Dear Julie,
Your teacher probably has many pieces in mind for you. He or she may not
even want you to do an operatic aria first semester. Why don't you ask your
teacher if you may do an aria and which ones you may choose from. He or she
is the best source of suggestions for pieces for "a second year lyric
soprano."
As for your comment "I would love something unique and beautiful, maybe in
bel canto..." I offer this.
Every young singer wants to do something "unique and beautiful." Your
teacher may ask you to do pieces that many of your fellow singers are
doing - for all sorts of scholarly, pedagogical and practical reasons. It's
up to YOU to take them and make them unique and beautiful by what you bring
to the preparation, technique, interpretation, style and performance.
For a first or second year singer, "Amarilli, mia bella" in 24/26 Italian
Songs and Arias is very, very difficult to sing well technically. You may
not be able to approach correct style for another year or two. It's in what
we think of as a "beginners" book but is by no means a simple song. The
collection is accessible, inexpensive, available and in Italian. But make
no mistake, these songs aren't just for beginners.
The stylistic demands of "bel canto" songs and arias (Donizetti, Rossini, et
al ), Mozart, and any other composer you study can be accomplished only
after the technique is stable and the voice free.
I applaud your desire to explore new and difficult music but I urge you to
be patient and do the best preparation of each piece your teacher assigns,
no matter how little you want to do it, and present the best performance
possible. This is how you gain the technique and musical maturity to add
operatic arias and demanding pieces of all kinds to your repertoire.
Keep listening to arias and do follow the scores as you listen. Read
through lots of new music. Have fun. But don't be disappointed if your
teacher doesn't feel that you're ready for Donna Anna.
Cindy Donnell
singer and voice teacher
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi everyone, I am back. My classes began with Foreign Diction for Singers
and the Opera Workshop, and Private Lessons.
I am going to present two fresh Italian Arias which I would sing. I don't
know where to begin. I looked through your lists Karen, however, I don't
know what level of Aria these would be. 26 Italian Arias probably isn't
going to be the right source for this because we are using these in the
classroom work.
Does anyone know of a Mozart Italian Aria for first or second year lyric
Soprano? I was looking at Donna Anna from Don Giovanni, but I am not sure
if that is too advanced or not. Also as my second Aria I would love
something unique and beautiful, maybe in bel canto, a Neopolitan Aria or
something like that. I really love Gluck's music too.
If you have any ideas, I look forward to hearing them.
Faithfully Yours,
Julie
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