Vocalist.org archive


From:  Karen Mercedes <dalila@R...>
Karen Mercedes <dalila@R...>
Date:  Sun Nov 26, 2000  3:39 pm
Subject:  What type of voice?


On 26 Nov 2000 vocalist-temporary@egroups.com wrote:

> What type of voice (not necessarily
> fach) do you have? Let's see where the
> Vocalist distribution lies, especially
> in light of our recent discussions about
> how you hear your own voice. (This poll
> displays your address as well as the
> answer graphs.)
>
> o Light lyric voice (or coloratura)
> o Lyric voice
> o Full lyric or lirico-spinto voice
> o Spinto voice
> o Dramatic voice
> o Comic/buffo/character voice
> o Choral voice
> o Too young to tell
> o I sing it all

I answered this poll based on input from both my former and my current
voice teacher. According to them, I am a "dramatic mezzo". This based on
the "size", range, and pasaggii of my voice.

This said, I don't know exactly what this means, really. Because I
certainly don't limit myself to dramatic mezzo repertoire. Indeed, where
I am developmentally in terms of technique, I tend to actively AVOID full
dramatic mezzo repertoire by and large. I limit myself to working on only
one or two full dramatic mezzo arias at any time (and NO Verdi - his
dramatic mezzo repertoire terrifies me at this point). The rest of my rep
is divided between lyric/heavy lyric mezzo, contralto, and the occasional
low-tessitura dramatic soprano or "zwischenfach" aria.

I think understanding the specific vocal and dramatic requirements of a
given piece is also critical to selecting one's appropriate repertoire.
For example, while, as I said, I find myself balking at most Verdi
dramatic mezzo rep, I feel entirely comfortable with Dalila in SAMSON ET
DALILA, another dramatic mezzo role. Why? Because the requirements of
Dalila's music, in terms of tessitura, dramatic demands, and use of the
voice are very different. Many of Verdi's dramatic mezzo arias require
the ability not only to sing at the top of one's vocal range, but to sing
those top notes loud and sustained (example: that high C flat in Eboli's
"O Don Fatale" from DON CARLO). Verdi also tends to put his mezzos
through their paces, sweeping up and down through the entire range and
dynamic range unmercifully within the same aria. Singing "Condotta
ell'era in ceppi" from IL TROVATORE, for example, is the vocal equivalent
of running a dramatic mezzo triathalon, IMO.

And yet, I find that I can achieve similar dramatically satisfying (to me
and the listener) results with "Amour viens aider" from SAMSON ET DALILA
without anything like the excessive demands in terms of range and stamina.
And yet, this aria still challenges me where I am now in terms of my vocal
technical development. I see it as a stepping stone on the way to
"tackling" Verdi. It's fairly easy for me to sing well now. When it
becomes TRULY easy to sing a few months from now, I know I will be ready
to move to the next level. Whether that means taking on a Verdi aria, or
taking another intermediate step through, say, Verismo, is something for
me and my voice teacher to decide together.

Does having to wait for the "ultimate goal" for the dramatic mezzo
frustrate me? Not at all. Because I find it much more satisfying and FUN
to sing what is realistically challenging but also realistically "do-able"
for me NOW than it is to struggle with repertoire that I simply am not yet
technically prepared to handle at this stage.

And a big part of what one learns as one progresses as a voice student is
exactly how to judge the difference between what one is easily capable of,
capable of with a realistic amount of effort, and not capable of yet. And
then to choose one's repertoire at any given time accordingly.

Does this mean I never "play around" with the absolutely wrong rep? Of
course not. Every now and then I'll trot out Leonore's aria from FIDELIO
just for the hell of it, because I love it. But it's amazing how quickly
I realise that "playing around" with that aria (or the Liebestodt, or O
Don Fatale, or any of the other "mega arias" I sometimes wish I could sing
like a champ) is not really fun - not fun at all. Singing anything badly
is worse than not singing it at all. Much more enjoyable to hear someone
sing these arias who really CAN sing them - and to stick with repertoire
that I really can sing, or which I can begin to work on with a realistic
expectation of being able to sing them well after some work, given my
vocal abilities when I start working on the piece, and my realistic
expectation of how much those abilities can develop as I work on it.

Karen Mercedes
=====
My NEIL SHICOFF Website:
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/shicoff/shicoff.html

My Website:
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html

-----
Es en balde, majo mio, que sigas hablando
porque hay cosas que contesto yo
siempre cantando:
Tra la la...
Por mas que preguntes tanto:
tra la la...
En mi no causas quebranto
ni yo he de salir de mi canto:
tra la la...

- Fernando Periquet



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