Hello everyone,
My name is Kate and I am glad to be a new member of this list. I am
16-years-old and have been studying classical voice for close to ten
years now. For the past year or so I have been delving seriously
into opera and lieder. I am lucky to have a private teacher who has a
tremendous understanding and knowledge of repertoire. She stresses
that one should only sing what is absolutely comfortable (she
strongly discourages against the "no pain, no gain" theory).
I've been studying, among other things, the arias of Rosina,
Cherubino, Zerlina, Isabella (L'Italiana in Algeri), Carmen (only
occasionally when I'm feeling ambitious!), Dalila, and Gluck's
Orfeo. I have also studied tons of Shubert (my favourite composer
for listening to and singing), Brahms, as well as Purcell and
Handel. I have a moderately good sized range (about 2.75 octaves)
and borderline mezzo/soubrette soprano tessitura. I can also handle
the lower and middle registers evenly.
My problem? I am deathly afraid of high notes! My teacher has told
me that she believes (because of my high break---Eb) that I will be a
dramatic soprano eventually, I just have to wait for my high notes to
develop. Currently, however, I can't sing above a high A without
tensing terribly, which is why I am sticking fairly close to
traditional mezzo repertoire. I really do not have a lyric timbre,
it's been rather dark since I can remember (which leads me to think I
might be a mezzo).
How developed were your ranges at 16? Do higher notes really just
magically materialize as you mature if you exercise the middle and
lower registers? Any tips to help me relax my upper register?
On another note: I would love to start doing vocal competition. I
have been chronically ill for two years now, so have been unable to
do anything strenuous. However, I am starting to become stronger and
think my next step should be to gain confidence in a competive
atmosphere, since I am planning to study music after high school. I
live in the Northeast. Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance to anyone who responds :)
----Kate
|
