Author: KariannePasma

Hi Friends!

Just a note on masterclasses. Now that they’re all done, that is. 🙂

For those of you following who might not be singers, let me take a moment to explain just what a masterclass is. It’s a public lesson. A singer gets up in front of a large group of people, generally peers, performs an aria or art song, and then the masterclass teacher gives their opinion and works with the singer, usually in such a way that everyone in attendance can learn something.

We at HSOW have had the generous opportunity to work with several different teachers, and almost all of us have gotten to sing in a masterclass. Masterclass teachers included: Lorna MacDonald, Paula Rockewell, Jessica McCormack, Nina Scott-Stoddart and Tara Scott, Tony Radford and Suzie leBlanc.

Each masterclass has had a different focus, depending on what the teacher likes to focus on, or what their specialty is. Lorna MacDonald and Jessica McCormack were very much about technique, for example, while Nina focused a lot on performance.

I had the opportunity to sing for Mozart specialist, Suzie leBlanc. Now, you might think that, since I am singing Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, that I would choose to sing “Ach ich fühl’s” (Pamina’s aria) for her. But you’d be wrong. 🙂 I was very torn, and I really wanted to sing some Mozart, but in the end I chose not to. As a singer, I knew that if I got many technical details from the masterclass, when I performed the aria in the opera, I would start thinking more about those technical details than about simply performing. That’s just me, but I know I can get in my head too much, and I wanted to avoid giving myself the opportunity to do so.

In the end, I sang Bizet’s “Comme autrefois” from The PearlFishers. Suzie had never encountered the aria before, but she was excited about that, seeing it as an opportunity to come at the aria with compeletely fresh perspective. We mostly worked on dynamic choices, and the idea of singing high notes quietly. She also helped me work on standing still, something I have difficulty with. Actually, that’s not quite right. I can stand still just fine. I lean. As a singer, I want so desperately to communicate to my audience that I end up tilting myself forwards in an effort to give them everything. Suzie pointed out moments where I repeatedly leant forward, trying to convey my emotional state. While it feels to me like I’m doing a lot, it doesn’t read that way to the audience. Instead, standing still draws the audience in.

Our final masterclass was just this morning, and it was an audition masterclass. We had fun making people do pretend auditions, and Tony Radford, Greg Myra and Tara Scott did a fantastic job sharing their knowledge and opinions. We messed with some people, creating situations singers sometimes face in actual auditions, when the pianist might not know the music, or plays too slowly, or the auditioners take phone calls or chat with each other. It was a good time, but also helpful since auditions are something no singer can escape.

Masterclasses are done for HSOW 2011, but we had an amazing group of teachers passing on their knowledge. And also, bravo to every singer who stood up in front of their friends, peers and castmates, and had the guts to perform and then be critiqued on the performance. There’s something very terrifying about getting up in front of a group of singers that is very different than a general audience, or even an audition panel, and every single singer at HSOW who got to sing did a fabulous, fantastic job.

And finally, we start doing runs today!! Tales of Hoffmann is in the theatre already, while we Flute people wait until tomorrow to try the stage. Our first dress rehearsal is in less than a week, and our first performance is in a week and a day away, and I can’t believe it! Time is passing by crazy fast. Things are really starting to come together, and we can’t wait to show our audiences what we’ve been working on.

Hello Friends

Week Two has begun! Magic Flute is trekking along. We’re nearly all staged, and it’s thrilling to see things coming together.

We have a fun modern concept that we’re playing with, and it’s been a good time trying different things out, and whatnot. I have my first costume fitting this evening, and based on the sketches I shared several posts earlier, I’m excitied to see what kind of a costume we’ll come up. (I’m crossing my fingers for a tiara.)

We had a day off yesterday (Sunday), and us HSOW’ers all had fun trying various Nova Scotia experiences. My housemates and I trekked out to the Bay of Fundy. We arrived at Blomidon Provincial Park about half an hour after low tide, and hiked our way out (waaaaaaay ooouuuuuut) to the ocean edge, and played in the sand and water for a bit, admiring the gorgeous red cliffs, juxtaposed against blue sky, white clouds, and green trees. It was thrilling. And then, after a meal in Canning, we went back out, to see how much the tide had come in. It was INSANE!! Even as we stood and watched, we saw the things we’d drawn in the sand earlier get eaten up in a matter of minutes. It was a beautiful, beautiful day.

Other castmates had fun excursions as well, like whale watching (although the rumour is, no whales were seen), going to the market, and playing along the harbourfront. Halifax, and Nova Scotia in general, have so much to offer, that we look forward to more days off to explore!

And one final note: Casts are cast! It is really nice to have a solid set of people to work with, because we’re already arranging how we want to do specific things individual to our casts. When two different people are developing a character, they of course have different ideas (both valid) of how they see their character reacting to situations, etc. So for example, Janaka Welihinda, my cast’s Papageno, and I are planning how and when we want to bump into each other when we’re trying to escape from Monastatos. It’s just a little thing, but I think it’s the little things – the touches, the gestures, the last look back that take an opera from good to great. So if you’re hoping to catch a specific person in the show you’re coming to see, check out the website, Nina posted cast lists!

Ciao for now!

Hello Friends!

Here we are on Day 4 already!! I actually had to count it out, because after one day at a summer program, time loses all meaning, and it is impossible to tell what day of the week it is, let alone how long you’ve been there.

So staging is well underway. It’s been fun to get this process started. We’re all coming together with our indiviual roles learned, with our own ideas of characterization and styles of approach, and now we have to make them all mesh. It’s a great lesson in collaboration and being generous and open and receptive to all ideas.

It’s also really fun to work with other people, after being in solitary confinement in practice rooms. We finally get the chance to act with and react off of other people, instead of imagining situations. And that’s exciting! Other peples’s ideas inform my actions, and I (I hope) in turn, inspire my co-singers.

And finally, one of the most fun parts of being at a summer program is the recreational activities we get to do outside of rehearsal. Going out for coffee, beer, supper, or a movie with singers is always a fun time. Last night, a large crew of us met up to go see the new Harry Potter movie together. Poor Byung Yoon (one of our Taminos) was surrounded by mezzo-soprano Sarah Neiman and myself, and we both cried pretty hard. Nothing like bonding over shared tears!! I’m looking forward to all the get-togethers and shindigs yet to come, as well as getting to know my castmates, and the Hoffmann singers better.

O, and one last thing: Kayleigh pointed out that the costume sketches in the picture from my last post were by Victoria Bruer.

Until next time! ~Karianne

 

Welcome to HSOW 2011: from a singer’s perspective.

It feels like I’ve been in Halifax for a week, and it’s only Day 2 of the program. Already I’ve met a ton of great people, forgotten most of their names, and had some exciting rehearsals.

We started off the program yesterday with a group meeting. The circle of chairs continued to expand and grow, as more and more people poured into the room. There were over 45 of us in the room, including singers, musical directors and stage directors. It’s the largest group yet to be involved in HSOW, and we were all excited to be there.

We split off into two groups, as each opera discussed settings, character ideas, and plans for the shows. For Magic Flute, we’re doing a modern concept, and it was fascinating to hear people’s takes on their characters. Since the opera is completely double cast, it was especially interesting when two people playing the same character had differing ideas. The beauty of opera is that you are given a score, with words and music that need to inform your character, and yet the scope of different ways to play that character is vast. The Magic Flute must have been performed millions of times before, and yet we are coming together with fresh ideas, knowing we’ll be performing it in a way that’s never been done before, and will never truly be duplicated. Each individual involved will put his or her own stamp on it.

From then on, we’ve been in music rehearsals. We’ve been working through the score, singing through each scene. It’s been so thrilling to hear all the different voices, and see how much work people have already put in to this opera. We’re required to show up with our roles learned and memorized, the same way that you would be required to for a professional engagement. It’s also fun to sing with the different voices double cast. Every time I sing a duet or a trio, there are two different voices I might sing it with. It’s fun to wonder how we’ll be cast, but we won’t know until Friday evening.

And finally: costumes!! Costume sketches were posted on the first day, and they look gorgeous.

Tomorrow we start staging, and I can’t wait.

 

~Karianne