> why do you have to call yourself anything? because
> the stupidity and capriciousness of dated operatic
> traditions requires it? that's insane!
Ah, mike, you're just covering your tracks after
getting carried away with that Verdi post. You
liiiiiiike it.... you liiiiiiiiiiike it. :)
Karen, I'd say that simpler is better and less-fached
is more professional. I went through a phase where I
volunteered to turn pages during regional auditions
for all the companies around here -- a GREAT way to
get a glimpse behind the scenes. I've seen directors
dismiss singers before they walked in the theater
because they pretentiously over-described themselves
on their resumes -- "Mary-Jane Anna Smith-Jones,
lyric-coloratura soprano" and so forth. The
impression I got is: if you have to convince people
you're a spinto tenor, or a dramatic anything, or a
lyric-dramatic coloratura, you come off like you don't
have the goods. If you're a dramatic or a contralto
or a Verdi baritone, it will be abundantly clear the
minute you open your mouth.
This leads me to wonder what good finding your "fach"
is. Some people, including my voice teacher, think
it's all nonsense and you should sing what fits your
voice, period. I think it's helpful when you put
together an audition/competition list, so you don't
look like you are all over the board. Obviously, it's
the way to work with the system in Germany.
Plus, people have such different views about
contraltos. Some people will expect to hear nothing
less than the mannish, VERY dark sound of a Marian
Anderson. Some people might expect a Horne. Some
people will criticize a B or C on the grounds that
contraltos don't sing higher than an A -- or that a
contralto should only be heard as Dame Quickly, so why
are you auditioning for Carmen, etc. So you risk
either a) not meeting their expectations, thus leading
to directors dismissing you for having pretentiously
overfached yourself (I know it's not over, but it is
rarer), or b) having them dismiss you for roles you'd
like to do off the bat.
Isabelle B.
=====
Isabelle Bracamonte
San Francisco, CA
ibracamonte@y...
ibracamonte@y...
__________________________________________________
Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35
|
|  |
