Neapolitan Days-Part III

Friday morning, I heard my opera coach speak to a group of alumni. They were gathered in a large hall in a local art gallery, and several of my fellow students sang. There was one student from each year of undergrad, a master's student, and a doctoral student. Amazing to hear them sing one by one. It was a beautiful tour of what this education does for you and what they each have to look forward to.

Besides warmly introducing each of my colleagues, my professor spoke with enormous enthusiasm and pride about the school. What I'd love to share with you, though, is what he said about opera singers in general.



"When you go to see a voice teacher, there's only 3 things they can tell you. They can tell you a little about how you sound since you can't hear yourself. They can tell you what worked for them. And they can give you some ideas of what might work for you. Other than that, there isn't much they can do. You know, voice is unlike any other instrument. It is unique because these singers are the only ones who play their instruments."



What he means is that each voice and each body is unique. That means that no one else knows exactly what it feels like for you to sing. No one knows exactly what will work for you. It's very much trial and error. and no one has your timbre or muscles or the exact structure you have. That's one reason why singers find it beneficial to study with different teachers. "No voice teacher in the world has all the pieces of the puzzle. They'll each have some, and some teachers have more than most, but that's why voice students study with different people over time."



He also spoke about why the profession is so difficult:



"You have to be a master of not just your voice and technique. You must be fluid and hopefully fluent in at least French, Italian, and German, and preferably Russian and Czech as well. You need to be a phenomenal actor. You have to have "the look"." And there's more I'm sure that I'm forgetting as I try to remember his speech.



Overall, it was a neat experience to watch him espouse the virtues of my colleagues and opera singers in general. It is a difficult profession, and that's a very helpful thing to remember as we watch performances. Besides the fact that singing is intensely personal - people have the opportunity to hear your instrument, not a Steinway or Yamaha, but your voice - it is also generally a tough game to play. So the next time you see an opera and the singer is having trouble, critique with empathy :)

~Hope