In a message dated 9/1/00 8:46:02 AM Central Daylight Time, Mezzoid@a... writes:
<< I especially put value in the last 2 factors; a fabulous voice does not make a fabulous teacher. I know, I'VE been there! As far as operatic, do you mean having had an operatic career or focusing only on operatic repertoire? Either way, I think that at 19, your primary concern should be to find a teacher who knows what he/she is doing in the area of pedagogy. There is nothing wrong with singing song repertoire in the voice building process (or throughout your career, for that matter). You should have exposure to the operatic repertoire, but make certain that it is correct for your voice at your current stage of vocal development. If you work on arias that you hope to perform for the rest of your life, and your voice is not ready for it, you will have those bad habits to overcome for the rest of your life (IMHO). >>
Good points, especially the operatic stuff. The function of the voice is not necessarily driven by an aesthetic, that comes later. In an attempt to sound operatic, many young singers impose a weight and darkness to fit into some preconceived notion of legit singing. While there are many singers in opera who sing in a such a way as mentioned above, not all do. Dawn Upshaw, Pavarotti, Sylvia McNair and others sing in a way that is less contrived towards fitting into a certain style but the vocal production is excellent.
Randy Buescher
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