Crossing Over: Festival Weekend Part 2

As part of Festival Weekend, to complement Glimmerglass Opera’s production of Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate, Dramaturg Kelley Rourke moderated a discussion with four singers regarding the division between operatic and musical theater worlds — which seems to be more permeable each day. Below are excerpts from that discussion.

Panel:

Karen Lykes: Faculty of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Vocal Consultant for the Young American Artists Program

Joyce Castle: Renowned singer who has appeared in numerous Glimmerglass Opera productions. She will return next season as the Mother in Menotti’s The Consul.

Jennifer Goode Cooper: Young American Artists Program Member: cover for Kate in Kiss Me, Kate

Robert Kerr: Young American Artists Program Member: Danieli in Das Liebesverbot and Gremio, Gregory and Second Gunman (cover) in Kiss Me, Kate


Question: Many opera singers did not start out with the intention of a career in opera. In fact, many of their first musical experiences were not operatic at all. I was hoping you could each talk a little about your first musical experiences and how you’ve ended up where you are today.

Karen: I grew up in Arkansas listening to recordings, especially musical theater. We didn’t have a musical theater program in my high school, so it wasn’t until I went to college as a voice major that I began singing in shows. Originally I wanted to do nightclub work! I was influenced by singers like Barbra Streisand. It turned out, however, that my voice and my career went in a classical direction. I still love the musical theater repertoire, and in my teaching I always seek out programs where I can have a mixture of musical theater and classical singers in my studio.

Robert: When I was growing up, just like Karen, I spent hours sitting in my room listening to musical theater recordings, not opera. I would try to emulate the sounds I heard them making. When I graduated from high school I was convinced that I would head to Broadway after college. My sophomore year of college I had professors encourage me to explore the classical side of my voice. I was young, however, and didn’t listen to them. It wasn’t until after I graduated that I started singing at Opera Columbus in the chorus and in smaller roles. From there I’ve followed primarily an operatic career path. Being a Young Artist here this summer has afforded me the ability to reconnect with my musical theater roots!

Joyce: I first sang in public at the age of three in Louisiana. My mother accompanied me on the piano. I don’t remember it, but my mother does and she says I was fabulous. Music was very important in our home. I played the piano and always sang for my relatives whenever they asked me to. When you’re a singer and you know it early on, you never know anything else. I never had a choice to make. I would sing anything and everything. I went to the University of Kansas and was a double major in voice and theater. I performed in musicals, operas and plays. It’s all the same. It’s about communicating and entertaining.

Jennifer: I grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, and my first experiences were singing in church. When I got to my tiny Evangelical Christian high school with a class of 100 I was one of the few people brave enough to audition for the musicals! After high school,I headed to NYU for an undergraduate degree in voice. Karen was teaching there and encouraged me to explore the classical repertoire. I was initially very intimidated. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to communicate with the same immediacy as I did with musical theater. My final recital there was about half music theater and half classical repertoire. I went on to do a Master’s degree in classical voice at the Manhattan School of Music, where I sang roles in all of the English-language operas. Having my early operatic roles be in English allowed me to understand how to communicate in the operatic art form with the same immediacy as I do in musical theater. I no longer find it daunting or intimidating. To me both forms are simply about communicating.

Question: Opera singers are required to master a variety of styles; the technical challenges of Mozart are different from Strauss are different from Monteverdi. In a sense, musical theater is simply another style in the mix. I was wondering if we could take a moment to talk about technique and the considerations brought to musical theater repertoire.

Karen: In classical voice we talk about singing with a raised soft palate and a released larynx. This is how we get that full, resonant sound that is so closely associated with classical music. In musical theater it is typically less appropriate to have that really full sound. The ideal sound is something closer to how we speak. In musical theater we talk about singing up to the palette instead of over the palette.

Joyce: I’m a mezzo, so certainly I use a lot of chest voice! I suppose I don’t think of it as that different from belt. I make sure there is good support, and then I simply listen to the sound I’m creating and that guides my technique. I find I have to be very careful how high I take my chest voice. I’ve done a lot of Mrs. Lovetts (Sweeney Todd) in my day and I find myself using a sort of “fake” belt in that show. I’m not really hurting myself because I’m putting it up in my nose, instead of shoving the chest voice up there. That’s certainly the way Angela Lansbury did it!

Karen: I’ve noticed recently the interest in having a belt sound that goes even higher, up to an ‘E’ or ‘F’. There are a few singers who can naturally do that, but so often I hear singers taking their chest voice up there and creating an entirely different sound from the rest of their voice, which can be dangerous.

Jennifer: Does the word “belt” mean something different for a man?

Robert: I think it is a matter of not keeping the space as open in my airway when I’m singing in a musical theater style. It really is all about placement. Where are you putting the voice and how does it feel?

Question: As part of this seminar, I wanted to briefly listen to a few excerpts from a great singer who excelled in classical and popular and musical theater repertoire: [Eileen Farrell singing excerpts from “Pace, Pace, O Mio Dio” and “Stormy Weather”] Anyone want to comment about what you hear in her performance?

Joyce: It sounded good to me!

Karen: It’s a matter of style. If you can really hook into the heart and soul of the style then the technique will come together as well.

Jennifer: It goes back to that issue of communication. All of the technical concerns really come into focus if you understand how to communicate clearly in whatever style you are learning and performing.

Joyce: One thing that is frustrating today is that many Broadway singers don’t need to have the chops they used to because they are amplified. It is so fantastic to hear Kiss Me, Kate with a real orchestra down there and not four synthesizers! What a treat!

Karen: And, like you said, to have singers who have the chops to sing this music without amplification.

Jennifer: I think the vocal style really changed once amplification came into the picture. Whether it is a classical or musical theater technique, once microphones came on the scene singers could pull off their voices much more without being concerned about whether or not they were being heard.

Question: Even unamplified, do you think there is a different way you approach the text in musical theater repertoire than in operatic?

Jennifer: I think of it as being able to caress the words more. In operatic singing you really need that full, open resonance, but in musical theater the palate can open and close a little more flexibly with the words and the text.

Karen: I was just at the Tanglewood Festival attending Renée Fleming’s master class, and she related an incident regarding meeting Barbara Cook, who is still singing well into her 80’s. Renée asked her what her secret was to such a long and healthy singing career. Her answer was: singing on the consonants, particularly m’s and n’s. If you go back and listen to singers like Tony Bennett and Mel Tormé, they both point to Mabel Mercer as a major influence because she taught them how to sing on those consonants as well.

Joyce: To me what that means is the line, singing through the melodic line. With my students I sometimes tell them: Take a listen to Fred Astaire! I think he’s such a fantastic singer. He has a wonderful way with the words and the line of a song.

photo:
1. from left to right: Jennifer Goode Cooper, Joyce Castle, Robert Kerr. photo credit: Michael Manning

Festival Weekend

Glimmerglass Opera devotes two weekends to further exploration and insight into the operas presented each summer. The first of these, Festival Weekend, occurred this past week. Alongside the opportunity to see all four productions and a concert performance of Mendelssohn’s Complete Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the weekend was filled with seminars, screenings of films related to the Shakespearean season and dinners with live musical entertainment. The weekend kicked off with a romp through three film versions of Romeo and Juliet (the Cukor, Zeffirelli and Luhrmann adaptations) curated by Associate Artistic Director John Conklin. On Saturday patrons enjoyed two panel discussions with the creative teams behind some of the summer’s productions. The first of these, titled No Sex Please, We’re German, involved a musical tour through Wagner’s early opera Das Liebesverbot by conductor Corrado Rovaris, illuminated with musical performances by pianist David Moody and members of the Young American Artists Program. Here is a bit of what Maestro Rovaris had to say about the opera:

“The Wagner you will hear this summer is not the Wagner we are used to. It is an early work, and it is wonderful to have the opportunity to hear a piece that is so rarely staged, let alone performed, today. He adapted the libretto from Measure for Measure, making many changes along the way. For one, the setting is moved to Sicily. For German artists in Wagner’s time, medieval Sicily was a sort of paradise. It was thought of as very carefree and liberal, a dream for artists. Early in his career Wagner was actually reacting against the prevalent German musical tradition. He incorporated a lot of the Italian style in the score for Das Liebesverbot. At the time Wagner was conducting a lot of Bellini, and you can hear the influence so clearly in the music. The Wagner who would go on to create the Ring cycle and Tristan und Isolde is lurking in there as well, but a great deal of the Italian bel canto sound dominates the score, which I think is very interesting.

I recently conducted Un giorno di regno at La Scala. This was Verdi’s second opera and was his only attempt at the opera buffa style. Much like Wagner’s Das Liebesverbot it was an early work by a master of opera in a style which would not be revisited later in the composer’s output. Like Das Liebesverbot, the premiere of Un giorno di regno was a fiasco. In both cases I believe it was the disastrous openings, and not the musical quality of the works, that caused them to disappear for so long. I’m really enjoying the opportunity to bring these works back to the stage for people to hear again after so many years.”

Following this presentation, the morning featured a panel discussion with operatic singers who “cross over” into musical theater repertoire. This served as a complement to Glimmerglass Opera’s presentation of Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate.

photos:
1. The discussion panel for No Sex Please, We're German: (from left to right) Joslin Romphf, Joseph Gaines, E. Philip Schneider, Jonathan Lasch, and Corrado Rovaris. photo credit: Michael Manning.

Telling Stories: Young American Artists Program Recitals

Jennifer Goode Cooper and Anthony Roth Costanzo: Members of the Young American Artists Program

The members of the Young American Artists Program have a busy summer; they perform and cover roles on the main stage, audition for opera companies, coach with the music staff and participate in masterclasses with guest artists. Beyond all of this, each Young Artist programs and performs a recital at one of many venues around Cooperstown and Cherry Valley. Having recently performed her recital, soprano Jennifer Goode Cooper spoke with me about how she settled on the repertoire. “When thinking about programming this recital I wanted to explore one common theme through many stylistic periods and languages. I began by finding the composers and texts that I wanted to work with and eventually settled on Bellini, Fauré and Barber. Through these composers I found a series of pieces that dealt with theme of reminiscences. The recital focused on the idea of memory and keeping it alive.”

Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, whose recital will take place on August 10, mentioned the unique opportunities presented by recitals. “In performing an opera, the story is handed to us. Our job as operatic performers is almost exclusively interpretation; our creative powers are used to breathe life into the pre-existing narrative. In a recital, we have an opportunity to tell our own story, to bend the poetry of disparate styles into one cohesive journey.” Jennifer echoed his thoughts, commenting, “You can’t hide. You have a series of poems or text to work with, but in the end you can only tell your own story. There are no costumes, lights or sets. You can’t disappear behind the character you are portraying in the way you can with opera. In many ways it is very freeing because you can just be yourself. Recitals are a more exposed medium of performing, which I find very liberating.”

As a countertenor, Anthony has a somewhat limited range of onstage opportunities, but he finds a great deal more freedom when programming a recital. “As a countertenor, I think the sky is the limit with recital repertoire. Recitals provide a welcome opportunity for me to sing the music of the 19th and 20th century, which I might not otherwise get to sing. What's more, there are interesting gender issues that the countertenor voice presents, even in the world of song. We are used to hearing certain repertoire in a high vocal register sung by women, even when the poetry is written from the male perspective. Perhaps a countertenor's interpretation of such music provides a new perspective.”

Having already performed her recital, Jennifer found it to be “such a wonderful experience. I walked onstage and felt immediate warmth and support from the audience! Sometimes performing a recital amongst many other singers can be a little stressful because you know they are all great technicians and storytellers. Performing here felt comfortable. It was a lot of fun!” With many recitals still to come, don’t miss the members of the Young American Artists Program in their recitals in venues all around the Cooperstown area. Click here for a full schedule. All performances are free and open to the public.

photos:
1. Anthony Roth Costanzo rehearsing with Coach/Accompanist Zachary Schwartzman.
2. Jennifer Goode Cooper (left) in a masterclass with Guest Artist Lisa Vroman (right) and Coach/Accompanist Grant Wenaus.

Building the Carnival Masks for Das Liebesverbot: Amy Wright, Costume Crafts Manager

The Costume Crafts Department is responsible for constructing many of the accessories and special elements required by the costumes for each opera. This can include everything from belts and hats to more eccentric creations. Wagner’s Das Liebesverbot includes a carnival scene which required large-scale carnival masks to be built for the entire cast. Amy Wright discusses the challenges of building masks that meet the designer’s needs while also addressing the particular challenges of constructing pieces for opera.

Before constructing the masks we had to understand all of the potential hurdles. Originally the design concept was to create enormous masks that were two to three feet high and were supported on people’s shoulders. They were closer to puppets than masks in many ways. Unfortunately it wasn’t really feasible because I have a crew of six people to create all of the crafts materials for the entire season. For the Wagner, we needed to build 43 masks. We decided to scale them down so that they could be supported by only a singer’s head.

The fundamental challenges for creating these masks were that the singers needed to be able to sing, hear and see the conductor. Essentially, we had to construct masks that didn’t cover people’s faces. This was quite a predicament! They also needed to be light enough that the singers could put them on and move around easily. In addition, the blocking on stage was so quick that it was logistically impossible to create custom masks for each singer. The masks needed to be interchangeable between people.

We decided that the best course of action was to build large heads on top of hard hats so that we could take advantage of the adjustable bands in the hats. It also meant that each singer’s face would remain uncovered. The original idea was for the masks to be constructed of papier-mâché with wire framing. However, not only would this be too heavy, it would never hold up through six tech rehearsals and eight performances. Instead we built the masks out of foam, buckram and plastic hat brimming. We then covered them in masking tape to give the appearance of papier-mâché. This worked well because masking tape is essentially paper with a sticky surface on one side. We then covered that surface with canvas gesso to provide a paintable surface.

Initially we wanted to use tempera paint to give them a playful, child-like look. However, I was concerned that the paint would chip while being handled throughout the summer. We decided that acrylic was better since it creates a plastic coating that stays on solidly. The final step was to create unobtrusive screens that would partially cover each singer’s face so that they retained some of the characteristics of masks. The screening we used was the same material used on Disney character costumes because it can be painted various colors and can be easily seen through.

Ideally I would have shopped some of these masks out to other places, but because of the numerous specials considerations, we kept all of the construction here. To complete all 43 masks in time I had about half of the production team (including painters, carpenters and riggers!) working on them for a week. It was a little daunting to supervise that many people but in the end it worked out really well.

photos:
1. Lysh DeVries, Crafts Artisan, painting one of the Carnival masks for the Wagner.
2. Any Wright, Costume Crafts Manager, shopping for a motorcycle helmet for Kiss Me, Kate.