There’s something about Handel’s operas that seems to lend a particularly blank slate to directors. Some of the wackiest takes on opera by the most Regie of the “concept” directors happen in Baroque opera, and Handel’s works get their fair share. That’s not to say that
There was a funny little anecdotal post on r/opera the other day, about the habits of basses during curtain calls. “I have noticed this in many performances, when the singers go out for bowing in a group, the bass tends to be last to leave and holds the curtain
Everyone likes a good love duet, right? We do too, but even some of opera’s best scenes of romance come with something a little cringe-worthy. Things like women being forced into marriages, lovers lying to each other, people declaring love for their own twin, that sort of thing. Since
They’re mean, mad, and even murderous: call it sexism, or call it a series of very loud Freudian slips, but the creators of opera have never been too kind to mothers. Still, Mother’s Day is here; despite the generally poor representation they have in our favourite operas, these
How do you not deafen yourself with the sound of your own voice? If you’ve been within ten feet of an opera singer doing their thing, you can vouch for the fact that they can create a lot of decibels. Even when they’re not singing at their full
Mine is falling onstage. Now, I’ve never had a major wipeout, and I’ve never fallen off a stage. But still, I can’t shake this feeling that I’m one step away from my foot giving out and doing an ass-plant in front of a captive audience. It
Opinion
One of the most important elements of music making, and one that I find is somewhat undervalued in the general conversation around performance, is the role played by our awareness during singing; that is, where our attention lies as performers while we are playing or singing. My own observations with
In an interview with Canadian bass Robert Pomakov, he summed up the duties of his voice type on the operatic stage: “King, god, demon, loser”. It can be a tough life for those basses; not only are they rarely the title role in an opera, but they spend a huge
Have you ever wondered, when taking on music lessons, what requirements there may be when starting? Some instructors might give you a list of their requirements ahead of time, but most probably don’t. It is important to be aware that learning a musical skill, even just as a hobby
Music Education
A long time ago, a smart voice teacher once said, “the most important thing in music is rhythm.” That statement still rings true; the elements of music, like a melody that moves people, and lyrics that mean something, are held together with rhythm. It’s the same thing in speech;
Music Education
Last summer I was in Quebec City, and one day as I happened along the Grand Allée Ouest I came upon an old church with the doors open and a Big Mama Thornton record wailing away at high volume. Intrigued, I went in for a closer look and discovered that
Music Education
Did you know that the word “patter” comes from the Catholic “Pater Noster,” which was apparently recited as fast as possible by the congregation? Equal in hilarity to the image of a monotone group of Catholics speeding through holy texts out of sheer rote/boredom are all the “patter songs”