lloyd wrote:
"Now, if that same text is set to music by a composer of merit and
must be sung, all, or most, of the actor's decisions are made by the
composer."
lloyd, wouldn't you agree that the choices made by the composer were
inherent in the text (if the text came first)? so, the composer is making
the decision as to which reading of the text is to be performed. still,
this is not ironclad. in the classical tradition, the composer selects
pitch and rhythm (the composer usually selects articulation as well, but, as
many opera singers only do legato, the composer is pretty much out of luck in
this regard. but, that's another thread).
i don't agree that all, or most, of the actor's decisions are made by
the composer. i would agree that the composer has narrowed the choices
down, considerably. take the role of dorabella, for example. much of the
time, she is played as a fiordiligi mirror but, i have seen her played very
effectively as a complete ditz. papageno can be played as a total clown or,
he can be played as one of the more touching characters in opera (if you
consider 'magic flute' an opera). think of the widely varied
interpretations of roles by famous singers. for example: compare eberhard
wachter's don giovanni to that of cesare siepi. where wachter is frantic,
siepi is cool and suave. these differences may be as much due to the
differing personalities of those two singers as to any choice either may have
made but, the point is, there is room for both within mozart's framework.
lloyd also wrote:
"...music becomes a stronger
dramatic element than the choices normally available to the
non-music-theatre actor."
it's certainly a more noticeable element. sometimes, i think it can
distract from the drama (which, in many operas, is a blessing). i can't
imagine hamlet's 'to be or, not to be...' being more dramatic set to music
(especially as the thought of danny kay doing it as a patter song, just
popped into my head. now that i think about it, that might have been pretty
entertaining). on the other hand, if the drama of the text is delivered
powerfully by the music then, i agree. no speaking of that same text is
going to have that effect.
mike
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