones.Hemayhavelearnedtobecomeabettercomposer,buthispoetrystillcarrieswithitmomentsofawkwardnessevenintoParsifal.

This isnot to say thateverythinga singermust learn is related topitchesandpoetry.Wagnerhasgivensomecharacters“musicalinstru-ments” to play. Siegfried must play the anvil and Hans Sachs mustplayonthebottomofashoe,bothplayingwithhammersofdifferingnature. Wagner writes the rhythm, however, and, though recordingscancoverthiswellwithapercussionist,inliveperformancesitisthesingerwhomust“schlag”inrhythm.Itissometimesquitedifficult,andthecoachmustbecertainthatthesingercan“beat”theirroleaswellassing it. InMeistersinger, thesingerperformingSextusBeckmessermustalsoconvincinglyactasifheisplayingalute,allthewhilefol-lowingtheconductor.(Beckmesser’sSerenadeisamajordifficultyforany conductor due to the stop-and-start nature of the excerpt, andthenbecauseitleadsintoafugalriotofmonumentaldifficulty.)

StrausswasfrequentlyworkingontextsofHugovonHofmannsthal,and those librettos are quite different from Wagner. Salome (text byOscarWildeastranslatedbyHedwigLachmann)alreadysetsthetonefor Richard Strauss’s operas by combining considerable emphasis oncentralwomen’sroles,andbyrelyingonorchestralunderpinning.ButfromElektraonward,thestoryunfoldswithgreateremotionaldepth,andthetextisfrequentlyrepletewithlayersofmeaningorthought.Italsohasmoments thatelicited fromStrausswhatone friendofminecalled “noisemusic,” that curiousorchestralwritingwithno themes,justsoundpainting.WhipscrackinElektra,birdsflyaround(atleastinHerod’smind)inSalome,andLeopoldandotherservantsofBaronOchschasethegirlsinDer Rosenkavalier.Theyarenotgreatmomentsof drama, and Strauss seems to have written through them with lit-tlemusicalcare—theyarejustmini–tonepoems.Stillthecoachmayhavetomakesenseofthemforthesinger.Thelayersinvolvedinunder-standingacharacterliketheMarschallin(inRosenkavalier)oranentireoperalikeDie Frau ohne Schatten cantakequiteawhiletounravel.

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Projection of voice through these dense textures must come fromaclearenunciationofthetext.Thismeansbothconsonant/voweldic-tionandthemoreimportant“thoughtdiction”mentionedelsewhereinthisvolume.WithtextsconstructedinthefashionofWagnerorHof-mannsthal,attentionmustbegiventothelivelywords,thosethatcanelicitavocalcoloringofthetext.ThecoachshouldrealizethatWagnerandStrauss,nomatterwhattheirreputationforheavyorchestralwrit-ingmaybe,actuallyallowthesingertocomethroughwithonlyamod-estamountofheft.BirgitNilsson(wellversedinbothcomposers)evencommentedoncethatElektra,afterafewinitialoutbursts,becomesarelatively lyricroleandshouldbesungthatway.Whilethisobserva-tionmaynotallow lyricvoices to sing theheavier repertoire, itdoesmeanthatlargervoicesdonothavetogive100percentthroughoutanentireevening. Italsomeans that, ifa smallervoiceattempts tosingthe large roles (Siegfried, Brünnhilde, Elektra, Salome, Tannhäuser,Wotan,Hagen,etc.),itwillsuffervocalcollapse.Coachesmustunder-standthisandguidethepotentialWagnerandStrausssingerintothecorrectrepertoirechoices,helpingthemalsoto learnmethods togetthroughsuchstiffassignments.

Thoughthegeneralvocalwritingwouldbedifficultinanycase,bothcomposersrequireaverylargeorchestra.WhereasVerdi’searlyworksrequire perhaps fifty players (and some houses might use fewer), hislateroperasrequireonlyafewmorethanthat(say,sixty-five).Belcanto composersusedprobablyamaximumofforty-fiveplayers.ButWagnerusedorchestrasofaroundseventy-fiveforevenhisearlyworks,andthelater ones, particularly the Ring cycle, require around ninety players.Strauss,particularlyinElektra andSalome,requiresaround100play-ers.Imaginetryingtosingoveranorchestrathatsize!Thepurposeofthissizeisforawiderangeofcolor,notnecessarilyvolume.Butstillitmeansabiggerpitandthepotentialforverydensetextures.ThelengthofaworklikeDie Frau ohne Schatten makeslearningandplayingsuchan opera difficult for any orchestra or for any coach trying to play areduction.(OrchestralplayersattheMetropolitanOperahavedescribedplayingthethreeactsofStrauss’sDie Frau ohne Schatten asanexercisecomparabletoplayingthreeMahlersymphoniesbacktoback.)

Wagnerhad a solution to the problem of size/volume himself. Hedesigned a stage and pit for his Bayreuth Festspielhaus that had auniqueconstruction.Thestage,unlikemosttheaters,isnotabovethelevelof theaudience,but it isactuallyata level thatcontinuesdownfromtheslantoftheauditoriumfloor.ThisideacametohimfromtheGreekamphitheaters,whoseplayingareasarealsoatthebottomoftheaudienceslant.Thisallowsthesoundtoradiateupfromthesingersas

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RichardWagnerandRichardStrauss•1��

inthatGreekamphitheater.Theorchestrapit, thoughinfrontof thestage,isloweryet,withonlyaslight,curvedcoverstickingupenoughfor a singer to see the conductor. This has the advantages of dimin-ishing theamountof soundpouring fromtheorchestra,ofblendingthatsoundmorecompletely,andofmakingtheorchestrainvisibletotheaudience.Since thepitopening is somuchsmaller, theviewer isunawarethatapitexists,andthustheybecomeunawarejusthowtallagiant isorhowshortadwarfmightbe.Thisalsomakes theactionon stage closer to the audience. Considering the importance of thewords in Wagnerian monologues, this is an added bonus, since theaudience can see the emotions registering on the face of the singersmuch more clearly. In addition, the sight lines are unbroken by pil-larsorotherobstructions.Thedepthofthestagecanbeopenedtothedepthofthreestages.Thus,whenLohengrinis“seeninthedistance,”heisactuallyvisibleatquitearealdistance.

The Bayreuth pit is also constructed with a peculiar shape all itsown. Instead of the entire orchestra being on one level playing area,theorchestrapitistiereddowninthreeorfourtiers,thebrassandper-cussiontakingthelowestareaandstringsthehighest.Thisaidsinthebalancing problems within the orchestral fabric and between the pitandthevoices.Thesoundalsoshootsfirstupontothestageandthengoes out into the auditorium proper. This means that the orchestralsizeandvolumearetakencareofbyWagnerinawaynoothertheatercan manage. The oddity is that no other theater has even attemptedthis solution, particularly the idea of the stage being lower than theaudience. (The fact that the seats are uncomfortable seems to be amalicious idea from Wagner to keep the audience awake during theextensivemonologuesanddialogues.)Yet itwould seem tobeavia-bleideaforanynumberoftheaters,notjustthehallowedhallsonthe“GreenHill”inBayreuth.(Thecoveredpithasyetanotherblessing:Itsstructuremeanstheorchestralplayerscandressrathercasually—inthesummer!—andstillnotbeseen.)

The vocal production demanded of these scores is something acoach must consider. In recent years the older school of nonsing-ing inWagneroperashasvanished.Peoplehavebeguntorememberthat Wagner grew up at the end of the bel canto era. That is to thegood.Wagner particularly requires a large, healthy voice, producedwithsomeeaseandwithgoodline,verbalprojection,andwithenoughvoice to carry over the orchestra pit to the back of the house. Someroles(notablyTannhäuserandSiegfried)aresimplyvoicekillers.Andyettheyarenotimpossible,ifasingertakestimeandlearnsnotonlythemusicoftherolesbutalsohowtosingthemproperly.

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Coaches must understand what kind of vocal size these operasdemand,andfindwaysforthepotentiallygiftedinterpretersofthemto sing them. Some recent singers, such as Deborah Voigt and BenHeppner, have proved that not only is singing Wagner possible, buthecanbesungbeautifullyandpassionatelywithouttotallydestroyingtheirvoices.Thekey,Ithink,istounderstandwhentogivevoiceandwhentorelax,allowingdictiontocarrythevoiceacrossthepit.

InWagner’searliestoperas,Die Feen, Das Liebesverbot,andRienzi,therecitativeswerequitewoodenanduninteresting.SomeofthiscanstillbefoundeveninDer Fliegende Holländer, Tannhaüser,andLohengrin.Butafterthoseoperas,startingwiththeRing,Wagnerworkedtherecitativemorecompletely into thewhole fabric.Thesepassages takesomeworktomakethesingersoundmorenatural.

InthefollowingexcerptfromParsifal(Figure15),Ihaveincludedtwoaccompaniments.Thevariouswaystheoriginalrhythmsaresimplifiedinthelowerversioncanguidethecoachinhowtomakehis jobeasierandperhapsalsomake thesingerhearmoreclearly the tonalityof theaccompaniment.

This excerpt was chosen because it invites the “barking” style ofWagner singing. It is also so chromatic that singing pitches are dif-ficult tofind. In thesecondmeasure, thebasicchord isanA7chord,despitetheinitialD#.Parsifalcanfindhispitchhererelativelyeasily.But he must sing that first “Ja!” with an onset (a flexing of the dia-phragmtostarttheairandtone).Hemaycolorthatwordinsomeway,butitmusthavetonalsubstanceandnotbemostlyhotair.

In measure three, the persistent E on top makes finding the D inthevoicedifficultunless the singerconsiders the lefthand tobeaGminorchord(firstinversion)withoutanaddedsixth.Thevocallineinmeasurethreemustbequitesustained,therestbarelyregistering.Theviolinsinmeasurefouractuallyhelpthesingertobecertainheisontherightpitch.HalfwaythroughthebarthechordalstructureoutlinesanE•9chord,thevoicetakingthefifth.

Measurefivebeginsinthevoicemerelyastepupfromthepreviousmeasure.Luckilythevoicefits inwiththeorchestral tonality.“Deut-licherkenn’ichihn,…”isashortphrase,asisthefollowingone,buttheymustbefullysupported,thoughnotloud,andtheymustfurtherthethoughtfromonephrasetothenext.Inmeasureseven,thevoicemustnotpoundintotheF#,asthetextdoesnotwarrantit.Thepitchesthroughthesemeasuresarenottoodifficulttofind.“…dieLippe”isfrequentlyapproximateinpitch,buttheaccompanimentisquiteclearandshouldhelpthesinger.

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Measuresnine throughtwelvearemuchmoreproblematic for thesinger.Thesinger,possiblyalreadytiredfromearlierintheact,tendstodeliverthesenotesinaparlandofashionwhollyinappropriatetotheintensemoment.Thereforetheypushtheparlando,thinkingthiswillgetthrough.Asteady,singingtone,centeredoneverypitchandrhythmwillmakethesinger’svoicesoundforthquitenicely.Particularlynastyisthescalarpassageon“…flattertenlachenddieLocken.”Itchanges“tonality” halfway up, and singers don’t always center their voices

Figure 15 Wagner — excerpt from Parsifal (Act Two).

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squarelyon thepitches.The linecanactuallybe sung ina sustainedandlyricfashion,culminatinginthetopG#,butitwillrequireseveralpassestogetthepitchescorrect.

Measures twelve through fourteen are less wicked rhythmically,althoughthenonchordnotesarestillquiteprominent.Measurefour-teenisusuallysungwiththesyncopatednotesbeingleanedonandthe

Figure 15 (continued). Wagner — excerpt from Parsifal (Act Two).

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smallernotesbeingless.Thismakessensewiththetextualaccentsandgivesthesingerasemblanceofsobbing.

Throughout, the singer must be singing with a free tone and stillconvey the impressionthathe isconvulsed inagony.For this reasonthe singer must initially learn the role carefully, with all rhythms,pitches,andwordssungwithlittleemotion.Oncethetechniqueisup


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tothechallengeofapassage,thesingercanthenturnonthedramatic“engines”andfindthepathwaytothetruthofthedramaticmoment.

ItisalsoimportantforacoachtoknowthatWagner,whilegener-ally avoiding the highest notes of a voice’s register, may instead putthesingerdirectlyinthepassaggioofthevoiceandleavethemthere.Tannhäuser sings whole ensembles in the E to G range and then is


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askedtorisetoA’s.Thistakesitstollonasingerasmuchormorethanthesizeoftheorchestra.

Humperdinck,knownalmostexclusivelyforhisHänsel und Gretel,requireslessthanhismentor,Wagner,buthistexturesaremorethanreminiscentofhisteacher,somealmostdirectquotessoundingclearlyforth. The singers must all be well schooled in their roles, and noonecanevertakethescoreforgrantedjustbecauseitisa“children’sopera.”Itiscurioustonotethat,inthejoyouswaltzneartheendoftheopera,Ihavefoundthatmanyyoungersingersdonothavewaltzingintheirbones.Theyunderstandit,buttheirbodiesdon’tquitecatchtheSchwungofthepiece.Therearealsosomediscrepanciesbetweenscoresinthissection,Petersbeinggenerallymorecorrect,buttheorchestralpartiturabeingmorecorrectthananypiano-vocalscore.

The operas of Strauss (who was the first conductor of Hänsel und Gretel)require lessamplitudeofsound(mostly),but theysometimesrequirethatvoicessingwonderfullylonglines.ThefamoustriofromDer Rosenkavalier isnotonlytheclimacticmomentoftheopera,butitalsohassomeofthemostheavenlyintertwiningofvocallinesintheoperaticliterature—andsomeofthelongest,too.Howasingerdoesthiskindofsingingmaystemfromalearnedcoachhelpinghimorherthrough the learning process. Enduring the long phrases takes calmandcarefulpractice.Anditissometimesuptothesingertoflatlysay,“Ican’tmakeitthroughthephraseatsuchaslowtempo.”Itmayseemlike being a diva, but it is actually self-preservation, and conductorsusuallyfollowtherequest.

Figure 16 comes from Strauss’s opera Salome. The first note isactually the last note of the famous “Dance of the Seven Veils.” Theaccompaniment is amazeof cross rhythms, chromatics, and impos-siblefingerings.Thelefthandinmeasurefourandfollowingshouldbebroughtout,possibly lettingsomeof the tripletsgo in favorof thosebassnotesandperhapstheimportantpitchesintherighthand.

Untilmeasurenineinfacttheaccompanimentdoesnotdoubleonenote of the vocal part. How, then, is the singer to find his pitch? Atthebeginningoftheexcerpt,thecrashingchordisanAminorchord.From that point on, through measure seven of the excerpt, Herodoutlines A major tonality, the only note not fitting the actual chordbeingtheF#inmeasurefive.Inmeasureeight,thesingerveersawayfromAmajorjustwhentheaccompanimentaccentsanA7chord.Butthe next measure actually lets the voice and accompaniment unifyinareal tonality, thedistantG•major(although it isabrief landingpoint).Inapassagelikethis,theaccompanimentbeingratherasmucha hindrance as a help, the singer must at times feel his own shifting

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tonalities,findingpitcheshereandthereintheorchestrauponwhichtograbthetonalcenterasarealitycheck.

Of course, the opera Elektra is much harder than this. But thelateroperasofRichardStrausscanbedeceptivelydifficult,too.Ihavecoached the Najade, Dryade, and Echo scene (the one announcingthearrivalofBacchus)manytimes,andIhaveneverhadatriothinkitwaseasyatfirst;somehavebeenalmostintearsandsomehavethought

Figure 16 Strauss — excerpt from Salome.

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RichardWagnerandRichardStrauss•1�1

Figure 16 (continued). Strauss — excerpt from Salome.

thatthey“couldneverlearnit.”Butwithcarefulandslowstudy,theyallgraduallyfindthepaththroughthemazeofshiftingtonalitiesandverbalphrasestofindtheirwaytoenjoyingthescene.

The operas of Alban Berg — Wozzeck and Lulu — are written ina style that is an extension of the Strauss heard in Elektra — andmusicallydealwithextremechromatics,thoughonlyLuluisactuallywritteninSchönberg’stwelve-tonesystem.Thoughtherearestillsomelong linesweassociatewithRichardStrauss, thedramaandmusicalstyledemandthatthevocallineswillbeveryangular,withwideleaps,difficult tessituras, and difficult pitches to find. The vocal writingalso incorporates Berg’s usage of that wonderful Schönberg inven-tion: Sprechstimme. This is literally “speaking voice” and means thatpitches,indicatedwithanXinsteadofanotehead,aretobemorespo-kenbutlessonpitchthantheusualparlandostyleincorporatedintootheroperas.Thetone is frequentlyproducedwithoutmuchvibrato,and a certain sing-song quality is heard. Unfortunately, this SprechstimmeallowsforsingerstosingatpitchesratherthanonpitchesandinvitesveryfreeinterpretationsofBerg’swrittenideas.Asimplestudyofexistingrecordingswillpointthisout.Butthereisamajorreasonfor this inappropriately wayward attitude to pitches, and that is thesinger’simmersioninthedrama.

BergwasdealingintheneweraofFreudianpsychology,andthatisrepresentedinthemoodyramblingsofWozzeckorofLulu.Toatamerextent(except inElektra)sodoesStrauss.Wagnerusedlittlepsycho-logyandalotofphilosophy.ThisisevidentinHansSachsorWotan,butsometimesextendstotheverynatureofthestorylinesthemselves.ThepsychodramaelicitsfromBergavocalandorchestralwritingthatisextremelydifficulttomaster,andyetintheseoperassingingthenotes

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correctlyandmusicallyisquitefarfromtheeventualgoalofproject-ingthesemanicanddisturbedcharacters.Itisameanstoanendbutnottheenditself.

It is not really the job of the coach to get into heated discussionswiththesingeraboutthedramaticslantofanoperabeyondthenatureofthecharacteritself.Whetheracharactermightbeagrotesquestereo-typeornotmayneedsomediscussion,but thedirectorwill takehisor her slant on things, and the coach can leave it at that. There aremany people who say, for example, that Mime (notably in Siegfried)and Sextus Beckmesser (in Die Meistersinger) are examples of Wag-ner’s anti-Semitic stance. This sort of thing can bear discussion to adegree(andperhapsshould bediscussed),butcreationofthecharac-ter itself is the important thing,andyoucannotplayastereotype.Asinger must portray a real character, and if that character has somestereotypicalattributes, sobe it.Wagner’savowedanti-Semitismwaswellknownfromhisverbalwritings (though thatmaybeasmuchadiatribeagainstMeyerbeerasagainstallJewsinmusic),butitdoesnotmeanthateverybizarrecharacterisananti-Semiticslur.

Berg’sLulu andWagner’smusicdramashavea formal layout thatneedstobeunderstoodaswell.Luluisdramaticallyconstructedonalargearchwithelementsbeingpresentedateitherendofthearchthatdepend on the other end to be present. This is the reason FriedrichCerha’scompletionoftheorchestrationofBerg’soperawassoimpor-tant.Theformneededit.

Wagner’sformscanbeevenmoreimmense.TheRingcycleiscon-sidered tobe in the formofa symphony,whichmeans that fourteenhoursofmusicareallrelated.The“barform”usedsofrequentlybyrealMastersingers isexplained inact3ofDie Meistersinger quiteclearly,butsomepeoplehaveactuallypointedoutthattheentireoperais one!

It is just as impossible for a singer to play a form as it is for himorhertoportrayastereotype.Butacoachmustunderstandtosomedegreehoweachofthesethingsaremanifestintheoperaand,ifnec-essary,beabletopointitouttoasinger.ItmaynotbenecessaryforasingertoconsiderSiegfried as thescherzoofasymphony,but itmayhelpindramaticorevenvocalways.

ThesheersizeoftheseGermanicoperasmakeslearningandplayingthemquitedifficult.Understandingthemonatleastsomelevelbeyondjustnotesisalsoadifficultassignment,andyetitisoneacoachmusttakeontocoachthesegreatworks.

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12Puccini and the veriSmo School

The operas of Giacomo Puccini were written in the post-Ibsenera, when realistic reactions and interactions were dramatically thenorm. Drama had not yet reached the psychodrama stage of Freud-ian-basedworks,butitwascertainlyafarcryfromthedramaticstyleVerdihadchosenas thebasis forhisoperas.ThemajorsourcesPuc-cini chose forhisoperaswereMurger,Belasco, andSardou.AswithVerdi(exceptinVerdi’sShakespeareoperas),hechosethenewestplaysandnovelsoftheeraandtransformedthemintogreatdramas.WhereVerdiancharacterscouldtaketimetowaxpoeticortakeastanceandblatantlytrumpettheirresolvetotherafters,Puccini’scharactersaremorenatural,acting inanalmostnormal time frameandwith littlerealbombast.They take time forpoeticutterances,but theyalsoactin a real way to real dramatic situations. This was the style and eraknownasverismo.

Whatexactlyisverismo?Itactuallybeganatleastasfarbackas1875.Carmen,althoughFrenchinsteadofItalian,issometimesthoughtofasverismoinstyle.Inaverismooperacharactersare,forthemostpart,ordinarypeople,withnokingsorqueens,nodukesorearls.Notoneof thosecanbefoundanywhere inPucciniuntilweget toTurandot,and that focuses on the lower end of the caste system, preferring toplaceemphasisonthepeoplebehindthefigure.

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The dramatic situations were also different. Although Verdi andPuccini both supplied us with the major examples of consumptiveheroines,mostofVerdi’splotsareaboutpoliticalintrigues,actionsatacourt,madgypsies,andthelike.Thesearehardlythethingstowhichthelate-nineteenth-centurypersononthestreetcouldrelate.But,then,thisalsoreflectsthedifferencebetweenaudiences.TheroyaltheatersoftheerasofMozart,Rossini,andearlyVerdihadbecomethepublictheaters,andthiswasreflectedinsubjectmatterchosen.Insomeways,Verdi’sRigoletto(1850)mightactuallybeconsideredthefirstverismoopera,sothedifferencesarenotasgreatasonemightthinkdramati-cally. Musically, the drama took total precedence over the musicalforms, and that is a major difference between earlier composers andtheoperasofPucciniandhisfollowersintheverismoschool.

Puccini’soperasdealwithpeopleinpersonalcrises.Whetherdeal-ingwiththeconflictbetweenlovers,politicallychargedevents,orthebetrayal of one lover by another, the drama always moves on a per-sonallevel.InTosca,forexample,theNapoleonicmovementprovidesatime-centeredbackgroundfortheopera,buttheactualdramatakesplace in private areas. Act 1, though frequently played in the mainnaveofachurch,issupposedtotakeplaceinaprivatechapeloffthenave.Thismaybelessspectaculartowatch,butit focusesthedramaintoasmallerplaceandmakesScarpia’ssinging inthe“TeDeum”afightagainstthedemonswithinhimselfratherthanastruggleagainstthevocalforcesbehindhim.Act2isintheconfinedareaofScarpia’sapartment, and act 3, although in the open air, is at the top of thebuilding,andtheonlymeansofleavingthetopparapetarethestairsorleapingovertheedge—bothofwhichareused.

This new drama required a new acting style. When Rodolfo sings“Chegelidamanina,”hemaybeinapoeticmood(he’sapoetafterall),butthepoetryisneverquiteashigh-flownashisvocal line.Directlybeforethearia,hehadbehavedinafashionbothhumorousandverytypical foramanalonewithayoungwoman inhisownapartment.His finding and hiding of the key has an attitude quite new for thetimes, to say nothing of the extinguishing of his candle even earlier(usually played as no accident but as a willful improvement of thesituation on Rodolfo’s part). This natural acting style might seem tomeanlesshysteriaandover-the-topacting.Butthatisnotquitetrue.ThehighemotionsofTosca,ofGiorgettainIl Tabarro, orofMadamaButterfly arise out of intensely driven plots that build to a climax.These climaxes are all rooted in normal reactions to extreme stim-uli.Evenecstaticmoments likeSuorAngelica’sfinalapotheosisariseoutofastory linebased in interactionbetweennormalpeople inan

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PucciniandtheVerismoSchool•1��

abnormal situation, and that situation isnotunheardof inPuccini’stimes.WhenCavaradossilungesatScarpiainact2,itisthereactionofapoliticallysavvymantastingamomentofvindicationandtriumph.His“Vittoria”maybeshort-lived,buthereactswithintheboundsofafanaticalbutrealindividual.

Allof thismustbeunderstoodbya singerandbyacoach. Ihavebegun with the acting style instead of the music because that is themostimportantdifferencebetweenPucciniandVerdi.Thereareotherimportant differences to come, but understanding where the dramacomesfromisessentialinPuccini’soperas.Theoddmistakenidenti-tiesandsecretlettersofScribe-typelibrettos(fromthemid-nineteenthcentury)arenowhereinevidence.Indeed,practicallytheonlyletterofimportanceinPucciniappearsinact2ofButterfly,andthatis,inpart,toprepareButterflyandtheaudienceforthechangeofsituationsthatwillpresentitselfinthefinalscene.

Musically,itisimportanttonotethatPuccinibasesmanyofhisariasonthesimplercanzonaofhistime.TheNeapolitanandSiciliansongsareneverfarfromPuccini’smusicalpalette.Thelinesarealmostneverinastricttempo,alwaysyieldingtothemeaningoftheword.Puccinimarkscopiousmarkings:ritardando,affrettando,tenuto,staccato,portate le voce,andsoon.Theyareallaidsinsingingandinterpretingtheroles,andthecoachmusthelpthesingerfindandperformasmanyoftheseaspossible.

Though Puccini uses many passages of parlando singing over anorchestraltheme,themomentsweremembermostaretheincrediblymelodicarias,andtheretheorchestrashadowsthesingerinmanypas-sages.Thelonglinesof“Chegelidamanina”or“Tu,chedigelseicinta”are accompanied much more completely and heavily than similarmomentsinVerdi.ThismakesthehighCinBohèmerelativelyeasyforthetenor.Hehasmerelytoridetheorchestralline-up,notcompetingwithitbutenjoyingit(fareasierthanthehighCinGounod’sFaust!).Thismelodicdoubling,however, invitespushing,andthesingerwhoallowshimselftodothatwillsurelyfail.Butifhekeepsalithelinerid-ingontheorchestralfabric,hecanrisecomfortablytotheheights.

AcoachmustrealizethatwithPucciniandtheverismoschoolweenterintoakindofopen-throatedsingingthatcarrieswithittheemo-tionofeverynoteandword.Caruso,DelMonaco,Zenatello,Corelli,Tebaldi,Callas,andTaddeiareallexamplesofthiskindoftotallycom-mittedvocalism.Thegoalistomakeanaudiencethinkyouaregivingyour all, and yet that can be quite boring … and dangerous! MarioDelMonaco,notedforagenerallyforteapproachtosinging,stillman-agedtosingsomeexquisitelysoftpassagesinAndrea Chenier —when

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hewantedto.Itisthecoach’sjobtohelpsingersachievethepassagesoftenderandsoftersinging,asthishelpsthemendurethroughoutanentirerole,andithelpsthemgaininthevarietyofsinging.

I might point out that others in the verismo school — RuggieroLeoncavallo, Francesco Cilea, Umberto Giordano, and Pietro Mas-cagni—aresometimesevenmoreovertlydramaticthanPuccini,andagainthecoachmusthelpthesingerretainsomevariety.Theall-outapproachseemsexcitingatfirst,butitthenbecomessomewhatboring.ThefactthatPucciniwritesinaslightlylowertessituramightmakeasingerbelievetherolesareeasieror,perhaps,moreovertlydramatic.Butthesingerwhoallowshisorhervoicetoget“bigger”inthemiddlevoicewillfindhim-orherselffightinghardforeffectsnotintendedbythecomposer.

Pucciniandhiscontemporariescouldwritesomeverycomplicatedmusic when needed. Some of the ensembles in these operas are fullofexcitingargumentsandactions,whilesomeoftheatmospherecre-atedbyoffstage singers, chimes, cannons, and soon, canbedifficultandtime-consumingtoputtogether.Gianni Schicchi,forexample,hastheensembleoftherelativesbeingfuriousatbeingleftoutofthewill,andthedressingtriocanbejustasdifficulttogetright.Thesekindsofscenesarejustasmuchapartofthewholeastheariasandduetswealllove.

There is one important thing to note that can help in the inter-pretationofPuccini.That is thepresenceofmany recordingsoffirstinterpreters.Caruso,Farrar,Zenatello,andotherswereallgivenpre-mieresbyPucciniorwereat leasttrainedbyhimforsecondorthirdproductions. These give us the best possible connection with exactlywhatthecomposerwanted.ThefactthatLeoncavalloactuallyaccom-paniedartistsinhissongsandariasisimportant.Thereareevengroupsof recordings of first casts (Francesco Cilea’s Adrianna Lecouvreur)and first Met casts (Madama Butterfly). The student (or coach) whoignorestheserecordingsbecausetheyarenothighfidelityanddigitallyrecordedismissingtheconsiderablewealthofnuancetheserecordingsembrace.

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13oPerettaS

In the mid-nineteenth century the split between grand operaandopéracomiquetookanewtwist.Grandoperawassupposedtobeinfiveacts,wastohaveballetinthesecond,third,orfourthacts,wastohavenodialogue(only recitative),andwastohaveanhistoricallyorbiblicallybasedstory,withnoblecausesbeingsungabout.Spectacle,thebiggerandmorelavishthebetter,wasimportant,too.

Opéra comique was a more sedate operatic venture. Technically,itwas familyentertainment. Itwasusually in threeor fouracts,haddialogue (with minimal sung recitative that propelled into certainnumbers)andlittleornoballet(folk-based,ifatall),andwastobeona more or less domestic subject. Daughter of the Regiment, Fra Diavolo (byAuber),Faust, andCarmen werewritteninthisform,thelat-terraisinggreathacklesbecauseof thedramaticcontentof thestory.Thesestylesbegantomerge intoasortof lyricopera, lessgrandandmoreromanticallyinclined,withfewerhistoricaleventsandmoreper-sonalstruggles.

InFrance,alongcameJacquesOffenbach,anémigréfromGermany.Hispersonalstylewasquitethatofadandy,withlavishsuitsandshirtsandadistinctly“different”mannerabouthim.Butheinventedanewmusicalform,whichhecalledopérabouffeorbouffon.Thisisnothingmore than the French equivalent of opera buffo from Italian. It was

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terribly funny, quite light, little or no meaning (other than an occa-sional political barb), and contained pleasant melodies and farcicalsituations.Itwaswrittenintwoorthreeactsandhadplentyofspokendialoguetofurthertheactionalong.Offenbachwasequallyfamousforhisone-actcomicoperas,whichhecalledoperettes.Astheformtookrootandspread,particularlytheViennesetookthenameandmadeitanItalianversionoftheword:operetta.ImightpointoutthatGilbertand Sullivan, who brought the form to great standards in England,nevercalledtheirworksoperettasbutrathercomicoperas(sometimeswithmodifyingphrasesspecifictocertainworks).

AsanyonewhohasheardaGilbertandSullivancomicoperawillknow, there are often pages of dialogue, some of it quite funny andsomeevenserious.ThoughJohannStrauss’sDie Fledermaus isusuallyproducedwithonlyminimaldialoguebetweennumbers,theoriginaldialoguewasquite lengthyandinvolved.(Theopéracomiqueoperasalsohadlongstretchesofdialogue,butasmostoftheseareeitherpre-sentedwithrecitativestodayorwiththedialoguegreatlyreduced,wewillassumethatthelessonslearnedinthischapterwillcarryovertothatformaswell.)

Directorsmightassumethatsingers,particularlyiftheyareactingintheirownlanguage,canspeakdialogueintelligently.Itisnotnecessar-ilythateasy.Dialogueinoperettasisfilledwithparentheticalphrasesand asides to the audience. The whole manner is at a higher energylevel.WhatmayserveasareservedandappropriatelevelforaTVormoviedialoguewillseemflatandunimaginativefortheoperettachar-acter.Characters inoperettamaystemfromreality—at leastsome-what — but they are more overtly limned, more completely above anormal,everydaypaceoflife.Anactorworkingwithoperettadialoguemustfindthewinksandleersinthescriptandbringthemout.Insteadofstatingalinelike“Ofcourseyoucoulddothat”inamatter-of-factfashion, underlining “Of course …,” the actor may want to considerotherpossibilities.“Ofcourseyoucoulddothat!”oreven“Ofcourse,youcoulddothat”(implicationbeing“butIcouldn’t”).Thepracticedoperettaactorwilltakealldialogueandtrydifferentreadingstofindtheexactaccentsthatworkbest.Thesecharactersarebasedinrealitybuttheyarenotreal.TheyaredirectlyfromFrenchfarce,andsensiblereactions to thingsarenotalwaysassured.Onemightsaycharacters“pose.”

Thecoachmaythinkthathehasnothingtodowithdialogue,andinasensehedoesnot.Yetanunderstandingofthatdialogueisessentialbecausetheflavorcarriesoverintothemusicaswell.Themostimportantanddangerousmistakeacoachcanmakeisassumingthatoperettais

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Operettas•1��

“easy”music.ListentoanamateurproductionofGilbertandSullivanor of Die Fledermaus and you quickly find out just how precise themusicmustbe,bothinmusicalprojectionandindramaticintention.

Somedirectorsrootedinthedramaticschoolsattempttogeta“bet-ter”speakingvoicefromsingersbyhavingthempushtheirspeakingvoicesdowninpitch.Thiseliminatestherange,andforcesthesingertoplacetheirvoicesinthewrongrange.ThefactthatBeverlySillssanginahighregisterandspokequitelowisanisolatedanomaly.Sheisnottobefollowed.Aclearlyproducedvoice,soundinginthemiddlerange,willprojectquitewellandwillnothavethethin,highsoundthatdirec-torsaretryingtoavoid.Supportingthespeakingvoiceandprojectingitarejustasimportantasthesimilareffortsinthesingingvoice.

Toprojectclearlynumbers like“WereyounottoKo-Koplighted”or“Iamsoproud”fromThe Mikado takesrealconsiderationofvocal,verbal,andtechnicaldemands.Thetechniquediscussedelsewhereofworkingpatteruptoatopspeedwillofcoursecomeintoplay.Butitisalsotruethatdramaticplacementofkissesinthefirstnumberorofthecounterpoint in the second isquite important.Thesedonot justhappen,andacoachshouldinsistonrehearsalofwhateverisneededto get everything “into” the body. It does not mean that Nanki-PooandYum-Yumhave tokiss ineveryrehearsal,but itdoesmeantheyshouldmakeaphysical“kiss”intotheairsotheyknowthedifficultyofwedgingthemintoplacewithintheprescribedtime.

ThevocaldemandsinoperettaaresometimesjustasgreatasthosedemandedinFrenchgrandoperaandsometimesevengreater.AnarialikeRosalinde’s“Czardas”inDie Fledermaus demandsthemostofanysoprano, beginning with a low tessitura and ending with an “effort-less” high D. The musical style, though it lands on the listener’s earwithpleasantease,canbequiteinvolved.Theonlythinglighteristhestoryline.Thephysicaldemands indancingandhighenergycansapeventheexperiencedperformer.

Thecoachmustrealizethereforethat,whenstandingstillincoach-ing,singersmustconcentrateonthephysicalelementofsingingwithdiction. If the singer cannotproject the musical anddramatic idealswhenstandingstill,thenthecoachwillrealizethatmoreworkisnec-essary.Thecoachmayhavetomakethesingerrealize,however, thatcan-cans,waltzes,andotheractionsall takeenergy,and thatenergyappliedtothebodytakesfocusawayfromthevocalwork.Ifapersonhastroublesinginganenergeticpassagestandingstill,aworkoutregi-menshouldberecommended.

Coaches must realize the sheer discipline involved in singers per-forming operetta. The great Gilbert and Sullivan performers of the

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early 1950s may show some questionable vocalism, but projectionof text and themeaningof that text is impeccableandalwaysat thecorrectenergylevel.Theystandasmodelsofamusicalstyletobeemu-lated.Thoserecordingslackdialogue,butthefewrecordingsthathavedialogueinthemcangiveagoodideaofthestylethatshouldbeused.

NOTE:IthasbecomearecentdevelopmentwithcompaniesthattheyproduceoperaswithspokendialogueinEnglishandthemusicalnum-bers sung in German or French. This is not an ideal situation. It istruethatitretainsthecorrectwordsinthemusic,andthatthedramacomesthroughmoreclearlyinthevernacular.Butitalwaysseemstosaythatsingersareabletosingalanguagebutunabletospeakit.Itisalso quite a jolt when a character like Dr. Falke (in Die Fledermaus)isspeakingquitenaturallyinEnglishandthenlapsesintoanequallyconversationaltoneinGerman.Itjustseemswrongsomehow.Andinmore serious works like Weber’s Der Freischütz, the jolt can be evenmoreextreme.Howcanonetakeseriouslythefollowingexchange?

Agathe: Wheredidyoushootthedeer?

Max: Somewhatfarfromhere—deepinthewoods—intheWolf ’sGlen.

No. � Terzett Agathe: Wie?Was?Entsetzen!

DortinderSchreckensschlucht?

Dort—inderSchreckensschlucht?

SheisliterallyansweringonewordwiththeroughlythesamewordinGerman.Itseemslikeagoodideaonpaper,buttheconstantshiftfromonelanguagetoanotherisquiteupsetting,andIdonotrecom-mendtheexperiment.Iamnotalone,Ithink,sincethepracticeseemstobefading.

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1�1

14Benjamin Britten and other

modern comPoSerS

Many composers want to write operas, and yet they despairbecausesingersdonotseemtowanttosingtheirworks.Thecomposercannotunderstandthereluctanceofthesingers,whilethesingersfirebackthatcomposersjustdonotunderstandtheneedsofopera.Bothareaccuratetoadegree.

SingersaregenerallyraisedinaschoolofsingingthatfitstheworksoftheItalianorFrenchcomposers.SomeadaptthemselvesforGermanand Russian operas, and some even manage a few English-languageoperas.ThereisanEnglishschoolthatembracestheHandelianorato-rio(butnotnecessarilyhisoperas)andtheoperaticworksofBritten,VaughanWilliam,andDelius.Butveryfewsingersaretaughtatech-niquethatwillenablethemtotacklethemanyworksthathavebeenwrittensince1940.Thatdatewouldhardlyseemtoqualifyanoperaasa“modernopera”inanhistorian’seyes,buttoasingeritdoes.EvenBritten has only gradually gained ground. The other composers areinterpretedbya select fewsingers, likeSanfordSylvan,whoseem tospecializeinthemodernworksandrelishthedemandstheypresent.

The fact is that many modern operas are story-oriented, which isto say that theypresentadecidedlyplot-formedopera,and thevari-ouscharactersmayhavelittledramatictimetodevelop.Otheroperas

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may be just the opposite, with developed characters but no story totake those characters anywhere. And some operas have so much“conversation” that nothing happens. Peter Grimes has wonderfulcharacters that live and breathe in a fashion that would interest anysinger.ButevenlaterBrittenoperashavenotgainedprominence,andthisisinpartbecausethoseoperasarenotpopulatedwithcharactersthatareofreallyabidinginterest.

The other pressing problem for singers is the sheer difficulty oflearningamodernopera.AsingermightbeabletolearnaPucciniorVerdiopera ina fewweeks,butanoperabyHenze,Adams,Adamo,orPrevin will take much longer, involving considerable “woodshed-ding” to learn notes and rhythms. Even works that are tonal andseeminglystraightforwardmayactuallyinvolveconsiderableefforttolearn.

Itisonethingforasingertosingsomeoftheworks“correctly”withmusic in front of him or her, and it is quite another thing to investthecharacterwithfeelingsandattitudes,atthesametimesingingthewholeoperacorrectlyfrommemory.Andafteralloftheefforttolearnthework,howmanyotherproductionswillthesingerbeaskedtodoofthatopera?Theanswer,unfortunately,isveryfew.

Benjamin Britten, Aaron Copland, Dominick Argento, DouglasMoore,andCarlyleFloydallpresentsimilardifficulties,althoughtheirstyles are really quite different. Whether overtly British (in Britten)or clearly American (the others), these composers share a tonality-basedstyle,withtextsettingquitenaturalfortheregionsrepresentedbythestories. Inallcases,certainregionalaccentsmaybeappropri-ateanddesired.ThismaybeasimportanttothesescoresasVienneseslangdialectisforBaronOchsinDer Rosenkavalier byStrauss.Suchaccents,however,mayelicitvocalresponsesthatclearlypullthevoiceoutofline.Thecoachwillhavetodevelopagoodearbothforaccentsandvocalplacementandline.TheSouthernAmerican“twang”fromthebackofthethroatisnotappropriateforgoodsinging,evenifitisappropriateforcertaincharactersinAmericanoperas.

Inthesecomposers,thevocalwritingcanfrequentlybecenteredinthe middle voice. The music is based on a more episodic, rhapsodicflowofmusicandnotonforms.Thismeansthatariasdonotunfoldwith ABA or AAB as in earlier composers. Themes may return anddevelop,butthatdoesnotsaythattheyaresetinaformalway.Duetsandwhole scenescanunfoldasdramaticallydriven, themusic rein-forcingthescenestructureandnotamusicalformat.

If,asinFloyd’sSusannah,Copland’sThe Tender Land, orBritten’sPeter Grimes, a dance is used for a dramatic device, the folk element of that

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BenjaminBrittenandOtherModernComposers•1��

dancewilldictatethemusicandpossiblythevocalelementwiththedance,butthedramaticflowwillnotbedictatedbytraditionalariaforms.

Rhythms are usually more obtuse than in the earlier composers(other than possibly Richard Strauss). The correct rhythmic perfor-manceofeachlinemaybequiteimportant.AnensemblesuchastheThrenody fromact3ofAlbert Herring byBrittenmustbe rehearsedmanytimestomakeittotallyliveasanensemble.Similarly,theearlierHandelianexcessat thecloseof thefirstsceneof thatoperamustbecarefullyrehearsedfortonalreasonsandforrhythmicprecision.

The recitative passages in these composers can be quite varied.Some composers continue the line begun as far back as Donizetti,with a continuous music underpinning the vocal lines, while othercomposers,likeBritteninAlbert Herring andStravinskyinThe Rake’s Progress,adoptaformofseccorecitativetogreateffect.

Thosecomposerslistedaboveareconsideredconservative.Butneverunderestimate the difficulty of making those composers come alive.Some scenes may require a keen ear and rhythmic sense. Barber’sVanessa isquitedifficult tosingcorrectlyanddramatically.Thetext,byMenotti, ispurposefullyobtuseandunclear,butthatonlyaddstothegothicovertonesofthepiece.

Floyd’s Of Mice and Men has some scenes, such as the scene inwhich Lennie murders Curly’s Wife, which are frightening, fascinat-ing,pathetic,andverymoving—allatthesametime.

Gian-CarloMenotti,ofcourse,wrotenotonlythetextforVanessa,but he also composed quite a few operas himself. His style has beendescribedaspost-Puccini, thoughthat isanoversimplificationofthefacts.Inhisbestworks:The Telephone, The Medium, Amelia al Ballo, The Old Maid and the Thief, and Amahl and the Night Visitors,hecre-atesmusicandtexts thatresonateperfectly togetherandgivesingersa lottoworkwith.Inhis lesserworks,notablythoseof latervintage,he seems to be working through stale territory. His dramatic impe-tus,oncesokeenandstrong, fadedasheapproached the1960s.Thepotency of those early operas listed, however, should be noted, andcoaches will be dealing with arias and scenes from them for a longtime.Theyareclassics, justasareworksbyVerdi,andcoachesmustputinjustasmuchcareandunderstanding(andbejustasstrongwithsingers,whosingincorrectlyorwithnocarewiththetext)astheydowiththe“greater”masters.

Ifthelistofcomposersalreadygivencouldbesaidtobeanextensionoftraditionalwriting,HansWernerHenzeisajumptoamoredifficultstyleofvocalwriting.Elegy for Young Lovers isquitefabuloustosee,theintensityofthedramatakingholdofanaudienceandmovingitquite

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beyond expectations. But the difficulty of learning an opera like thator the same composer’s Der junge Lord (The young lord) is extreme.First is the range/tessituras of some of the roles, high notes liberallyreachingtheupperlimits.Thereisawideusageofvocaltricks(Sprechstimme,sottovoce,tonlos,etc.)andthesilencesbecomequite lengthyandimportant.Butmostdauntingistheharmoniclanguage,nontonalinitsbasisandveryreflectiveoftheemotionalstateofthecharacters.

Thatscenes fromtheoperasmentionedcancomeacrossdramati-callyandmusicallyusuallymeans that the singershaveworkedveryhard to assimilate the music and get inside the characters. The bestmodern operas have interesting characters. Composers should real-izethatsuchcharactersmakethelearningdifficultiesallworthwhile.Thoseoperasthatareonlystory-drivenarepossiblyalittletooblandtoarouse interest,whether thoseoperasaremodernor from thebelcantoera.

Hereitwouldbewelltoaddresstheproblemoftessituraversusrange.Fewcomposerswritebeyondtherangeofagivenvoicetype,becausetheylookthemupinabookandstaywithintheparametersgiven.Arangeissimplythescopeofarolefromhighestnoteto lowest.Tessi-turadealswithwherewithinthatrangemostofthenoteslie.RodolfoinLa Bohème (Puccini)andFaustinFaust(Gounod)haveexactlythesame range, but the tessitura in Faust is about a second higher thanRodolfo.Hoffmann (Offenbach), though lacking thehighC, ismuchhigherthaneither.Toomanycomposerswriteeithertoolow(afraidtotaxthesinger)ortoohigh,notrealizingthatasingercannomoresus-tainaconstantlyhightessiturathancanatrumpeterorhornist.

Other extremes exist in “modern” composers. John Adams andPhilip Glass are relatively tonal, but their usage of minimalism anddifficultrhythmsmakeslearningtimequitelong.Thesingersmustbemathematicianstokeepinmindtheshiftingrepetitions.

WilliamBolcomwritesinanimmediatelyapproachableidiomthatbeliessomeofthecarefullyworked-outstructure.

AndréPrevin’sonlyperformedopera todatehasbeenA Streetcar Named Desire,buthisapproachcapturesthedecadentandratherjazzyelementofNewOrleansquitewell,and theoperahas takenoffwithseveralproductionsscatteredaroundtheworld.

Henry Mollicone has also had several major operas given, mostimportant being The Face on the Barroom Floor and Coyote Tales.Thesearemainlytonal,stylisticallyleaningsomewhattowardamorepopularstyleofsinging.

Thesecomposersusealmostasmanyvariedapproachestocompo-sitionastherearecomposers.Thecoachmustfindthestyleandmake

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thesingerawareofwhatittakestoputthemusicacross.Unlikewitholdercomposers,fewrecordingsofmodernoperasexist(thoughtheseareusuallyconductedbythecomposer).Sotheold-fashionedmethodof painstakingly learning the notes and rhythms from scratch fromtheprintedpageistheonlyadequatewaytolearnthemusic.Andforthismostsingerswilldefinitelyneedacoach.

Oneofthefirstquestionsthesingerwillhavewillconcerntherhythm,becausesuchrhythmsdonotcomeeasily,eventhoughtheyare“natu-ral.”Notesandrhythmsinmodernscoresreflectthecorrectinflectiontoanextentnotconsideredbythenineteenth-centurycomposers.This“natural”wayofsingingsometimesactuallytakesmoretimethanthestanzas of earlier operas. The learning of rhythms and pitches mustcomealmostsimultaneouslywiththestudyofthedramaticprojection,becausetheyaresocompletelyandintrinsicallylinked.Onesolutionistospeakthewordsinrhythmandtempo.Atthisstage,itisbesttotakesmallsectionsatatime.Afterthistaskismastered,thesingershouldadd“melodic”contours.Themostnaturalinflectionsshouldbesought,withcarefulconsiderationofthedramaticthoughtbehindeachlineorsituation.Otherthings,suchasjazzrhythms,mayaffecttherhythmsaswell.Even“easier”moderncomposerssuchasGian-CarloMenottiwillrequireeffortoncertainpassages.

Thesecondquestionwillbe:“HowdoIfindthatpitch?”Thecoachmust point out the methods possible. Few composers leave a singerwithoutsomerelatedpitchsomewheretofindtheirnotes.TheexcerptsfoundinthechapteronWagnerandStraussshowhoweventheseear-liercomposerscouldhavepitchesdifficulttofindandtosing.Avoice,unlike a clarinet or trumpet, has no set place for a pitch; it is not amatteroffingeringandembouchure. (Notall composersunderstandthis, and they write with no consideration for the vocalist findingapitch.) Except in those singers with perfect pitch, they do not haveafixedplacementforagivenpitch.Evenifasingermaydevelopagoodsenseof relativepitch, theycannotpull tonal centersoutof thinair.Andsomepeoplewith“perfectpitch”willtellyouitisnotreally“per-fect”either.

Thecoachneedstofindwaysforthesingertorelatetothemusic.Itmayinvolveintervalrelationshipstothemusicheard,oritmayinvolvethe understanding of mini-tonal centers. Even obtuse intervals maybefoundinthisway.It isnotbesttotrytolearnthepitchesbyrote,becauseanauralstimuluscaneasilythrowthesingeroff.Atthepre-miereofBomarzobyGinastera,obscurepitcheswerereportedlyfoundbyhavinginstrumentalistsstandingjustoffstageplayingthemforthe

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various singers. This is not recommended. (The singers in questionwereexperiencedoperasingers,too!)

Itisfarbetterifthecoachcanhelpthesingerhearthepitchesintheorchestral underpinning, getting them to understand the harmonicstructureoverorinwhichtheyaresinging.

Combining theapproaches in thisway, thenotescomeslowlybutsurely, and the rhythms become firmly entrenched because they arerelatedtothetotality.Onemightcall thisgoingbeyondtheobvious.Thetaskofsingingnotesandrhythms,sodifficultinandofitself,nowbecomesonlythefirststeptowardtheultimategoal:acompleterealiza-tionofthecharacterthroughallofthesymbolsleftbythecomposer.

The coach and director may have to explain the dramatic struc-tureof theoperaorcharacter— inpost-Freudianworks thatmeansthat the operas lean heavily on the psychological element. Gone aretheposessomegreatcharactersseemedtotake,replacedbytheintui-tiveandprobingsenseofthecharacter.Itmayalsomeanstructuresinwhichtraditionalnarrativeapproachesareforsaken.

This means that coaches must understand modern drama almostas much as modern opera. So the coach who is content to work ondynamicsandotherstrictlymusical things isnotfulfillingtheneedsofthesinger.

And,ofcourse, thecoachmust learn toplay thepianoreductionsasbesthecan.Therearemanyproblemswiththis.Asexpressedelse-where,coachessometimeshavetorewritethepiano-vocalscorejusttobeabletonegotiatethetrickywaysofreduction.Importantlinesmaybegiventohandsthatarecrossed,orlinesmaybeoctave-transposed.Sometimes orchestral rhythms may be so at odds with one anotherthatonebrainandpairofhandscan’treproduceitall.Itmayalsobeafactthatthecoach(andsinger)isworkingfromaphotocopyofaman-uscriptpage.(Thisobjectionableproblemisunderstandable,however,sincereallyprintingitoutsetsinstonemusicthatmaybechangedinrehearsals.Moderncomputersarehelpingtochangethisproblem.)Itis amazing how difficult these modern works can be to read. It mayinvolvefiguringouthowtoplayagivenpassage—or itmayinvolvefiguring out the composer’s intentions for that same passage. Whatseemscleartoacomposeratonepointcanbequiteobtusetoacoachorconductorwhenthecomposerisnotaroundtoexplain.

Operahasevenenteredthealeatoricarena,wheretheorderofcer-tain musical events may be dictated, but the exact length or pitchesofthoseeventsmayvary.Thistakesyetanotherkindofpatienceandexpertise. A coach and singers may be tempted to laugh at some of

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the “silly” things composers request, but since the performance stilllooms,itservesnoone’sgoals.

In theareasdiscussed in thechapters so far, thisneed forpatientandcarefulstudyisthemostcomprehensiveanddifficultareaoftheworking process to pin down due to the extremely wide variety ofapproachestotheproblemofcomposingopera.Itmakesthegrowingawarenessofoperasofourtimeevenmorespecial.Mainstreamsingersarestartingtoconsidertheseoperasmoreandmore.Buttheyarealsosurveyingtheunusualrepertoirefromalloftheothercomposers,too.HandelrevivalsareonaparwiththoseofworksbyBrittenorMoore.EarlyorunexploredVerdi,Rossini,andWagnerarefindingtheirwaysto the stage almost as frequently as some of the “standard” works.Singerswillalwaysfindworksrewardingiftheyareabletocreategoodcharactersandsingmusicthathasinterestandcolor.Thesearewhatmake learningnewmusicviableandinteresting.Thesearethegoals.Thecoachwhocanunderstandthetechnicaldifficultiesandhelpsing-ers to get through them and to find the goal is a well-respected andvaluablecoachforanysingertoknow.Thatcoachmusthelpthesingerestablish a system with which to learn new kinds of rhythms andcharacters.Thestudyofmodernoperasmakesthesingerlearnwith-outtheusageofrecordings(becausetheyprobablydonotexist),andthathelpsthemdevelop“chops”forlearninganymusicmorequicklyandmoreaccurately.Moreandmorenewoperasarebeingpremieredalmostweekly,andcoachesmustbeabletoanalyzethedifficultiesinascoreandproceedwithasingerbasedonthatanalysis.

Systematic working through a score involves taking each step inlearningcarefully.Thesingerandcoachcanworkoutthebestmethodwithwhichtoattackaproblematicscore.Forsomescoresitisbesttotake the rhythms first, divorced from accompaniment and pitches,adding the sung pitches only after rhythm has been mastered. Add-ingtheaccompanimentmaytakeseveralstepsalone(bassline,chords,simplifiedfiguresfromtheaccompaniment).Itcantakeanentirehourof coaching to work through one relatively small scene. But, as withthepassageworkinthefloridsingingofbelcantooperas,learningthemusiccarefullyandcorrectlyfirstnegatesalotofproblemsthatarisewhensuchcareisnottaken.PassagesliketheonefoundinthemiddleofAlbert’sgreatact2monologueofAlbert Herring — “Dishafterdishtheybroughtus…”—mustbeexactlyintempo,inflected“naturally”andmadetoflyfromthemindandlipsofthesinger.

Ascene like theopeningscene fromBerg’sWozzeck isquitediffi-cultfortheCaptain.Hisangularvocallineisalloverthevocalrange,

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verballypointedandfilledwithtrickyrhythms.Yet,whendoneprop-erly,theeffectispositivelymaniacal.Hisvocallinealonesolvesmostoftheproblemsofcharacterization.

ButBergandBrittenarehardlymoderncomposers.Themostmoderncomposersaresometimeseasierbythemeasure,buttheaccumulativedifficultiesofchangingrhythmsorrepeatedrhythms(inminimalism)aresometimestrickyto learnanddisconcertinglyawkwardto“feel.”Modernsingersmustdevelopthememoryandmusicalchopsforthesenew scores. Haphazard learning of such music leads to major head-achesinrehearsals.Sinceitdoesn’tseemthatmoderncomposerswilleverreturntoasimplerstyleofwriting(I’mnotreallysuggestingthattheydoso), it is incumbenton the singers to improve theirabilities.The new operas like Mark Adamo’s Little Women and Lysistrata orJohnCorigliano’sThe Ghosts of Versaillesaresorewardingthatsingerscanbenefitfromdevelopingsuchlearning“chops”andgainthereallywonderfulcharactersintheirrepertoire.

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1��

interlude Seven

oPera in tranSlation

In the United States we like to think of ourselves as, at one time atleast,beingatoddswiththeworld,inthatweusedtoperformagreatmanyofouroperasinEnglish.Thisisnotasoddasitseems.Aslateastheearly1970s,GermanandItalianoperahousesthesizeoftheHam-burgischeStaatsoperorLaScalastillperformedoperasintranslation.

The Metropolitan even performed the Russian and other Slavicoperas in translation later than that. Then, in order to capitalize oninternational singers and their reputations, companies switched tooriginal language. Colleges have even begun preparing students forthis trend by using original language instead of vernacular produc-tions.Buttherewillalwayscontinuetobesomeoperaintranslation.Comedies inparticular loseagreatdeal if thehumorhas tobereadinthesupertitles.Thoseprojectedtitlesdonotallowthesingertobelessexpressiveorlessspecificintheirdramaticprojection,anddictionmuststillbeamajorconcern.

Acoachmusthelpsingersdealwiththe“wrong”wordsbeingsung.Goodtranslationsplacetheimportantwordsinthesamelocations(ornearly)andusesimilarexpressions.Someothertranslations,however,becomeveryfreewheelinganddistantfromtheoriginallibretto.Thisisnotas terribleas it seems.Someverbal idiomsarenot translatableexactlyintoEnglish.Aneasyexampletodemonstratethisisinadia-loguefromDie Zauberflöte.AttheentranceoftheQueenoftheNightin act 2, Monostatos, seeing that Pamina is her daughter, declares,

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“DasistSalzinmeineSuppe.”Thatmeansliterally,“That’ssaltinmysoup/stew.” But that means nothing to us in English. An idiomaticequivalentmightbe,“That’safeatherinmycap.”

Thefirstdifficultprobleminsingingintranslationisthatwordsaredisplacedfromonepartofaphrasetoanother,whichmeanscolorationdevicesof thecomposermight fall inaccuratelyonthewrongwords.Sometimesthisjustcannotbeavoided.ItmustsoundlikeEnglish,notsomeoddtranslation.Forexample:Ifthewordssobackwardfallthatthey English resemble not to anyone, then the translation not goodis(asthissentenceshows).Atranslationshouldnotsoundlikeabadimitation of Yoda in the famous Star Wars movies. Some arias, like“V’adoropupille”fromHandel’sGiulio Cesare,arevirtuallyuntrans-latableinanythinglikeanaccuratesingingtext.

Inmakingtranslations,itissometimesquitedifficulttogetthebestphrasing and meaning into the given notes. An example is found inDie Fledermaus. In the famoussoloandchorus fromact2,“Brüder-leinundSchwesterlein”literallymean“littlebrotherandlittlesister.”Butthatdoesnotfitthefewnotesgiven.Inmytranslation,Iactuallybegantheversewith,“Allofyou,eachandeveryoneofyou…”Itdealtwith the situation at hand and allowed the articulation to be ultra-legato.Itisnottheonlysolution,butithadvirtuesthatoutweighedthefaults.Irevertedto“brotherdear,brotherdearandsister,too”attherepeatofthephrasetwolineslater.

Another problem with singing in translation is the vowels. Somewords translate closely but with vastly different sounds. Herz, cor,coeur, and heart all mean the same thing, but what a difference thevariousvowelsmake.Theastutecoachmayhavetoadjustatranslationfor a singer just because he or she needs a different vowel on a highnote.Thisisawkward,ofcourse,becauseatranslationhasbeenpaidforandusuallyshouldbefollowedquiteclosely.Butsomeadjustmentismade inalmost everyperformance. Coaches shouldmake sugges-tionswithacautiouswarningthatsomeconductorsanddirectorswillnotallowdeviationsfromthesungorspokentext.Evenif thecoachcandeviseanexcellentsolutionthatfitsthenotesandistwiceasliteralinmeaning,theremaybegoodreasonswhychangescannotbemade.Adjustingtheunderlaymayhelp.

Ideally,suchchangesshouldnotcausemajorheadaches—assum-ingtheyaredonewellandwithcare.Rhymeschemesmustfrequentlybeobservedandclosemeaningsneedtobeattempted.Humorouscon-tentissometimesmuchmoredifficulttoadjustthanthedramatic.Ofcoursesomeoftheoldertranslationsbecomelaughabletousbecausetheyhavereallyantiquatedlanguage.AsTitoGobbionceobservedon

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InterludeSeven•1�1

the Bell Telephone Hour, however, the old librettos of Donizetti andhiseraarejustasfloweryandantiquatedtothemodernItalianear.Socaremustbetaken.Translationisneveranidealsituation,butitcanbefarpreferabletohavingasingersinging(orspeaking)unintelligiblyinaforeigntongue,withnodiscernablemeaningemerging.Andaudi-encesstillrespondtotheimmediacyofhearingtheirownlanguageinaperformance.

Whatmakesabadtranslationmaybesurmisedfromtheabove.Itis astonishing how distant some translations are from the original-language text. Singers of Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus are fre-quently asked to sing “humorous” texts that sound dated almostas soon as they are written, yet the original text of his aria paints apictureofaspoiledautocratsowell,youwonderwhythe“translator”does not try for a closer rendering of the text. Nemorinos in L’Elisir d’amorearesometimesaskedtosingterriblevowelsthroughout“Unafurtiva lagrima,”andagain theystrayrather far fromtheoriginal. Itissometimesamatterof taste,butacoachshouldpractice theartofmakingsingingtranslations.Theywilllearnalotabouttheverbalendoftheirwork.

Some operas, of course, suffer greatly when translated. Pélleas et Mélisande provides an ideal example. In addition to being quintes-sentially French — musically, verbally, dramatically, and idealogi-cally—ithasphrasesthatjustdonottranslateintoeasyphrases.TakeMélisande’sfirstphrase.Shesings“Nemetouchépas”severaltimesinsuccession.Itmeanssimply,“Don’ttouchme.”Butthatdoesnotfitthenumberofnotesgiven.Onecantryagainandagaintomakeasing-ing translation, but anything one tries will come up several notchesbelowtheeasyflowoftheoriginal.ThisandtheaforementionedGiulio CesareofHandelcanprovidehoursoffrustrationtoanytranslator.

Another test: Secco recitatives should end in a rhymed couplet.Mosttranslatorsjustskipthataspectandhopeforagoodclosinglinewithmeaningthatdoesnotrhyme.Translatingisagreatskill,andthequestionwillalwaysberaisedwhethersingingthe“wrong”wordsisagoodpracticeornot.

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15concluSionS

Based on the amount of informationconsidered in theprecedingpages, the idea of becoming an opera coach might seem an insur-mountablehurdle.Operaissovastanarea(rangingfrom1600tothepresent)thattheideaofencompassingallofthesegenresisdauntingin the extreme. Certainly no book can hope to encompass all of theconsiderations necessary for any style or practice. But the repertoireis really ratherslimmer than that. Itembracesreallyonlyaboutfiftytoseventy-fiveoperas,withtheothersexistinginthefringesthroughariasandensembles.Forexample,acoachmightdowellatsomepointto learn the closing aria from Capriccio by Richard Strauss, but thechancesofcoachingthatoperacompletearefarfewer.OnemightverywellexpecttofindSalome, Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier,andAriadne auf Naxos onanoperacompany’splan.EvenArabellahasreallyonlycomeintoitsowninthelastdecadeortwo.

Theimportantthingisthatacoachgainstheunderstandingofhowto put together an opera, how to coach it, and how to make a singercomealiveinarole.Itisalwayspossibletolearnanewopera.Infactmostoperacoacheswillsaythattheyhavestrangeblanksintheirreper-toireofoperasthathavejustnevercometheirway.Forexample,unlessacoachisworkingforamajoroperahouse,heorshewillprobablynothave theopportunity toworkwithcompleteworksofWagneror the

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granderoperasofVerdi.Stilltheymustunderstandthestyle,becausescenes and arias will most certainly appear from time to time. Andworkinginthelargerhouseswillmostcertainlyinvolvethosemasters.

Thestudyofpianoleadsgenerallytoonerepertoire.Thewiderstudyofchambermusicoraccompanyinggivethepianisttheawarenessofabroadrangeofmusicandtechniquesneverencounteredinsolomusic.Operaexpandsthatrealmevenfurther.

If knowledge of languages is an added plus in other music, it is anecessityinthestudyofoperaticworks.Ifsensitivitytophrasinganddynamics is important in soloworksandchambermusic, theygrowgreatlyinimportancewhenconfrontedbythedemandsandscopeofopera. There are even works like Brahm’s Liebeslieder Waltzes (vocalquartetandpianoduet)thatpianistsareaskedtoplayonoccasion,andtherehearsalsforthosewillbe,basically,coachingsessions,inwhichwordsandphrasing,balances,andtempiareallworkedouttogether,quitelikeworkingoutensemblesinoperas.Notwocoachesareexactlyalikeintheseendeavorseither.Eachcoachdevelopshisorhermeth-odsandtechniques,buildingupanideaofhowbesttoapproacheachproblemthatcomesalong.

Allofthesethingstheoperacoachcanapproachandlearn.Itisnotawildplethoraofunrelated facts,but it is insteadan interconnectedchain that has grown and spread from the single first opera in 1600toencompassvariousreactionstothesingleword:“opera”(pluralfor“opus,”whichmeanswork).

Thejobofacoachmustincludeanalysisofwhatmakesaparticu-lar piece of music difficult — dramatically, musically, technically, orevenphysically.Noonewilltellasingermoreeffectivelywhatmakesa roledifficult thanacoach.Acoachwhoapproaches thisfieldwithan inquisitive mind and enthusiasm will find it is a field with manyrewards and, yes, with many difficulties. But the difficulties are allworththeeffortinthefinalanalysis,andthoserewardswillmakealltheeffortsseemtrivial.

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APPENDIx A

a liSt oF vocal FachS and their roleS

The following list is extensive but not exhaustive. There are sure to be some omissions. Some roles might also fit into more than one category or might be cast in different ways in different productions. This is simply a list as prescribed by the German opera houses. Some roles have changed their casting since this list was written out for me, and some have changed in our perceptions of them in the last twenty years or so. It is a guide with real merit, but it is not infallible, and some will actually disagree with it. I have included some roles not generally performed in Germany in the interest of being as complete as possible. Those listed without arias have much to sing, but no excerpts.

COlOraTura sOPranOAriadne auf Naxos----------------R.Strauss------ Zerbinetta---------- “GroßmächtigePrinzessin”Un Ballo in Maschera-------------Verdi----------- Oscar------------------------------------ twoariasIl Barbiere di Siviglia -------------Rossini--------- Rosina------------------------“Unavocepocafa” (alsoconsideredacoloraturamezzorole)La Bohème------------------------Puccini--------- Musetta------------------------“Quandom’envo”Les Contes d’Hoffmann-----------Offenbach------ Olympia----------------------------- “Lesoiseau”Entführung aus dem Serail-------Mozart--------- Constanza----------------------------- threeariasFaust-------------------------------Gounod-------- Marguerite------ “RoideThule”/“AirdiBijoux”Lakmé-----------------------------Delibes--------- Lakmé-------------------------------- “BellSong”Lucia di Lammermoor------------Donizetti------- Lucia--------- “Regnavanelsilenzio”/MadSceneLustigen Weiber von Windsor----Nicolai--------- FrauFluth---------------------- “Nuneiltherbei”Manon-----------------------------Massenet------- Manon--------------------------------- threeariasPagliacci---------------------------Leoncavallo---- Nedda--------------------------- “Stridonolassu”IPuritani--------------------------Bellini---------- Elvira------------------------------- “Quilavoce”Rigoletto---------------------------Verdi----------- Gilda-------------------------------- “Caronome”RoméoetJuliette------------------Gounod-------- Juliette----------------------------- Juliette’sWaltz

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LaTraviata------------------------Verdi----------- Violetta–----- “Ah,fors’elui”/“Semprelibera”+ “Addiodelpassato” (alsocastasalyricsoprano)DieZauberflöte-------------------Mozart--------- Königin------ “Ozittrenicht”/“DerhölleRache”

sOuBreTTeArabella---------------------------R.Strauss------ Zdenka------------------------------------noaria (couldbealyricorevencoloraturasoprano)Cosi fan Tutte---------------------Mozart--------- Despina-------------- “Inuomini”/“Unadonna”Don Giovanni---------------------Mozart--------- Zerlina------------- “Batti,batti”/“Vedraicarino”Don Pasquale---------------------Donizetti------- Norina-------------- “Soanch’iolavirtumagica”L’Elisir d’amore--------------------Donizetti------- Adina------------------------------------ “Prendi”Entführung aus dem Serail-------Mozart--------- Blonde----------------------------------- twoariasFidelio-----------------------------Beethoven----- Marzellina----“Owärichschonmitdirvereint”La Fille du Rêgiment--------------Donizetti------- Marie---------------------------------- threeariasDie Fledermaus-------------------J.Strauss------- Adele----------------------“MeinHerr,Marquis”Der Freischütz---------------------Weber---------- Ännchen-------- “KommteinschlankerBursch gegangen”GianniSchicchi -------------------Puccini--------- Lauretta-------------------“Omiobabbinocaro”HänselundGretel-----------------Humperdinck-- Gretel-------------------------- “AwakeningAria”DieLustigenWeiber--------------Nicolai--------- Anna------------------------------------- oneariaLeNozzediFigaro----------------Mozart--------- Susanna--------------------------------- twoariasDerRosenkavalier----------------R.Strauss------ Sophie----------------------- act2duet/act3trioWerther----------------------------Massenet------- Sophie----------------------------------- twoarias

lyriC sOPranOArabella---------------------------R.Strauss------ Arabella--------------------------------- “Schluß”TheBarteredBride----------------Smetana–------ Mařenka(Marie)----------------------- twoariasLaBohème------------------------Puccini--------- Mimi--------------------- “MichiamanoMimi”/ “Dondelietausci”Carmen----------------------------Bizet------------ Micaela-------- “Jedisqueriennem’épouvante”Cosifantutte----------------------Mozart--------- Fiordiligi------------ “Comescoglio”/“Perpieta”DonGiovanni---------------------Mozart--------- DonnaElvira--------------------------threeariasElektra-----------------------------R.Strauss------ Chrysothemis----------------------- norealariasDieFledermaus-------------------J.Strauss------- Rosalinde--------------------------------- CzardasDerFreischütz---------------------Weber---------- Agathe--------“Leise,leise”/“UndobdieWolke”GuillaumeTell--------------------Rossini--------- Mathilde--------- “Sombreforêt”(“Selvaopaca”)Idomeneo--------------------------Mozart--------- Ilia------------------------------------- threeariasManonLescaut--------------------Puccini--------- Manon---------------- “Inquelletrinimorbide”/ “Sola,perduta”LeNozzedi Figaro----------------Mozart--------- Countess------------ “Porgiamor”/“Dovesono”Otello------------------------------Verdi----------- Desdemona-----------“Salce,salce”/“AveMaria”Susannah--------------------------Floyd----------- Susannah---------------- “Ain’titaprettynight”/ “Thetreesonthemountains”

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AppendixA•1��

Turandot--------------------------Puccini--------- Liù-----------------------------“Signore,ascolta”/ “Tu,chedigelseicinta”Vanessa----------------------------Barber---------- Vanessa-----------“Donotutteraword,Anatol”DerWildschütz -------------------Lortzing-------- Baronin----------------------------------- oneariaYevghenyiOnegin-----------------Tchaikovsky --- Tatiana------------------------------LetterSceneDieZauberflöte-------------------Mozart--------- Pamina---------------------------“Ach,ichfühl’s”

dramaTiC and HOCH‑dramaTiC sOPranOAïda Verdi----------- Aïda----------“Ritornavincitor”/“OPatriamia”AndreaChenier-------------------Giordano------- Maddalena------------------“LaMammamorta”AntonyandCleopatra------------Barber---------- Cleopatra-------------------------------- twoariasAriadne auf Naxos----------------R.Strauss------ Ariadne----------------------- “EsgibteinReich”Un Ballo in Maschera-------------Verdi----------- Amelia----------------------------------- twoariasDonCarlos------------------------Verdi----------- Elizabeth-------------------------------- twoariasDonGiovanni---------------------Mozart--------- DonnaAnna-- “Orsaichil’onore”/“Nonmidir” (Alsoconsideredalyricordramatic-coloratura)Elektra-----------------------------R.Strauss------ Elektra-----------------------------“Agamemnon”Fidelio-----------------------------Beethoven----- Leonore------------------------- “Abscheulicher”Der Fliegende Holländer----------Wagner--------- Senta-------------------------------------- oneariaLa Forza del Destino--------------Verdi----------- Leonora--------------------------------- twoariasLohengrin-------------------------Wagner--------- Elsa-------------------------------- “Elsa’sTraum”MadamaButterfly----------------Puccini--------- Butterfly------- “Unbeldivedremo”/“Tu,tu,tu, piccoloaddio” (canalsobeplacedinthelyricsopranocategory)DieMeistersinger von Nürnberg--Wagner -------- Eva------------------------- “Sachs,meinFreund”Norma-----------------------------Bellini---------- Norma--------------------------------“Castadiva” (ThisroleisparticularlydifficulttoplaceinanyFach.)RingCycle-------------------------Wagner Die Walküre------------------------------------- Sieglinde“DieMännerSippe”/“DubistderLenz” Die Walküre------------------------------------- Brünnhilde--------------------------- “Hojotoho” Siegfried----------------------------------------- Brünnhilde------------------------“Ewigwarich” Die Götterdämmerung-------------------------- Brünnhilde--------------------ImmolationSceneDerRosenkavalier----------------R.Strauss------ Marschallin----------------------------- twoariasRusalka----------------------------Dvořák--------- Rusalka------------------------------“MoonAria”Salome-----------------------------R.Strauss------ Salome-------------------------------- FinalSceneTannhäuser------------------------Wagner--------- Elizabeth------------“DichteureHalle”/“Gebet”Tosca ------------------------------Puccini--------- Tosca------------------------------ -“Vissid’arte”TristanundIsolde-----------------Wagner--------- Isolde--------- NarrationandCurse/“Liebestod”IlTrovatore------------------------Verdi----------- Leonora--------------------------------- twoariasTurandot--------------------------Puccini--------- Turandot---------------------- “Inquestareggia”

dramaTiC mezzO‑sOPranO and alTOAïda-------------------------------Verdi----------- Amneris------------------------- JudgmentSceneAriadneaufNaxos----------------R.Strauss------ Componist---------------“Seinwirdwiedergut”Un Ballo in Maschera-------------Verdi----------- Ulrica-------------------------- IncantationScene

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Carmen----------------------------Bizet------------ Carmen-- Habanera,Seguidilla,andCardSceneCavalleriaRusticana--------------Mascagni------- Santuzza-------------- “Voilosapete,oMamma” (Thoughlistedforandoftensungbysopranos,thisroleisfrequentlytakenbymezzos.)DonCarlos------------------------Verdi----------- Eboli----------------- “VeilAria”/“ODonFatale”Khovanschina---------------------Mussorgsky---- Marfa------------------------------- “NightSong”Lohengrin-------------------------Wagner--------- Ortrud-------------------------------------- CurseMacbeth---------------------------Verdi----------- LadyMacbeth------------------------- threearias (SeenoteonCavalleria Rusticana.)Orfeo ed Euridice-----------------Gluck----------- Orfeo-----------------“Chefaro,senzaEuridice”Orleanskaya Dieva----------------Tchaikovsky --- Joan--------------------------------- “AdieuForêt” (ThisoperaalsogoesbythetitlesMaid of OrleansandJoan of Arc.)Parsifal----------------------------Wagner--------- Kundry----------------------- “IchsahdasKind” (SeenoteonCavalleria Rusticana.)RingCycle-------------------------Wagner Rheingold---------------------------------------- Erda------------------ “Weiche,Wotan,Weiche” Die Walküre------------------------------------- Fricka--------------------------ScenewithWotan Götterdämmerung------------------------------ Waltraute--------------------------------NarrativeDerRosenkavalier----------------R.Strauss------ Octavian-------------Beginningact1/RoseDuetRusalka----------------------------Dvořák--------- Jezibaba----------------------------------- noariaSamsonetDalila------------------Saint-Saëns---- Dalila---------------------------------- threeariasTristanundIsolde-----------------Wagner--------- Brangäne---------------------- Brangäne’sWatchIlTrovatore------------------------Verdi----------- Azucena--------------------------------- twoariasWerther----------------------------Massenet------- Charlotte-------- “LetterAria”/“Va,laissecouler meslarmes”

lyriC mezzO‑sOPranO Il BarbierediSiviglia -------------Rossini--------- Rosina------------------------“Unavocepocofa”BorisGodunov--------------------Mussorgsky---- Marina ------------------ Aria/DuetwithDmitriLaCenerentola--------------------Rossini--------- Angelina(Cenerentola)--------“Nonpiumesta”LaClemenzadiTito--------------Mozart--------- Sesto--------------------------------“Parto,parto”CosifanTutte---------------------Mozart--------- Dorabella-------------------------------- twoariasDieFledermaus-------------------J.Strauss------- Orlovsky ------------------- “Chacunàsongoùt”GiulioCesare----------------------Handel--------- Cesare------------------------------- variousariasL’ItalianainAlgieri---------------Rossini--------- Isabella---------------------------------- twoariasLeNozzediFigaro----------------Mozart--------- Cherubino -------“Nonsopiu”/“Voichesapete”Vanessa----------------------------Barber---------- Erica---------- “Mustthewintercomesosoon?”

COunTerTenOrEl Niño----------------------------JohnAdams--- threeroles--------------------- severalensemblesGiulioCesare----------------------Handel--------- Tolomeo----------------------------- severalariasOrfeoedEuridice-----------------Gluck----------- Orfeo-----------------“Chefarò,senzaEuridice”AMidsummer Night’s Dream----Britten---------- Oberon-------------------------- “Iknowabank” (NumerousrolesinHandel,Scarlatti,Vivaldi,andotherBaroqueoperas.Recently,composers

havebegunwritingforthiscategory,asintheAdams.StevenRickards,amemberoftheoriginalcastoftheAdams,ispublishinganexhaustivecatalogueofworkswrittensince1900forcountertenor.)

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AppendixA•1��

lyriC TenOr (inCluding leggierO)Il BarbierediSiviglia -------------Rossini--------- Almaviva-------------------------- “Eccoridente”LaBohème------------------------Puccini--------- Rodolfo--------------------- “Chegelidamanina”Cenerentola-----------------------Rossini--------- Ramiro------------------- “Principepiùnonsei”CosifanTutte---------------------Mozart--------- Ferrando------------------------------ threeariasDonGiovanni---------------------Mozart--------- DonOttavio----------------------------- twoariasDonPasquale---------------------Donizetti------- Ernesto-------- “PoveroErnesto”/“Comegentil”L’Elisird’amore--------------------Donizetti------- Nemorino----------------------“Quantoèbella”/ “Unafurtivalagrima”EntführungausdemSerail-------Mozart--------- Belmonte------------------------------- fourariasFalstaff-----------------------------Verdi----------- Fenton-------------------------- Openingofact3L’Italiana in Algieri---------------Rossini--------- Lindoro---------------------------------- twoariasLustigen WeibervonWindsor----Nicolai--------- Fenton----------------------- “Horch,dieLerche”IPuritani--------------------------Bellini---------- Arturo----------------------------------- twoariasRigoletto---------------------------Verdi----------- Duca---------- “Questaoquella”/“Parmiveder”/ “Ladonnaèmobile”DerRosenkavalier----------------R.Strauss------ ItalianTenor------------------“Dirigoriarmato”LaTraviata------------------------Verdi----------- Alfredo----------------- “Demieibolentispiriti”DieZauberflöte-------------------Mozart--------- Tamino-------------- “DiesBildnis”/“FluteAria”

sPinTO TenOrThe BarteredBride----------------Smetana-------- Jeník(Hans) ----------------------------- oneariaCarmen----------------------------Bizet------------ DonJosé --------- “Lafleurquetum’avaisjetée”LesContesd’Hoffmann-----------Offenbach------ Hoffmann------------------------------ fourariasFaust-------------------------------Gounod-------- Faust----------------------------- “Salutdemeure”GuillaumeTell--------------------Rossini--------- Arnold(o)---- “Asilhérèditaire”(“Omutoasil”)LuciadiLammermoor------------Donizetti------- Edgardo--------------- “Frapocoamericovero”MadamaButterfly----------------Puccini--------- Pinkerton----------------------------- threeariasManon-----------------------------Massenet------- DesGrieux-- “LeRève”/“Ah,fuyezdouceimage”Tosca ------------------------------Puccini--------- Cavaradossi----------------------------- twoariasYevghenyiOnegin-----------------Tchaikovsky --- Lenski------------------------------ “Kuda,kuda”

BuffO TenOr (sPiel TenOr)Ariadne auf Naxos----------------R.Strauss------ Tanzmeister/Brighella------------------- oneariaTheBarteredBride----------------Smetana-------- Vašek(Wenzel)------------------------- twoariasLesContesd’Hoffmann-----------Offenbach------ Franz(FourGrotesques)---------------- oneariaEntführungausdemSerail-------Mozart--------- Pedrillo------- “Serenade”/“FrischzumKampfe”HänselundGretel-----------------Humperdinck-- DieHexe--------------------------------- oneariaMeistersingervonNürnberg------Wagner--------- David----------- (act1)“MeinHerr,derSinger”LeNozzediFigaro---------------Mozart--------- Basilio---------- “Inquegli’anniincuivalpoco”YeghenyiOnegin-----------------Tchaikovsky --- Triquet------------------ “Ah,cettefêteconviez”DieZauberflöte-------------------Mozart--------- Monostatos------------------------------- onearia

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dramaTiC TenOr and Helden TenOrAïda Verdi----------- Radames-------------------------- “CelesteAïda”AndreaChenier-------------------Giordano------- AndreaChenier----------------------- threeariasUnBalloinMaschera-------------Verdi----------- Riccardo(Gustavo)--------------------- twoariasBorisGodunov--------------------Mussorgsky---- Dmitri------------------------------- GardenAriaCavalleriaRusticana--------------Mascagni------- Turiddu---------------------------------- twoariasDonCarlos------------------------Verdi----------- DonCarlos--------- (onearia,buttwoversions)Fidelio-----------------------------Beethoven----- Florestan------------- “Gott,welchDunkelhier”Der FliegendeHolländer----------Wagner--------- Erik--------------------------------------- oneariaDerFreischütz---------------------Weber---------- Max--------------------------“DurchdieWälder”Lohengrin-------------------------Wagner--------- Lohengrin------------------------------- twoariasMeistersingervonNürnberg------Wagner--------- Walther-------------------------------- threeariasOtello------------------------------Verdi----------- Otello---------------------------------- threeariasPagliacci---------------------------Leoncavallo---- Canio---------------------------------- threeariasParsifal----------------------------Wagner--------- Parsifal--------------------------------“Amfortas”RingCycle-------------------------Wagner Das Rheingold----------------------------------- Loge-------------------------------------Narrative Die Walküre------------------------------------- Siegmund-------- “EinSchwert/Winterstürme” Siegfried----------------------------------------- Siegfried---------------------------- ForgingSong Götterdämmerung------------------------------ Siegfried---------------------------------- oneariaTannhäuser------------------------Wagner--------- Tannhäuser --------------------- RomeNarrativeIlTrovatore------------------------Verdi----------- Manrico-------“Ahsi,benmio”/“Diquellapira”Turandot--------------------------Puccini--------- Calaf------ “NonpiangereLiù”/“Nessundorma”

lyriC BariTOneAriadne aufNaxos----------------R.Strauss------ Harlekin------------------------------ norealariaIlBarbierediSiviglia -------------Rossini--------- Figaro------------------------ “Largoalfactotum”Cenerentola-----------------------Rossini--------- Dandini-------------------------- “Comeunape”CosifanTutte---------------------Mozart--------- Guglielmo--- “Nonsiateritrosi”/“Donnamiela fate” (Thearia“Rivolgetealuilosquardo”isoccasionallyinsertednow,butitwaswithdrawnby

Mozarthimselfandisnotreallypartoftherole.)DonGiovanni---------------------Mozart--------- DonGiovanni------------------------- threearias (mayalsobesungbylyricbasses)Edgar------------------------------Puccini--------- Father ------------------------------------ oneariaFaust-------------------------------Gounod-------- Valentin----------------------- “Avantdequitter”Falstaff-----------------------------Verdi----------- Ford---------------------------------- MonologueLeNozzediFigaro----------------Mozart--------- Count-------------------- “Haigiàvintalacausa”Pagliacci---------------------------Leoncavallo---- Silvio--------------------------- duetwithNeddaTannhäuser------------------------Wagner--------- Wolfram--------------------------------- twoariasLaTraviata------------------------Verdi----------- Germont-------------------------- “DiProvenza”DerWildschütz -------------------Lortzing-------- Count------------------------------------- oneariaZar undZimmerman------------Lortzing-------- Czar------------------- “MitKroneundSzepter”DieZauberflöte-------------------Mozart--------- Papageno------------------------------ threearias

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AppendixA•1�1

dramaTiC BariTOne/Bass BariTOneAïda-------------------------------Verdi----------- Amonasro-----------------------------“MatuRe”AndreaChenier-------------------Giordano------- Gerard----------------------------------- twoariasUnBalloin Maschera-------------Verdi----------- Renato----------------------------------- twoariasCarmen----------------------------Bizet------------ Escamillo--------------------------- “VotreToast”CavalleriaRusticana--------------Mascagni------- Alfio-------------------------- “Ilcavalloscalpita”LesContesd’Hoffmann-----------Offenbach------ Dappertutto/Lindorf------------------- twoariasDonCarlos------------------------Verdi----------- Rodrigo(Posa)-------------------------- twoariasFalstaff-----------------------------Verdi----------- Falstaff----------------------------------- twoariasGuillaumeTell--------------------Rossini--------- Tell------------------------------- “Soisimmobile” (Frequentlysungas“Restaimmobile”fromItalianversion.)Otello------------------------------Verdi----------- Iago----------------------- “Eralanotte”/“Credo”Pagliacci---------------------------Leoncavallo---- Tonio-------------------------“Sipuo!(Prologo)”Rigoletto---------------------------Verdi----------- Rigoletto --------------“Parisiamo”/“Cortigiani”Il tabarro--------------------------Puccini--------- Michele---------------------------“Nullasilenzio”Tosca ------------------------------Puccini--------- Scarpia--------------------------------“TeDeum”IlTrovatore------------------------Verdi----------- ContediLuna---------------------------“Ilbalen”

Helden BariTOne/ dramaTiC Bass Boris Godunov--------------------Mussorgsky---- Boris----------------------------------- threeariasBorisGodunov--------------------Mussorgsky---- Varlaam---------------------------- “KazanAria”DonCarlos------------------------Verdi----------- Phillip-------------------- “Ellagiammaim’amo”Elektra-----------------------------R.Strauss------ Oreste------------------------------------- noariaFidelio-----------------------------Beethoven----- DonPizarro-------- “Ha!welcheinAugenblick”DerFliegendeHolländer----------Wagner--------- Dutchman----------------------“DieFrististum”Lohengrin-------------------------Wagner--------- Telramund------------------------------- oneariaDielustigenWeibervonWindsor Nicolai--------- Falstaff------------------------------------ oneariaMeistersingervon Nürnberg------Wagner--------- HansSachs------------------------------ twoariasParsifal----------------------------Wagner--------- Amfortas-------------------------------- twoariasParsifal----------------------------Wagner--------- Gurnemanz--------------------- Act1Narrative/ GoodFridaySpellRingCycle-------------------------Wagner Das Rheingold----------------------------------- Wotan------------------------EntryintoValhalla Das Rheingold----------------------------------- Alberich------------------------------------ Curse Die Walküre------------------------------------- Wotan------------------------------------FarewellSalome-----------------------------R.Strauss------ Jochanaan---------------“EristineinemNache”Susannah--------------------------Floyd----------- OlinBlitch------------------------------ twoarias

Bass (BuffO/seriOsO)Il barbiere di Siviglia--------------Rossini--------- Basilio------------------------------ “Lacalunnia”IlbarbierediSiviglia--------------Rossini--------- Bartolo--------------------------- “Houndottor”TheBarteredBride----------------Smetana-------- Kecal-------------------------------------- oneariaLa Bohème------------------------Puccini--------- Colline ------------------------ “Vecchiazimarra”Cenerentola-----------------------Rossini--------- Magnifico-------------------------------- onearia

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Cenerentola-----------------------Rossini--------- Alidoro-------------------------------- threearias

DonGiovanni---------------------Mozart--------- Leporello-------------------------------- twoarias

DonGiovanni---------------------Mozart--------- Masetto------------------------------- “Hocapito”

EntführungausdemSerail-------Mozart--------- Osmin--------------------------------- threearias

Faust-------------------------------Gounod-------- Mephistopheles------------------------- twoarias

Fidelio-----------------------------Beethoven----- Rocco--------------------------------- “DasGold”

DerFliegendeHolländer----------Wagner--------- Daland----------------------------------- onearia

DerFreischütz---------------------Weber---------- Kaspar----------------------------------- twoarias

Lohengrin-------------------------Wagner--------- KönigHeinrich-------------------------- onearia

Mefistofele-------------------------Boito----------- Mefistofele--------------------------- “IlMondo”

Nabucco---------------------------Verdi----------- Zaccaria---------------------------------- onearia

LeNozzediFigaro----------------Mozart--------- Figaro---------------------------------- threearias

LeNozzediFigaro----------------Mozart--------- Bartolo----------------------------------- onearia

LesVêspresSiciliennes------------Verdi----------- Procida-------------------------- “OtoiPalerme”

DerWildschütz -------------------Lortzing-------- Bacculus---------------------------------- onearia

YevghenyiOnegin-----------------Tchaikovsky --- Gremin----------------------------------- onearia

DieZauberflöte-------------------Mozart--------- Sarastro---------------------------------- twoarias

Fromtheabovelist,ariasfromDon CarlosandLes Vêspres Siciliennes may be sung in either Italian or French. French is the original, butuntilrecentlythiswasseldomusedandisstillnotthenorm.Eitherisacceptable.Originalkeysandlanguagesareusuallyrequiredbycom-petitions,buttraditionaltranspositionsfromIl Barbiere di SivigliaforRosinaandBasilioariasare so frequentlyused that they toomaybeacceptable.Transpositionsofcertainariasshouldnotbeusedbecausethepointofsingingthearia,otherthanbeingartistic,istoprovethatthe singer has those difficult high notes! I have not listed too manyunusual-languageoperasherebecausetheyareonlyoccasionallygivenintheWest.Ihavenotlistedeveryroleineachoperamentioned,norhaveIlistedeveryariaforeachcharacter.Someroleshaveextraariasbutonemainone.SomeoperaslistedarenotfrequentvisitorstoWest-ern theaters,but in the interestof thecoachbeingadvisor, thesearelistedaspossiblerolestobeencounteredinEurope.

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1��

APPENDIx B

notaBle and recommended editionS

The criteria for the following discussionofthebesteditionstouseneedtobeexplained.Anyscoreprinted,piano-vocalororchestral,shouldbecomplete—allmusicshouldbethere.Traditionalcutsmayormaynotbeindicated,butnoeditionisreallyverygoodthatomitsmusic,nomatterhowtypicalthecutmaybe.Consequently,Icannotrecommend the G. Schirmer Lucia di Lammermoor or Le Nozze di Figaro.TheLuciahasamajoromissionofcodamaterialattheendoftheEnrico-Luciaduet.InFigaro,theyomitpartofthe“Aprite,presto,aprite”duettino.Thesearebothnowperformedcompletequiteregu-larlyandneedtobeprinted.

Some scores will be coming out soon in critical editions that willrestore much of the omitted music, sometimes including music thathasnotbeenheardinyears.Atleastsuchrestorationsallowthepro-ductionteamstoknowwhatwasreallywrittenandcanbeperformed.

In Lucia the question of keys also arises. I will discuss this morebelow.Figarocontainstwoversionsofcertainpassages—notablythesecond-act trio forSusanna, theCountess, and theCount.Bothver-sionsshouldbeprinted inanyedition that is tobeconsideredreallygood.Schirmerprintsonlytherevisedversion,andBärenreiterprintsonlytheoriginal.Thusneithergetsitright.

Allmusicmustbecorrectdowntothelastdottednote.Thisisverydifficulttoedit,butthat’sthepointofcriticaleditions.Consequently,the Bärenreiter Figaro is preferable, mainly because it gets all of the

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rhythmscorrect(theexceptionbeingthecuriousmistakeontheword“garofani”mentionedinthechapteraboutMozart).

Itwouldbehelpfulifaneditionprintedreallystandardtransposi-tionsinthepiano-vocalscores,andindicated“ifatranspositionofthefollowing aria is made, the transposition begins here” and how it isdone.ThisistrueforIl Barbiere di SivigliaandforLa Bohème.Orches-tralmaterialfrequentlycomesprintedintwokeys.

Studyofmanuscripts/autographscanrevealjusthowdifficultedit-ingcanbe.Somecomposersarequitecleanandclear—forexample,Mozart is quite easy to read. But other composers scratch out anduse such shortcuts that the chance of knowing exactly what theyultimately wanted is purely speculation (see Bellini’s autograph forNorma).Insomecasesitcanbenecessarytousemorethanonescoreasreference.

BarOQue OPeras

Handel:Bärenreiternowprintstheclearesteditionoftheseworks.TheyhavemostifnotallofHandel’sworksinprint.TheolderChrysanderedition has virtues not to be totally ignored, but the scholarship justisn’t quite as complete as it might be. Still, in works like Alcina, theoldereditiongivesindicationsofmusicthatdoesnotandshouldappearintheBärenreiterprinting,includingdifferentkeysforsomearias.HandelmayhaverewrittenAlcina,butsomeconductorsprefertheoriginalver-sion. His Messiah is available in a very good and inexpensive editionfromOxfordUniversityPress.Thisincludesallofthealternatives!

Scarlatti:FewwillneedtosearchforScarlattiscores,butHarvardUni-versityPressoncehadacompleteeditionofhisimportantscores.Theyare not all still available, but they were complete and scholarly, withalternateversionsandchangesplacedintheappendix.

Vivaldi:Ihaven’tseenapublisherforhisoperasyet,possiblybecauseIhaveyettocoachoneofthem.CeciliaBartoli’srecentchampioningofhisoperasmaychangethatsituation.

mOzarT

Surprisingly, Dover Editions are very clear and mostly excellentorchestralscores.TheycomefromthePetersEditions,GeorgSchüne-mann and Kurt Soldan, editors. More recent scholarship points totheNeueMozartAusgabeforbothorchestralscoresandpiano-vocalscores.TheseareprintedbyBärenreiter.Thepianoreductionsarevery

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AppendixB•1��

good and contain more correct markings than any other scores. Inthecaseofworks like Idomeneo, allmusic isprintedandalloptionsforeachrole(Idamante inthatopera isprintedbothas tenorandasmezzo-soprano). In such discussions, it may seem strange to carp,butBärenreitercouldputmoremusiconapageandsavethecoachsomanypageturns.Althoughitmayseemsilly,inaworklikeIdomeneoor Figaro it makes a large difference. Undoubtedly, G. Schirmer hasthemostfrequentlysungtranslations,thoughAndrewPorter’sexcel-lenttranslationsarenowprintedinsomeeditionsbasedontheNMA.Unfortunately,theG.SchirmerDie Zauberflöteprintsonlyacutversionofthedialogue,makingit impossibletoincludemoreifdesired,andmorecompletedialogueisbecomingthenorm.(Theuncutdialogueisveryinterestingtoread,butitisquitedifficulttogetaninternationalcasttospeakitwell.)

Any coach should keep on top of trends of thought. In that way,theycanunderstandthereasonsbehindtheoccasionaldesiretorear-rangeact3ofLe Nozze di Figaroorwhethertohaveamezzo-sopranoortenorsingingIdamanteinIdomeneo.

Bel CanTO OPeras

Dover Edition orchestral scores are generally available and are notbad, thoughtheyarenot thebestDoverprints.Fororchestralscoresandparts,Ricordishouldbefollowed.

Rossini: The new Fondazione Rossini editions are recommendedaboveallothers.Thesearepublishedinpiano-vocalscorebyRicordi.Theorchestralscoresarebecomingmoreavailable,too.Notalloftheoperasareavailableasyet,buttheeditingprocesscontinuesthrougheachopera.So farGuillaume Tell, La Cenerentola, Otello, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Ermione, and others exist. Other than critical editions,RicordiisstillpreferabletoothersforRossini’soperas.Insomescores,suchasIl Cambiale di Matrimonio,theerrorsaremanyandobvioustothediscerningeye.

Bellini:Other thanNorma,most scoresofBellini are fairly straight-forwardandhavefeweralterations.IbelieveRicordiisembarkingontheseoperasincriticaleditions,too.Itistobehopedso.Norma,partic-ularly,existsinvariouseditions,withorchestralscoresseldomagree-ingwithpiano-vocalscores. Insomeplaceseventhemanuscript isaquagmireofcuts,rewrites,andthelike.“Castadiva”appearsvariouslyinForG(theoriginalandmoredifficult),andotherchangesaffectnotonlyexactnotestobesungbutalsohowlongcertainmovementsare.

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Thesoftendingtothe“Guerra”chorusinfactinvolvessomeeditorialworkingbytheconductor.

La Sonnambulaappearsalmostuniversallyintransposedkeys,sincethekeysfortheoriginaltenorpart(writtenforRubini)areoutofreachformosttenors,eventhosewhospecializeinthatrepertoire.PerhapsacriticaleditionwillrestoreexactlywhatBelliniwroteandthenprintthetranspositionsaswell.

Donizetti: Critical editions are emerging quickly of his works aswell. Again the publisher is Ricordi. Even the “non-critical” editionsare now respectable. But Lucia di Lammermoor and L’Elisir d’amorewere in need of clean, new editions, and Casa Ricordi has providedthese. Although G. Schirmer piano-vocal scores of these works aremore accessible, L’Elisir in particular has some notable problems intheeditingprocesswhereinspuriousphrasemarkingsconfusesingersandcoachesalike.TheRicordiDon Pasquale alsohasoneofthebestprintedtranslationseverofanyopera.

BeeTHOVen and WeBer and niCOlaiI tend to favor Boosey & Hawkes for Beethoven’s Fidelio, but that ispossiblybecauseIlikethereduction.Itsoundsmorecompletesome-howthanG.Schirmer.Weberoperasarenotusuallyperformed,buttheDoverorchestralscoreofDer Freischützisquitegood,includingallofthedialogue,eventhebriefscenefrequentlyomittedatthebegin-ningofact3.Sincethis isareprintofthePetersEdition,onecanbesurethatthePeterspiano-vocalscoreisalsoworthyofconsideration.G.Schirmer has some minor errors in Der Freischütz, though itincludesalistingofwhatinstrumentplayseachnumber(alwayshelp-ful). The printing, however, makes many rhythms quite difficult toread,duetoevenprintingofunevenrhythms.

ForOttoNicolai’sDie Lustigen Weiber von Windsor,IsuggestPetersagain. If someone wishes to perform the work in English, then thepiano-vocalscoreofG.Schirmerisfine,sinceitusesthesamemusicalplatesasthePeters.G.Schirmer,unfortunately,makessomecutsandincludesonlyEnglish,precludinguseofGermanlanguageforstudyofarias,duets,ordialogue.

HumPerdinCkWhilewe’reonGermanicopera,Humperdinck’sHänsel und GretelisbestagaininthePetersedition.Thatistruefortworeasons.PetersisinGermanonlyandalsotherearecertainrhythmsinthefinalwaltz

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AppendixB•1��

inaccurately printed in the more generally available G. Schirmer.Otherwise, Schirmer is quite good, with a very playable reduction,whichretainsmostofthecuesneeded.Bothnicelyisolatethecuckoolinesoanoffstageconductorcanusethepiano-vocalscoreinsteadofafullscoreforcuestothecuckooandechovoices.TheDoverorchestralscoreisquitegood,too.

Verdi

Afteryearsof inadequatepiano-vocal scoresandorchestralparts forVerdi operas, Ricordi is finally rectifying this problem by extendingtheircriticalscorestoVerdi’sentireoeuvre.Thishasinvolvedagreatdealofworktouncoverlong-lostsectionsofmusicandearlierversionsofscenesnowperformedinrecomposedvariants.MostnotableintheneweditionsisthescoreforDon Carlos,publishedinFrench,Italian,andGerman(butnotEnglish!)singingtexts.Ittriestoputfortheveryvariant that Verdi wrote for the opera, and includes the huge balletaswell.Otheroperashavebeenappearing,ashastheRequiem.Somecritical editions, such as Falstaff, are hampered by the difficulty infinding orchestral originals, even when piano-vocal scores exist. ButthemainstreamoperaslikeRigolettoandDon Carlosarereadilyavail-ableinpiano-vocalscoresandfullscores.

frenCH OPeras

TheexistenceofcriticaleditionsinFrenchoperasisinawoefulstate.AlthoughtheworksofHectorBerliozhaveappearedinnewandwon-derfully complete editions, the works of Charles Gounod, GeorgesBizet, and Jules Massenet have not. Even the later composers, likeSaint-Säens,Debussy,andFauré,couldusemorecare.

Gounod:Fausthadsomanyalterationsmadetoitduringtherehearsalprocess that one can hardly have any idea what Gounod wanted insome places. The autograph exists and should be made the basis fora completely thorough restudy of the music. In the absence of that,Fritz Oeser, whose editions are questionable in other ways, here hasthebestpossibleedition,sinceallhedidwastakeallpreviouseditionsandcombinethemostaccuratereadingsofeachsection.Hedidnot,however, have access to those sections that appear only in the auto-graph. Where are Faust’s cabaletta (with the only sung mention ofhisname!),Marguerite’smadscene,thelittlescenewiththegirlsoff-stage,andnumeroussmallersections?Theautographcouldopenafeweyesattheportionsitshowsthathaveneverbeenheard,butsomuch

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remainslost.Roméo et Julietteisamucheasierproblem,yetthereisnocompletely accurate score there either. The G. Schirmer, a reprint oftherevisedpiano-vocalscore,givesallscenescomplete—inasense.Onlytheballetmusicandachorusintheweddingaremissing.Buttheorchestralmaterialdoesnotincludesomeofthatmusic.Itwillcomeasquiteasurprisetoacoachorasingertofindwholesectionsmiss-ingfromparticularlyact1.Theoriginalpiano-vocalscoreshowsevenmorestartlingmusic,particularlyinact3.UnlikeFaust,whereinclu-sion of omitted music might mean another forty-five minutes, the“lost”music inRoméo et Juliettewouldprobablyamounttonomorethanfifteenminutes.Inadditiontothe“complete”musicrecordedinthemostrecentEMIrecording,thesearethecompletecodatothefirstscene,anariaforFrèreLaurentwithoffstagechorusatthebeginningoftheweddingscene,acentralsectiontotheweddingscene,andanextensiontothefightscene(actuallyanalternateversionofthescene,though portions could be taken to strengthen the scene even more).Oddly enough, the difficulty of making this material available isminimal,sincemanyolderorchestralpartsincludethemusiccrudelycrossedout.EditionsChoudensseemstoshownointerestinrectifyingthismatter.

BizeTCarmen exists,ofcourse,inthemuch-malignedOeseredition.Ithasmany failings, but also some important variants not printed else-where.Abettercriticaleditionhasnotappeared.Oeser’smostflagrantexcessesarereversiontoearlierreadingsofcertainmelodiccellsthatwerechangedforthebetterbeforethecomposerdied—andsincehediedonlymonthsafterCarmen’spremiere, that is saying something.OeseralsorevertstoanearlyreadingofEscamillo’sexitinact3scene1,andtoaspuriousoutburstat thekillingofCarmen(althoughit isquiteexciting!).

Les Pêcheurs des Perleshasbeeneditedandreissuedwithmanyexci-sionsandalterationsrestored.Theseaffectmanymoments,butmostnotablytheendofthefamousduetforthetenorandbaritoneandalsotheduetforthesopranoandbaritone.Alwaysinvestigatethepublish-ingdateandseekthemostrecent.Therearenotmanyeditionsofthisoperafromwhichtochoose.

masseneTG.SchirmeractuallyhasagoodeditionforManon.InternationalEditionprintsagoodWerther(apparentlyonlyonetranslationandprintingof

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AppendixB•1��

thatoperaexists,andInternationalmakestheFrencheditionavailablemosteasily).Hisotheroperasarenotfrequentlygiven.Fororchestralscores,turntoEditionChoudens,althoughDover’sManonhassomeinterestingvariantsinaplaceortwo.(Agoodcriticaleditionofbothwouldbeablessing.)

deBussy

Pélleas et Mélisande isawonderfulopera,buttherearediscrepanciesbetween scores that affect rhythms, scoring, and barring. The Doverorchestralscoreisanearlierversionofthescore,andcertainrebarringstookplaceintherevision.IbelievethatthereisacriticaleditionofthisscorethatincludesaportionoftheYniold/Golaudscenecutbeforethepremiereandfrequentlyreinstatedtoday.Seekitout.Foratraditionalview,Internationalisreadilyavailable,anditismostlyaccurate.

OffenBaCH

Les Contes d’Hoffmann has been a particularly open field of conten-tionforyears.WhatdidOffenbachreallyintend?Oeser’sedition,pub-lished,asareallhiseditions,byEditionsAlkor,printedbyBärenreiter,isfilledwithhonestattemptstofillouttheportionsleftincompletebyOffenbach.Theproblemisthatmany,manypagesofmusichavebeendiscoveredintheyearssincethateditionemerged.Nowtheeditiontostudy—unfortunatelyrentalonly(soIunderstand)—istheMichaelKaye edition. Various recordings of both his grand opera (recitative)andopéracomique(dialogue)editionshavebeenissued.Theproblemfor theopera ingeneral is that there is toomuchofagoodthing. Inone place Offenbach wrote three, interchangeable arias for Giulietta!What to do? In the operettas the problems are now becoming less.While Belwin Mills once started an aborted edition of the completeOffenbach (mostly unavailable now), Boosey & Hawkes is now issu-ingOffenbachEditionKeck(OEK),withcriticalanswers tothevari-ous problems and variants between performing versions. It is to behoped that this edition reaches completion and remains available tousforalongtime.WhileI’veonlyseentheorchestralscoreandpiano-vocalscoreforOrphée aux Enfers,itpromisestobeanexcellentanswertotheproblemsencounteredinearliereditions.Anexampleof theseproblems can be found in La Périchole. The “Met” version includesmusic from other sources, transpositions, and a shortened dialogue(notprintedwiththemusic!)thatobscuressomeimportantfactsandniceties of the original dialogue. It would be wonderful if Boosey &

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Hawkes (alsopublisherof the“Met”version)wouldputnewEnglishtranslationsinthesenewscores.TheOrphéehadonlyFrenchandGer-man.Manycompaniesthatperformoperasintheoriginal languagesreverttoEnglishforoperettas.AnEnglishtranslationincludedintheCD-ROM that accompanied the orchestral score only is not a goodanswer.

WagnerThemusicdramasofWagnerhavealsobeenundergoinga thoroughcleansingandediting.Perhapsmostinterestingoftheseforascholarwouldbetheearliestoperas:Das Liebesverbot, Die Feen, and Rienzi, der letze Tribun.Thoughthosearenotperformedmuch,alloftheoperasarebeingscouredformistakes.Thesearenotasprevalentinthelateroperas, but in Dutchman, Tannhäuser, and Lohengrin the problemscanstillbequiteatrial.G.Schirmervocalscoresarenotbad,exceptinTannhäuser, wherethemultiplicityofeditionsconfoundsthem.Forthatopera,I’dsuggestthePetersEdition.Manyofthepublishedpianovocalscoresusethesameprintingplatesbutinterchangetranslations.

riCHard sTraussRichard Strauss’s operas may pose many problems, but printed edi-tions are not among them. Until most recently Boosey & Hawkes inAmerica(FürstnerVerlaginEurope)hasbeentheexclusivepublisher.So if mistakes exist, they can only be rectified by careful study, notby changing editions. Those now emerging from copyright are stillprintedintheplatesfromBooseyandHawkes.

PuCCiniRicordi is bringing out critical editions of Puccini’s operas, too,

uncovering many minor details even in operas as well known as La Bohème. Turandot may even emerge with more than one ending —takeyourpick!La Fanciulla del Westhasasmallsectioninact1thatwasonlyrecordedforthefirsttimebyEvaMarton,BenHeppner,andLeonardSlatkin.

MorerecentworksofBerg,Britten,andothersaregenerallyavail-ableinonlyoneedition,andsincethesearetheoriginalpublishersonemust hope they are accurate, though Ricordi’s earlier editions showthatsuchanassumptioncouldbeamajormistake.

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1�1

APPENDIx C

Favorite catch PhraSeS

I hope no one will taketheseasmerelyfunnythingstosay.True,theyhaveacertainlevity,butaveryimportantpurposelurksbehindeachoneofthem.

1.Iunderstandeverywordyousaid—butyoudon’t!Thismeansthat the singer is singing quite accurately and clearly each syl-lable, vowel, and consonant. But the meaning is not comingthrough.Hence the idea that Icanunderstandthe“verbaldic-tion”butnotthe“thoughtdiction.”

2.“Thought diction” means literally the projection of the mean-ingofthewordbeyondthepresenceofvowels,consonants,andsyllables.Thiscaninvolveprojectingtheactivepartofwords—“uscite dal mio petto” from Susanna’s recitative before “Dehvieninontardar”(inLe Nozze di Figaro)shouldhaveacertainmild force to it, “banishing” the very cares from her heart. Itcanalsomeansimplyconnectingwiththemeaningofthetext.WhenButterfly’s“Unbeldivedremo”becomesanarrativeandnotanaria,thenthesingerisprojectingher“thoughtdiction.”

3.“Optimum roar range.” This is that portion of a singer’s voicein which he or she can produce the most sound, at times toomuch sound to balance. It is usually used in conjunction withtryingtobalanceanensemblewhereonevoiceisquitehighandanother isquite low.Intheentrancemusicat thebeginningofact 3 of Carmen, Don José is written quite high, very much in

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hisoptimumroarrange.Unfortunately,thismeanshewillhavemajordifficultiesinbalancingtherestoftheensemble.Thebot-tomofavoice isnotusuallyconsideredaroarrangeatall,butbetweenthefirstandsecondpassaggicanbequiteloudanddif-ficulttocontrol.

4.The words are “Tra-la-la-la,” not “Tra-lol-lol-lol.” I discoveredthis problem working on the first scene of Hänsel und Gretel.Singershaveamajortendencytosing“lol”insteadof“la”—par-ticularly when the syllables follow in close proximity, as there.Theproblemwiththatisthatitcausesalmostimmediatetensioninthetongue,downinthethroat.“La”isbotheasierandcausesnotension,butitisachoretogetthesingerstostopoldhabits.

5.“Mut-tair,Fah-tair.”Youngsingersarenottheonlyonestomakethismistake. “Mutter”and“Vater” inGermanarepronouncedmuch more closely to the English way than the fashion shownin the heading. But, because “der” is pronounced so closely to“dare”intheEnglishlanguage—evenmoreproperly,onemightsay “day-uh” — the singer assumes that the “-er” in the unac-centedsyllablesofthosetwowordsandmanyothersshouldbepronounced in the same fashion. This is inaccurate, of course,but itpersists.Knowledgeof the InternationalPhoneticAlpha-bet(IPA)willhelpasingerlearnmoreaccuratelythedifferencesinlanguages.Coacheswoulddowelltolearnit,too,inordertoteachmoreeffectively.

6.“Threevibrationtheunaccentedsyllable”syndrome.Thishap-pensparticularlyinItalianliterature,recitative,andarioso.Butit isnotexclusivetothat languageandliteratureatall.Whatisit?TakeCherubino’s“Nonsopiù…”Thefirstlineendswiththeword“faccio.”Theaccentfallsonthefirstsyllable,butcountlesssingers,wantingjustalittlemore“tone”tocomethrough,allowthesecondsyllable,“-cio,”toelongatetoalmosttwiceitslength.InrecitativethiscauseswordstobecomeimproperlystressedandactuallybadItalian.Itisnotsomethingexclusivetoyoungsing-erseither.IonceheardagoodLeporellosing,“Madaminaaaaa,ilcatologoequestooooo…”Yougetthepoint.Theremedyistostress thepropersyllable, inrecitativesmaking itahair longer,andtaperingoffofthewrongnotequickly.Ittakespracticeandperseverencefromcoachandsingeralike.

7.Noariasnotwrittenbythecomposer.Thisrefers,againinrec-itative,tothewaysomesingers,particularlystudents,startsing-ingtherecitativeswithtoomuchlegato,notablyoncertainshort

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AppendixC•1��

phrases.Itdoesnotrefertothepracticeofmorelegatosingingattheendofarecitative.

8.Ididn’tknowyournamewasRossini!Thelastwordwouldalsobe Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, or whomever. It refers to thesinger’s ability to invent rhythms and notes, not following thecomposer’swritteninstructions.AnexamplemightbeLaetitia’srecitativeandariafromMenotti’sOld Maid and the Thief:“Stealme, oh, steal me, sweet thief.” I cannot say how many peopletreattherhythmsintherecitativecasually,asifMenottihadnoideaexactlywhathewanted.Ifhewritesatripletonthewords,“Theoldwomansighs…,”hemeansatriplet,notaneighthandtwosixteenths.Similarmistakeshappenall throughtherecita-tive.Americansingersseemtothinkthatifit’sinEnglish,noonewillnoticetheinventive,rhythmic“improvements.”InRossiniithappensinpassageworkanddoesnotrefertopurposefulaltera-tions of the passages for embellishment. It means they learnedthepassagewrong,aproblemforsingersofallcomposers.

9.You just slipped into another language! This actually refers tothosemomentswhenasingermispronouncesawordinonelan-guageasifitwerepartofanotherlanguage.Theusualmistakeis“qui”beingpronouncedas“chi”—Iaccusethesingerofcom-ingdirectlyfromsinginginFrench.Itcanhappeninotherlan-guages,however,anditisoneofthedangersoflearningtosingintelligiblyinmorethanonelanguage.

10.“But it’s not that way on the recording.” This says a lot morethanthesingersayingitthinksitdoes.Itseemstosaythattherecording is correct and the coach is wrong. Both are fallible,butmostimportantisthatthereismorethan“the”recordingtoconsider.Howmanyrecordingshasthesingerlistenedto?“The”wouldindicateonlyone.Whenasingersaysthat,Ianswerwith,“Which is ‘the’ recording? Who is on it? Who conducts?” Thestudentfrequentlycan’tanswerthesequestions.Today,fewsing-ersknowaboutthetendencyofcertainconductorstobenotablyslow(Karajan)orfast(Böhm)intheirlateyears.

ThesearetheprimaryphrasesIhaveusedorwithwhichIhavehadtodeal.Theyareexamplesofphrasesthatcanbeusedtomakeapointbutstillkeepthecoachinglightandinagoodworkingmood.

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1��

noteS

Preface 1. QuotedfromaguestlecturegivenbyVirgilThomsonatIndianaUniversity,which

the author heard during the mid-1970s. It is also discussed in Thomson’s bookMusic with Words, a Composer’s View (New Haven and London: Yale UniversityPress,1959),pp.60–61.

Chapter 1 1. Three examples of valuable books on diction are Singing in French: A Manual of

French Diction and French Vocal RepertoirebyThomasGrubb;A Handbook of Diction for Singers: Italian, German, FrenchbyDavidAdams;andThe Singer’s Manual of English DictionbyMadeleineMarshall.EvenEnglishneedssomestudyandcare.

2. Helena Matheopoulos, Placido Domingo, My Operatic Roles (New York: Little,BrownandCompany,2000),p.18.

3. In Gounod’s opera Faust, the farewell duet between Valentin and Marguerite, cutbeforethepremierebutavailableonatleastonerecording,beginswithexactlythesamefigurationastheBeethovensonata.Itiseveninthesamekey,andisscoredforhorns.Onemustwonder ifGounodismakingaveiledreferencetotheBeethovenwork,alsoa“Farewell.”

4. G.Ricordi&C.Editori—Milano,LuigiRicci,Variazioni — Cadenze — Tradizioni per Canto,Vol.1(Voci femminili—1937,Voci maschili—1937,Voci miste—1939,Variazioni e cadenze per G. Rossini—1941).

5. G.Schirmer—NewYork1943,The Estelle Liebling book of Coloratura Cadenzas: Containing Traditional and New Cadenzas, Cuts, Technical Exercises, and Suggested Concert Programs,compiled,arranged,andeditedbyEstelleLiebling.ThefamouscoloraturasopranoBeverlySillswasastudentofEstelleLiebling.

6. Thedramaticsimilaritiesbetweenthesetwoariasisremarkable,buttheyalsohaveothermusicalsimilarities.Forexample,inLa Traviata,the“GypsyChorus”inthepartysceneatFlora’shouseisinEminor,evokingtheprimarykeyforAzucenainIl Trovatore.

7. RichardMiller,The Structure of Singing: System and Art in Vocal Technique(NewYork:SchirmerBooks;London:CollierMacmillan,1986).

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Chapter 2 1. Handelwouldsometimesdelaythewritingoftheseccorecitativesuntilquitelatein

thecompositionalprocess.Hewouldtellthesingerstorehearsethepassagesasdia-logue,withnaturalinflectionsandpacing,sotheywouldhavefewproblemsaddingthenoteswhenhehadwrittenthemdown.

Interlude 1 1. Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language: College Edition(Cleve-

landandNewYork:TheWorldPublishingCompany,1962).

Chapter 3 1. ThelateTiborKozmawasformanyyearsateacherofconductingatIndianaUniver-

sity.BeforethathehadconductedattheMetropolitanOperaandmanyorchestrasthroughouttheUnitedStatesandEurope.Mostpeoplesaidthathehatedrecord-ings,buthewouldalwayscorrectsuchpeoplebysaying,“Thatisnotso.Recordingsarefinebeforeorafter—butnotinsteadof.”Hethenwouldproceedtofillouthisproverbbyexplainingthathemeant“beforestudyorafterstudyofascore,butnotinsteadofstudyofascore.”Eveninthe1960ssingerswerealreadylearningtheirrolesthroughrecordings.

2. Daniel Majeske, former concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra, stated shortlybeforehediedthatthevolumeoforchestrasallovertheworldhadrisenbymanydecibelsinthetimehehadbeenwiththeClevelandOrchestra.

Chapter 4 1. InBritain,thedirectorisoftencalledtheproducer.IntheUnitedStates,thepro-

ducer mostly deals with the uppermost administrative details ofthe productionandoverseesthebudget.

2. Ionazzi,DanielA.The Stage Management Handbook.(Cincinnati,Ohio:BetterwayBooks,1992).

3. Clark,MarkRossSinging, Acting, and Movement in Opera: A guide to Singergetics.(Bloomington,Indiana:IndianaUniversityPress,2002).

Chapter 8 1. Great Shakespeareans, Pearl GEMM CD 9465 (Pavilion Records Ltd, Sparrows

Green,Wadhurst,E.Sussex,England).Thisisarecordingofgreatactorsofthepast,includingLewisWaller,JohnGielgud,EdwinBooth,ArthurBourchier,BenGreet,JohnBarrymore,HenryAinsley,SirHerbertBeerbohmTree,andMauriceEvans.

2. MichaelLeversonMeyer,Ibsen: A Biography(GardenCity,NewYork:Doubleday&Company,Inc.),pp.70–71.

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Notes•1��

3. IamremindedofademonstrationgivenonceonThe Wonderful World of Disney.TwodozenorsomousetrapsweresetuponatablewithPing-Pongballsrestingonthem.ThenonePing-Pongballwasthrown.Thereactionthatoneballgotfromthetwodozenorsomousetraps/Ping-Pongballswasimpressiveandimmediate.

4. Hans Busch, trans. and ed., Verdi’s Aïda: The History of an Opera in Letters and Documents(Minneapolis:UniversityofMinnesotaPress,1978).

Chapter 9 1. My Fair Lady byAlanJayLernerandFrederickLoewe,copyright1956byCoward-

McCann,NewYork.

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1��

annotated BiBliograPhy

AppendixBlistedavarietyofdesirablescoresandwhytheyaredesir-able.The followingannotatedbibliographydealswith sources Ihaveusedinthepreparationofthistextandsomethatshouldbevaluabletoanyoneenteringtheprofessionofoperacoach.

Adams, David.AHandbookofDictionforSingers:Italian,German,French.New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. This book offers some of the best and most comprehensive rules on good diction in the three major operatic languages.

Busch, Hans, trans. and ed. Verdi’s Aïda. The History of an Opera in Let-tersandDocuments. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1978. Reading the letters and the Disposizione scenica of such an important opera might seem dull to some, but this book reads easily and shows us not only the composer but also the opinions he held on many singers of his time.

Castel, Nico. French Opera Libretti/with International Phonetic Alphabettranscriptions, word for word translations, including a guide to theI.P.A. andnoteson theFrench transcriptions.Edited by Scott Jackson Wiley. Geneseo, N.Y.: Leyerle, 1999–2000. This series of rather expensive books saves hours with dictionaries and heavy study. Not only does the I.P.A. help every singer and coach, but the translations and footnotes are also invaluable and perceptive. They are a must for most coaches. Vol. 1. Werther; Carmen; Samson et Dalila; Lakmé; Pelléas et Mélisande; Chérubin; DonCarlos (French version); LesContesd’Hoffmann. Vol. 2. Faust; RoméoetJuliette; LaJuive; Mignon; Hamlet; Thaïs; Lespêcheursdeperles; Manon.

———. Italian Belcanto Opera Libretti/with International Phonetic Alpha-bettranscriptionsandwordforwordtranslations,includingaguideto

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200•OperaCoaching

theI.P.A.andnotesonItalianphonetics.Edited by Scott Jackson Wiley. Geneseo, N. Leyerle, 2000–2002. Vol. 1.IlbarbierediSiviglia(Rossini);Il turco in Italia (Rossini); Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti); Norma(Bellini);ICapuletieIMontecchi(Bellini).Vol. 2.LaCenerentola(Rossini);L’italianainAlgeri(Rossini);Lasonnambula(Bellini);AnnaBolena(Donizetti); Maria Stuarda (Donizetti); Roberto Devereux (Donizetti);Don Pasquale (Donizetti); I Puritani (Bellini). Vol. 3. Guillaume Tell(Rossini); Le Comte Ory (Rossini); Otello (Rossini); Semiramide (Rossini);Lafilleduregiment(Donizetti);Lafavorite(Donizetti);BeatricediTenda(Bellini).

———. Italian verismoopera libretti/with InternationalPhonetic Alphabettranscriptions and word for word translations, including a guide totheI.P.A.andnotesinItalianphonetics. Edited by Scott Jackson Wiley. Geneseo, N.Y.: Leyerle, 2000.Vol. 1. AndreaChénier (Giordano); Fedora (Giordano); Adriana Lecouvreur (Cilea); La Bohème (Leoncavallo); Mefistofele (Boito); CavalleriaRusticana (Mascagni); IPagliacci (Leoncavallo); La Gioconda (Ponchielli); L’Amico Fritz (Mascagni) (Vol. 2 is not yet available.)

———. ThelibrettiofMozart’scompletedoperas/intwovolumeswithInter-nationalPhoneticAlphabettranscriptions,wordforwordtranslations,including a guide to the I.P.A. and notes on the Italian and Germantranscriptions by Nico Castel. Foreword by Julius Rudel; Illustrations by Eugene Green. Geneseo, N. Leyerle, 1997–1998. Vol. 1. Bastien undBastienne; LaClemenzadiTito; Cosifantutte; DonGiovanni; DieEnt-führungausdemSerail; Lafintagiardiniera; Lafintasemplice. Vol. 2. Idomeneo, LucioSilla; Mitridate, rediPonto; LenozzediFigaro; Ilrepastore; DerSchauspieldirektor; DieZauberflöte.

———. The complete Puccini libretti/with International Phonetic Alpha-bet transcriptions, word for word translations, including a guide totheI.P.A.andnotesontheItaliantranscriptionsbyNicoCastel. Foreword by Sherrill Milnes; Illustrations by Eugene Green. Edited by Marcie Stapp. Geneseo, N. Leyerle, 2002. Vol. 1. LaBohème; Edgar; LaFanciulladelWest; MadamaButterfly; ManonLescaut. Vol. 2. LaRondine; Tosca; IlTrittico: IlTabarro, SuorAngelica, GianniSchicchi; LeVilli.

———. Four Strauss opera libretti/with International Phonetic Alphabettranscriptions, word for word translations, including a guide to theGermanI.P.A.andnotesontheGermantranscriptionsbyNicoCastel. Edited by Marcie Stapp; foreword by Evelyn Lear. Geneseo, N. Leyerle, 2002. DerRosenkavalier, Elektra, Salome, AriadneaufNaxos.

———. The complete Verdi libretti/ with International Phonetic Alphabettranscriptions, word for word translations, including a guide to theI.P.A.andnotesontheItaliantranscriptionsbyNicoCastel. Foreword by Sherrill Milnes; illustrations by Eugene Green. Geneseo, N. Leyerele,

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AnnotatedBibliography•201

1994–1996. Vol. 1. Aïda, Alzira; Aroldo; Attila; UnBallo inmaschera; LaBattagliadiLegnano; IlCorsaro. Vol. 2. DonCarlo; IdueFoscari; Ernani; Falstaff; LaForzadelDestino; UnGiornodiRegno; GiovannaD’Arco. Vol. 3. I Lombardi; Luisa Miller; Macbeth; I Masnadieri; Nabucco; Oberto; Otello. Vol. 4. Rigoletto; SimonBoccanegra; Stiffelio; Latraviata; IlTrovatore; IVespriSiciliani.

Clark, Mark Ross. Singing, Acting and Movement in Opera: A Guide toSinger-getics.Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002.

Goldovsky, Boris and Schoep, Arthur. BringingSopranoAriastoLife.Drawings by Leo Van Witsen. New York: G. Schirmer, 1973. Good ideas about various standard repertoire arias.

Grubb, Thomas. SinginginFrench:AManualofFrenchDictionandFrenchVocalRepertoire. Foreword by Pierre Bernac. New York: Schirmer Books, 1979.

Ionazzi, Daniel A. TheStageManagementHandbook. Cincinnati: Betterway Books, 1992.

Lerner, Alan Jay and Loewe, Frederick. My Fair Lady. New York: CowardMcCann, 1956.

Liebling, Estelle, comp. and ed. TheEstelleLieblingBookofColoraturaCaden-zas:ContainingTraditionalandNewCadenzas,Cuts,TechnicalExer-cises,andSuggestedConcertPrograms. New York: G. Schirmer, 1943.

Marshall, Madeleine. TheSinger’sManualofEnglishDiction. New York: G. Schirmer, 1953. One of the first books to codify the pronunciation of the English language for singers.

Matheopoulos, Helena. Placido Domingo: My Operatic Roles. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2000.

Meyer, Michael Leverson. Ibsen:ABiography. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1971.

Miller, Richard. On the Art of Singing. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. Any coach can gain much more vocal understanding from studying this book and the next, which are well written and very clear.

———. TheStructureofSinging:SystemandArt inVocalTechnique. New York: Schirmer Books, 1986.

Northrop, Henry Davenport. The Delsarte Speaker of Modern Elocution:Student edition. Compiled and edited by Henry Davenport Northrop. [Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1895, by J. R. Jones, to the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D.C.]

Ricci, Luigi. Variazioni—Cadenze—TradizioniperCanto. Milan: G. Ricordi & C. Edition. Vol. 1. —Vocifemminili—c. 1937.Vol. 2. —Vocimas-chili—c. 1939. Vol. 3.—Vocimiste—c. 1939. Vol. 4.—VariazioniecadenzeperRossini—c. 1941.

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202•OperaCoaching

Rickards, Steven. 20th Century Countertenor Repertoire. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2006. A listing of music written since 1900 specifically for countertenor.

Singher, Martial. AnInterpretiveGuidetoOperaticArias:AHandbookforSingers,Coaches,Teachers,andStudents. Translations of the texts of the arias by Eta and Martial Singher. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1983. Similar to Goldovsky’s volume, this deals with arias in all voice categories. It gives good ideas to consider about vocal and dramatic needs of the aria.

Thomson, Virgil. Music with Words, a Composer’s View. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1959.

Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language: College Edi-tion.ClevelandandNewYork:The World Publishing Company, 1962.

disCOgraPHy:GreatShakespeareans.Pearl GEMM CD 9465. Sparrows Green, Wadhurst, E.

Sussex, England: Pavilion Records, Ltd. Compact disc. This compact disc is a fascinating compilation of monologues from some of the early twentieth century’s greatest actors. It shows the incredible changes in acting in the works of even so seminal an author as Shakespeare.

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20�

index

aAccent,errorsin,7,119,147Accidentals,4Accompanists,55,61–63Adagio,118,119Adamo,Mark,168Adams,John,81,128,162,164Adrianna Lecouvreur,156Aïda,118–119,128Alagna,13Albert Herring,163,167Alcina,85,87,98Allegrovivace,102Amahl and the Night Visitors,163Amelia al Ballo,163Ancora più vivo,40Andanta,118Andantino,118Andrea Chenier,27,155Andrés,Don,25Appoggiaturas,27–28,94Argento,Dominick,162Ariadne auf Naxos,61Arioso,82Assistantdirector,43Assistantstagemanager(ASM),42Auditioning,55–69Auditionnotebook,preparing,56

BBach,90Ballet,131Bandainterna,53,120Barber,Samuel,11Barbier,Jules,131Barform,152Baroqueera,4,21,34,81–90The Bartered Bride,10,27Bastien und Bastienne,91Battistini,Mattia,125Bayreuthpit,143Béatrice et Bénédict,130Beethoven,12,139Belasco,154Belcantoera,28,101–109,120,130Bellini,Vincenzo,26,101Berg,Alban,10,92,140,151,152Bergonzi,Carlo,116Berloiz,127,130,132Betrothal in a Monastery,135Bizet,Georges,6,46,127,129Bjoerling,Jussi,116Blocking,42Boito,Arrigo,121Bolcom,William,164Bomarzo,165Bonynge,Richard,103,105

RT76014.indb 203 3/29/06 10:32:27 AM

20�•Index

Boris Godunov,132,135,136Bouffon,157Brahms,10,96Breathingtechnique,17Britten,Benjamin,12,37,161–168

CCabaletta,14,56,92,119Cadenza,12–13,60,120Cadenze,12Calaf,16Cammarano,114Canary Cantata,90Cantilenas,26,112Carmen,6,37,46,129,132,153Carré,Michel,131Caruso,Enrico,13,116,155Castesystem,153Cavatina,118,119Cerha,Friedrich,152Characterdevelopment,85Charactershoes,43Charpentier,Gustave,127,133Chopin,104Choreographer,44Chromatics,78,92Cilea,Francesco,156Classicalera,4,87,99ClevelandBaroqueOrchestra,88Coachingsessions,planningfor,33–40Coffee Cantata,90Coloratura,101,106,128Coloraturasoprano,12Composerstyles,comparing,77–79Concept,41Concertmaster,31,39Conductor,31,39,121Continuo,21Copland,Aaron,162Copyists,4Corelli,Franco,19,115,124,155

Corigliano,John,168Cosi fan tutte,95Costumes/props,43Coyote Tales,164Criticaleditions,4,7Cross-rhythms,11Cyrillic,135,137

dDacapoaria,81,85Dancercuts,16Das Liebesverbot,144Daughter of the Regiment,157Debussy,127,129,132Decorum,31–32Decrescendo,88Delsarte,114Der Fliegende Holländer,144Der junge Lord,164Der Rosenkavalier,11–12,140,149Dessay,Natalie,85Dialogue,27,137Dialogues de Carmélites,133Diaz,Justino,24Dichterliebe,97Diction,116,142,169Die Emtführung aus dem Serail,92Die Feen,144Die Fledermaus,44,158,170Die Frau ohne Schatten,141Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg,141,152Die Zauberflöte,37,95Diminuendo,16Director,42Disposizione Scenica,117Diva/divo,dealingwith,71–73Domingo,Placido,9,13,124Don Carlo,37,119,123Don Giovanni,4,35,91Donizetti,Gaetano,10,13,16,21,101Donne,John,31

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Index•20�

Don Pasquale,13,27,107Don Quichotte,129,130Dottedrhythm,35Dramaticphrases(beats),53Dramatists,114Duetcadenza,120Duets,18,33Dynamics,3,5,33,36

eElegy for Young Lovers,163Elektra,141,150Ensemble,37,121Ernani,67,123Evenrhythm,35

fThe Face on the Barroom Floor,164Falsefriend,35Falsetto,19Falstaff,4,8,10,17,117,119Fatigue,62Faust,72,128,130,157Fermata,16,79Festspielhaus,Bayreuth,142Figaro,90,92“Findingthelight,”58Fioritura,123Fleming,Renée,85Floorplans,43Floyd,Carlyle,162Forte,107,155Fra Diavolo,157Frenchopera,127–134Freudianpsychology,151,153

gThe Ghosts of Versailles,168Gianni Schicchi,156Gilbert,17,102,158

Ginastera,165Giordano,Umberto,27,156Giulio Cesare,85,98,170Glass,Philip,12,164Glinka,135Gorria,Tobio,seeBoito,ArrigoGounod,56,127,129Greekamphitheaters,142Gretchen am Spinnrade,57Griselda,85,88Guillaume Tell,103,132

HHandel,6,23,27,81Hänsel und Gretel,149Hemiolas,82Henze,HansWerner,163Higgins,Henry,130Hines,Jerome,125Hofmannsthal,Hugovon,141–142Humperdinck,139,149

iIbsen,Henrik,114,153I Capuleti e i Montecchi,104Idomeneo,92Il Barbiere di Siviglia,62,102,106,114Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria,82Il Trovatore,13–14,15,35Into the Woods,38Iolanthe,17Italianoperahouses,73,121

JJolie Fille de Perth,130

kKhovanschina,135,137Kozma,Tibor,3,36

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20�•Index

lLa Bohème,4,27,155La Cambiale di Matrimonio,104La Cenerentola,17,36Lachmann,Hedwig,141La Clemenza di Tito,90La Fille du Régiment,128La Forza del Destino,118La Gioconda,121La Périchole,25La Sonnambula,105La Traviata,13,118,119Legato,eliminationof,26,104,116,

120Legs,wings,cycs,45L’Elisir d’amore,4,10,13,105,114Le Nozze di Figaro,5,6,10,23,91Lensky,136Leoncavallo,Ruggiero,27,156Le Philtre,128Le Postillon de Longjumeau,128“LesAdieux”sonata,12Les Contes d’Hoffmann,130Les Huguenots,130Les Troyens,130Les Vépre Siciliennes,113,128Librettists,114,140Libretto,114,117,121,130Liebling,Estelle,12L’Incoronazione di Poppea,82Little Women,168Lohengrin,144Longueur,85L’Orfeo,82Louise,133Love for Three Oranges,135Lucia di Lammermoor,13,14,16,27,56,

105Luisa Miller,113Lully,84Lulu,10,151,152

Lyric,13,129Lysistrata,168

mMacbeth,113,118Madama Butterfly,156Manon Lescaut,117,129,130Marchrhythm,82Markingcuts,15 dancer,16 tenutomarks,119 vocal,16Mascagni,Pietro,27,121,156Massenet,119,127,129Maurel,Victor,116Mavra,135Mazurka,44Measures,4,136The Medium,163Melos,10,12,139Menotti,Gian-Carlo,163Messiah,6,28,98MetropolitanOpera,36,124,135Meyerbeer,Auber,114,127,130,152Mezzoforte,36Mezzosoprano,118,132MichiganOperaTheater,16A Midsummer Night’s Dream,37The Mikado,159Miller,Richard,15Minuettempo,9Moderato,118Mollicone,Henry,164Monaco,Mariodel,116,124,155Monteverdi,Claudio,12,81,117Moore,Douglas,162Mozart,WolfgangAmadeus,4,5,22,

26,90–96Murger,153Musclememory,17,102Musetta’sWaltz,60

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Index•20�

Musicalnumber,27The Music Man,93Mussorgsky,Modeste,4,123,132,135–138Muti,Riccardo,90My Fair Lady,130My Operatic Roles,9

n

Nabucco,113Nasalplacement,19,129“Nessundorma”aria,16NeueMozartAusgabe(NMA),6Nilsson,Birgit,142Norma,104Norrington,Roger,92

O

Offenbach,Jacques,25,127,130,157Offstagechorus,53Of Mice and Men,163The Old Maid and the Thief,163Operettas,25,157–160Optimumroarrange,17–18Oratorio,89Orchestralscores,4Orchestrapit,12,124,143Orleanskaya Dieva,138Ossiapassages,106Otello,114,117,119,123

P

Pagliacci,128“Parkandbark”style,111,144Parlandosinging,26,27,140,145Parsifal,132,140,144Passagework,36,66,87,104Passaggio,19,148Pavarotti,Luciano,13,116,124Pécheurs des Perles,129,130Pélleas et Mélisande,132,171

Performancestyle,112Peter Grimes,162Philosophy,151Phrasing,3,4Piano-vocalscores,3,10,22,47,166Piave,114Pique Dame,135,138The Pirates of Penzance,17,102Pitch,concernsof,39Ponchielli,121–122Portamento,13,78,90,94,119Portatelevoce,155Poulenc,127,133Previn,André,164Price,Leontyne,133Prima la Musica,33Productionpersonnel,41–44Projection,vocal,18,25,98,131,137Prokofiev,135Pronunciation,8,33Props/costumes,43Publictheaters,154Puccini,Giacomo,9,16,18,81,117,

153–156Purists,15,22

rRachmaninoff,135The Rake’s Progress,6,8,163Rameau,84Range,17Rearprojector(RP)screen,46Recitatives,21–28,82“Recitativoaccompagnato,”24Reductions,5,8,166Rehearsals,15,31,44–45Rests,usageof,115Rhythm,5 cross-rhythms,11 difficultiesin,8 evenvs.dotted,35

RT76014.indb 207 3/29/06 10:32:30 AM

20�•Index

march,82 writtenandspoken,23Ricci,Luigi,12,13,16,103Richards,10,123Ricordi,C.,12“TheRideoftheValkyries,”10Rienzi,144Rigoletto,7,16,37,78,124,154Rimsky-Korsakov,135Risposta,118,120Ristampadate,134Ritardando,59,78,91,131Rollingchords,23Romanticperiod,25,96Romanza,118Romeo and Juliet Overture,137Roméo et Juliette,129,130,131“Rootposition”triads,22Rossini,GioacchinoAntonio,4,17,22,

62,101,131RossiniCrescendo,104Royaltheaters,154Rubato,131,137Ruffo,Tito,125RussianRomanticstyle,137

sSaint-Säens,127Salieri,33,78,91Salome,140,149Sardou,154Scarlatti,Alessandro,84,85Scena,117,119Schubert,Franz,57,95Schumann,96Schünemann,Georg,5–6Score,knowledgeof,3–20 orchestralscores,4 piano-vocalscores,3,10,22,47,166Scribe,Eugene,114,130Seccorecitatives(dry),21,23,24,106“Senzamamma”aria,18

Shakespeare,William,114Shiftingtempo,37,56,104,121Siegfried,152Sight-readingmusic,55,60Sills,Beverly,85,159Sinatra,Frank,98Singingstyle,111–112,124Smetana,10,27Soldan,Kurt,6Sondheim,Stephen,38,55Soprano,13,19,118The Sorcere,17Sorrell,Jeannette,88Spinto,13Spokenrhythm,23Sprechstimme(speakingvoice),151Squillando,132Stabat Mater,103Staccato,13,120,155Stagedirector,perspectiveof,41–54Stageleft/right,45Stagemanagementteam,43Stagemanager(SM),42Stagemovement,23Staging,41–42“Ständchen,”10StatePublishingHouse,3Straighttone,97–99Strauss,Johann,Jr.,4,10,158Strauss,Richard,11,123,139–152Stravinsky,6,8,92,135A Streetcar Named Desire,164Stretta,119,120The Structure of Singing: System and Art

in Vocal Technique,15Sullivan,17,102,158Suor Angelica,18Susannah,162Sutherland,Joan,85,103Sylvan,Sanford,161Synopsis,46–53Syntax,errorsin,7

RT76014.indb 208 3/29/06 10:32:31 AM

Index•20�

T

Tamagno,Francesco,116Tannhaüser,144Tchaikovsky,135,136Telemann,90The Telephone,163Tempo,3,78 ideal,16,93 minuettempo,9 shifting,37,56,104,121 walttempo,12Tempo d’attacco(tempooftheattack),

117,118Tempo di mezzo(tempoofthemiddle),

118,119The Tender Land,162Tenor,128 lyric,13 spinto,13Tenorialsquillando,116Tenutomarks,119Tessitura,56,120,128,156Text,5Texture,5Thoughtdiction,84Tiednotes,127Tinta,117ToreadorSong,60Tosca,9,154Traditions,12,34,72Tradizioni,12Translation,6,10,17,35,137Tremolo,116Tristan und Isolde,141Turandot,16,72,153Tuttaforza,98,108,129

u

Ulrica,17Un Ballo in Maschera,17,121,125

Un fil di voce(onestrandofvoice),119Upstage/downstage,45

V

Vanessa,11,163Variazioni,12Vaughan,Victoria,41Verdi,Giuseppe,4,13,21,107,113–122Verdiandrama,116Verismooperas,27,133,153–156Vibrato,97–99,116,151Vivaldi,27,84Vocalclassification,123Vocalcuts,16Vocalindications,119Vocalrhythms,5Vocalstyles,77,108,123–125Vocaltricks,164Voci femminili,12Voci maschili,12Voci miste,12

W

Wagner,Richard,10,21,35,92,132,139–152

Waltztempo,12War and Peace,135Werther,129,130Wilde,Oscar,141William,Vaughan,161Willson,Meredith,93Woodshedding,139Wozzeck,10,151,167Writtenrhythm,23

y

Yevghenyi Onegin,44,135,136

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RT76014.indb 210 3/29/06 10:32:31 AM