Singing, Acting, and Movement in Opera: A Guide to Singer-Getics

362 Pages·2002·1.15 MB·English

by  Mark Ross Clark

Cover

Singing, Acting, and Movement in Opera :
title:
A Guide to Singer-getics
author: Clark, Mark Ross.; Clark, Lynn V.
publisher: Indiana University Press
isbn10 | asin: 0253341132
print isbn13: 9780253341136
ebook isbn13: 9780253109392
language: English
Acting in opera, Singing--Interpretation
subject
(Phrasing, dynamics, etc.)
publication date: 2002
lcc: MT956.C65 2002eb
ddc: 792.5/028
Acting in opera, Singing--Interpretation
subject:
(Phrasing, dynamics, etc.)
Page i
SINGING, ACTING, AND MOVEMENT IN Opera
Page ii
MARK ROSS CLARK
LYNN V. CLARK, Curriculum Designer
Page iii
SINGING, ACTING, AND MOVEMENT IN Opera
A Guide to Singer-getics
Page iv
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
601 North Morton Street
Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA
http://iupress.indiana.edu
Telephone orders 800-842-6796
Fax orders 812-855-7931
E-mail orders [email protected]
© 2002 by Mark Ross Clark
''Postural Alignment" by Emily Bogard © 2002
by Indiana University Press
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher. The Association of American University
Presses' Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this
prohibition.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Clark, Mark Ross, date
Singing, acting, and movement in opera : a guide to singer-
getics / by Mark Ross Clark ; Lynn V. Clark, curriculum
designer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-253-34113-2 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-253-21532-3
(pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Acting in opera. 2. Singing—Interpretation (Phrasing,
dynamics, etc.) I. Clark, Lynn V. II. Title.
MT956 .C65 2002
792.5'028—dc21
2002000416
1 2 3 4 5 07 06 05 04 03 02
Page v
CONTENTS
Foreword: A Message from Tito Capobianco vii
List of Interviews ix
Using the Guide xi
PART I. PREPARATION
1. Body Awareness: Stretching for Flexibility and Power 1
2. Postural: Aligning the Body 11
3. The Expressive Face: Communicating Emotions Onstage 17
4. Character Study: Decoding the Clues to Character 24
5. Environment: Setting the Stage 32
PART II. INTEGRATION
6. Elements of Stagecraft: Learning the Language 41
7. Historical Etiquette: Bowing to Tradition 48
8. Improvisation: Unlocking the Imagination 56
9. Monologues: Talking Opera 64
10. Physical Analysis: Moving in Character 70
PART III. APPLICATION
11. The Aria: Making Choices 79
12. The Scene: Putting It All Together 87
13. The Opera: Preparing a Role 94
14. Performance Anxiety: Facing Fear 104
15. Careers in Opera: Stepping Out 111
Appendix A. Attitude Chart 117
Appendix B. Postural Alignment by Emily Bogard 118
Appendix C. Literary and Historical Background of Selected Operas 130
Appendix D. Stage Manager's Handbook 139
Appendix E. Stage Combat: Faints, Falls, and Fights 145
Bibliography 149
Index 151
Page vi
This page intentionally left blank.
Page vii
Foreword:
A Message from Tito Capobianco
The great works of art that endure and last forever are those that never
cease to produce new meanings within their interpreters, performers,
readers, viewers, listeners, and audiences. To reach this state of validity
in opera, an art form comprised of a ''sublime ambiguity of the greatest
artistic disciplines, all led by the human voice," we must provide its future
artists and teachers every available tool to make possible, without
limitations, new ways of expression and interpretation in our time of
constant change and evolution.
The present book is a remarkable collection of observations and
reflections on past experiences by many excellent artists and teachers
that will doubtless help the new generation of those interested in creating
"opera magic." They will find new answers to questions of emotional
searching, motivation, responses to past failures, and ways of
discovering, reevaluating, and affirming past values. The inclusion of
many exercises encourages experimentation in finding the individuality
and singularity of each artist, proving that time and again, with the
discipline of the proper talent and perseverance, everything onstage can
be possible.
This book clearly avoids the intellectual contradiction that denies the
spontaneous and passionate "projection of emotion" that rules opera,
offering innumerable avenues and a variety of ways to achieve creativity
and conviction of expression.
In our contemporary state of "mega-multiculturalism," socioeconomic
globalization, and technological revolution, it is extremely necessary in all
of the arts, and most especially in opera, that we reconsider every aspect
involved to ensure a sensitive and true participation in our own cultural
future. If we want to expand the boundaries of people's perceptions, the
following pages are a serious attempt to achieve just that.
Tito Capobianco