Day 23 - Tuesday
Morning: understudy coaching, then a masterclass with Dominic Wheeler. This was one of the best masterclasses I've ever attended, even though I wasn't singing. It's great to listen to advice that is instantly understandable, makes sense, and most importantly works! I actually found myself taking notes:
- make a conscious decision: sing the energy of the music, or against it
- every breath needs emotional investment and a thought that is carried through the phrase
- the difference between a native singer and a non-native (referring to language) is that the former naturally colours the vowels with emotion, while the latter has an artificial precision
- slurs over phrases (in Puccini for instance) indicate that the balance between legato and text should tilt slightly towards legato
- carry vowel shapes into the silence to achieve a clean cut-off
And my personal favourite:
- good rhythm increases your character's IQ
And now this blog can become my reference if I ever need to refresh my memory.
Afternoon: we run Act 1 of Cosi, then rush down to the Church to refresh the staging of the Brooklyn Boys. During the dinner break we celebrate Xavier's birthday with carrot cake and the loudest rendition of Happy Birthday I've heard in a long time (with everyone going for the high note, as singers do).
Coconut carrot cake!
Evening: a rather tiring technical rehearsal for Lillian Alling. As I said some time ago, these are always hard, but necessary. Problems of a personal nature make it a tougher than usual though, with a see-saw of apathy and manic antics. After rehearsal we head to the bar to celebrate Xavier's birthday properly, a much needed opportunity for distraction.
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