For the last recital I performed Va! Laisse couler mes larmes, from Massenet’s Werther. Initially after my performance I felt confident and for the first time in this class after performing, I DIDNT FEEL LIKE DYING. So that is an improvement! As Ryan and I practiced briefly before the recital, I felt my nerves kicking in and my throat get “flemmy”, but he kept reassuring me that it would be fine…and I listened. And sure enough it was good! Sadly, it wasn’t perfect and there is A LOT that I have to work on in that song, let alone in my performance “script”. What I mean by “script” is my arrival on stage, how I conduct myself, bow, deport, etc..
After reading the comments, I found a consistancy with all of the students that I am seemingly more comfortable on stage. But conflicting advice on my body….some said that I am disconcected in my lower body, others said that I have too much tension in my upper body,and therefore seem disconnected. There was a few comments about my french pronounciation, which I am surprised of, due to the poor quality of it. For some reason, french, is soooooo difficult for me to sing in! Let me restate that, sing in. Not speak, I can speak French fine but as soon as I have to sing it, its as if I make up some weird english-french language!! I have realized something about myself though when it comes to singing in french, I have to pay attention to what I sound like. For a lot of my music, I do not listen to myself, but pay attention to the sound placement in my resonance, and my breath support in my hips. But to sing in french, I have to micro manage each vowel and keep my tongue still. This is what I did at the recital, and I wore lipstick to remind myself not to get any on my teeth, by doing the weird things that I do with my mouth and tongue!
It is my impression that everyone has improved over the course of the semester. I found that doing these recitals really helped me, because I was thrown into “performance” mode, not just “class” mode.
OperaGal87 