This is a strange title, I know, as I don't watch football. Also, I don't see that singing and football have much in common. I see my gruelling practice discipline as having more in common with the work that skaters or tennis players do. I can get terrorized by certain notes, certain phrases, the way a skater is terrorized by a triple axel or a tennis player is stumped by a backhand move.
Well, yesterday we had a runthrough of the Requiem Introit and I blew the dreaded measure 41. The "taffy pulling" that my teacher had gotten me to do so well didn't work at all. But I do think I have found a way to sing that note as a "cottonmouth" falsetto. But it has to be just that note. I can "taffy pull" the notes before. If I try to "cottonmouth" them I just can't get up to that A.
Then we launched into the Kyrie. Actually 95% of it suits my voice perfectly, until we get to, yes, another measure 41 where a run barrels up to a B flat. No. I know my limits. I am not going to attempt that measure. Now that we have three (a new one showed up yesterday) trained coloraturas in the choir there is absolutely no reason for this dramatic mezzo to feel obligated to sing that measure. But I don't want to switch to alto. The alto part is very low, and as I said, 95% of the soprano part suits my voice perfectly. It sits at the top end of the staff which is the best part of my voice, and I can sing any one of the runs on one breath, if we're singing the piece a tempo. There's also a measure at the end, measure 48, I think, that noodles back and forth to an A. I will decide if I want to sing that or not. If not, not.
The Dies Irae suits me like a glove. Tons of loud high Gs, which is right up my alley.
One thing that pleasantly surprised me last night was how much stamina I had. Leaving aside phrases that I would have had trouble with under the best of circumstances, I maintained myself to the bitter end - almost. We closed with a slow contemplative piece called "Sleep" and by the time we got to that I could tell I had no voice because I could not get out a pianissimo high G which is usually no trouble at all.
But the fatigue was "good fatigue" (the kind you get from a vigorous workout) because when I went to practice this evening I popped out a pianissimo high A with no trouble at all.
In other news, I have signed up to go to one of the Meetups again. As it's Lent, I will beg off singing any opera arias. I may do "Liber Scriptus" unless I think there's a likelihood that it will make my voice too heavy. If I'm worried I will pass on it and do "Fac ut Portem" and of course the Duruffle "Pie Jesu".
Hi BabyDramatic,
ReplyDeleteI have been following your blog with interest because my story is very similar to yours, minus the previous experience that you have with Opera Underground and the opera things you produced yourself, which sound marvelous. I had no previous experience when I was "discovered", like you, middle aged, in a church pew by my mentor, who was the music director. This happened 10 years ago. I am not as ambitious as you are, but since then have been singing soprano in the choir and have been taking serious voice lessons where I am told I am a lyric. Like you I love opera (I go often to see it) and apparently have a good voice for light lyric roles like Susanna, Zerlina, Adele, Adina and even Mimi. I have worked on all their arias with my voice teacher. I love your blog; it articulates some of the frustrations I feel too, about having come to this so late in life, about younger, flashy sopranos with music training, and wishing I had done something about it sooner. I do exactly what you do, I listen to recordings of arias that I am trying to prepare and get most of it by ear. I also take piano lessons, which helps with the reading. So far I have no public outlet for opera arias, however I sing sacred music for pay at funerals and weddings. Last year my mentor and I recorded a CD together at a recording studio, which satisfied to some extent my "internal diva" as you so aptly describe it. I gave them out to friends etc; this was very cathartic for me. Otherwise, I have no outlet other than the unpaid choir (I do get to sing solos often) and my weekly voice lesson. Please keep up the writing of your blog, I love it. You write well and very compellingly. So sorry to read about your mother and partner; life is so difficult sometimes.
Dear LateLyric,
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading, and for commenting.
You are a bit ahead of me in the compensation area, as I have never been paid for singing anything, except once, when I subbed for someone in New Jersey!
As for an outlet for opera arias, does your church ever have (or want to have) fundraisers? Those are good venues for singers at the church to sing something other than sacred music, and it's a win-win situation as people can show off their talent and the church can make some money.