>when pro basketball players sit >down on the bench for a break, does their breathing look controlled enough to >sing?
Ok, fine. But having run on both the cross-country and track teams in my much younger days, I can say that, while it's not exactly the same TYPE of energy that one uses on stage, it's still exhausting nonetheless. You may not be panting (depending on the opera and the part), but you're using up not only physical energy just in the act of singing, but also emotional energy - and that can be greater than any physical exhertion at times. Just because something isn't aerobic exercise or just because your heart doesn't begin racing at a high speed from running a 50 yrd. dash or running 3 miles up hilly terrain doesn't mean that you're not just as exhausted at the end of such a performance. In Bartoli's case, I remember the original poster mentioning that she seemed energetic and lively at the end of the performance. I know plenty of people who find that they're full of energy after an early morning workout at the gym. Perhaps this is invigorating for her moreso than for the other stars in the cast.
I think what it comes down to is that each of these different activities can and often do take a tremendous amount of energy - whether you're singing an opera or if you're engaging in another sort of physical activity such as running or swimming. The *type* of energy they use may be different, but the feeling of a workout is the same - even if the physical results aren't the same. It's true that I'll never get great abs or work off the fat I gained on my thighs in pregnancy by doing lots of lead roles. But I'll tell you, from experience as a runner of long AND short distances - singing a lead IS tiring and exhausting and definitely gets the adrenaline pumping in a very similar way to physical exercise. And maybe that's the key...it's not necessarily the activity itself that makes one exhausted in the way athletes become exhausted. It's the adrenaline pumping through you; the excitement of the show; feeding off the energy of the crowd.
No, it's not exactly the same, but it sure does feel like it!
Laura
PS. Sorry if my thoughts seem random and disorganized here. I'm sitting down right after our Halloween concert which was lots of fun and definitely got my adrenaline pumping because the concert that was supposed to take place before ours never showed up so they asked us to begin 45 minutes early. And we were all coming from different distant ends of SoCal. We only ended up being able to start 30 minutes early, but there was no warm-up, nothing so we were a little frazzled for the whole performance. The adrenaline was definitely doing its thing today!!!
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