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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