tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3495622859323058834.post292833552426982337..comments2022-12-23T02:21:31.320-05:00Comments on ONCE MORE WITH FEELING: How Much is TOO MUCH Fach-ing????Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00399266373570613570noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3495622859323058834.post-63031176770343671002009-06-04T23:29:58.208-04:002009-06-04T23:29:58.208-04:00Sometimes it's language - but I believe timbre...Sometimes it's language - but I believe timbre really helps to determine voice type. If a voice is going to be an operatic voice, ALL the voice types have to cut an orchestra and project. The timbre is more of a determining factor in discovering voice type. I think all singers need to be HEALTHY physically and realize the body AND the voice have to be able to not just SING the role, but DO it!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00399266373570613570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3495622859323058834.post-62073554871858478412009-05-31T20:16:02.075-04:002009-05-31T20:16:02.075-04:00I think I wasn't clear. I wasn't saying t...I think I wasn't clear. I wasn't saying that loud=dramatic, I was saying that in order to truly be a dramatic voice it needs to be able to project very clearly and very easily above the orchestra with some umph behind the sound. I was primarily arguing against those who say that a certain timbre = dramatic.<br /><br />I also think I was a little unclear about the soubrette thing. I am not saying that one can't remain a soubrette for the rest of her life. I am saying that nowadays b/c they are looking for thin singers and traditionally speaking most soubrettes are "usually" thin that they would prefer the singers with this voice type to go ahead and sing the Mimis etc b/c they LOOK the part. I believe you can potentially be a soubrette for as long as you are convincing as a young woman. Eventually, they wind up singing meatier roles primarily b/c they don't look 15 anymore.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3495622859323058834.post-39954240295166964542009-05-31T19:24:23.758-04:002009-05-31T19:24:23.758-04:00Well Susan always says that it isnt about loud----...Well Susan always says that it isnt about loud---- its about balance! And after studying with her and feeling the best about my singing than I have in quite some time, I WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE! Balance, balance, balance.... Don't tip that bowl!<br /><br />It doesnt mean you are doing it right if you are loud. Loud does not equal dramatic. <br /><br />When i was in college people said oh you're a mezzo, then I was a full lyric on my way to dramatic but i had coloratura tendencies. You know what I say now, even at 27? I am a soprano. And frankly, that's good enough for me! The rest- they can figure out for themselves!<br /><br />Amazing post Susan! You are a master! :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3495622859323058834.post-69352258490723450652009-05-31T19:11:45.920-04:002009-05-31T19:11:45.920-04:00Holly - obviously you needed to say more than 2 th...Holly - obviously you needed to say more than 2 things! I would hate to believe that soubrettes are done at age 24 as I know several who are well into their 50s and 60s! I don't associate dramatic with loud - again vocabulary - because as singers, we must be able to distinguish between director/producer-speak and our own understanding of fach, weight, timbre, and description of voices. LOUD doesn't cut an orchestra - balanced resonance does. Soubrettes have to get to the nosebleed section of the Met too. Beautiful sound is very subjective - and has nothing to do with fach. Associating singers with the composers they have claimed is a great way of discovering how voices work and what the expectation is stylistically. <br />I don't think it's about believing nor not believing in fach as a system of organization - but rather, HOW it is organized and WHO is doing the organizing!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00399266373570613570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3495622859323058834.post-34705817846339623952009-05-31T17:50:04.265-04:002009-05-31T17:50:04.265-04:00some interesting thoughts and passion from your co...some interesting thoughts and passion from your comments! Developing a true understanding of your voice and how one determine's a vocal fach and vocal type takes experience, listening, and TIME! A continuation of this blog is coming...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00399266373570613570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3495622859323058834.post-57575944983365202682009-05-31T17:39:54.926-04:002009-05-31T17:39:54.926-04:00I have 2 things to say here. First of all, I don'...I have 2 things to say here. First of all, I don't think there exists a traditional soubrette fach anymore. I know they are out there but b/c directors have placed so much of an emphasis on looks lighter voices are being forced into larger repertoire. The voices are still soubrette but those that would generally sing that literature aren't necessarily singing it. Does that make sense? I think soubrette nowadays is more associated with a young lyric soprano. Young = around 20-24 years of age with the assumption that they will change around 25 to full lyric repertoire. This is what i have seen on my journey but it is not concrete. The singers that would sing full lyric in the 50s and 60s would be considered spinto today or even young Italian dramatic soprano and that is not rational. <br /><br />I agree completely that not everyone is a dramatic type of voice WHICH makes things VERY difficult when you go in with a dramatic type of voice. It's hysterical to me to walk in and hear these young singers saying "I'm a spinto, I'm a full lyric" and you can't even hear them out in the hallway of their audition in Nola studios. That's INSANE. That is NO DRAMATIC VOICE. A dramatic voice is not only a fairly large instrument in width but it is also loud. In my opinion, you can't be a dramatic voice if you aren't loud enough to cut through the orchestra REGARDLESS of the timbre or tone quality of the sound. Spinto means pushed. It's supposed to be this forceful, for lack of a better word, aggressive sound. Up close it is not so beautiful but that is the beauty of it b/c it carries so effortlessly across the orchestra in a 4000 seat house. <br /><br />The second thing I was going to say is that I don't believe in fach. I believe in singing what is comfortable to sing. I think limiting singers to a genre of 5 arias within a fach is the stupidest most inane thing to do. First of all, not everyone sings Mozart well and is not a Mozart singer. The same can be said of Puccini, Verdi, Bellini, and Donizetti. Ideally speaking, if you are a "full lyric' you should be able to sing a legato line and move the voice for some of the larger coloratura works. After all, how can you sing a Violetta or Leonora without a facility in the voice? To me it makes more sense to say, "she is a Puccini specialist or a Mozart specialist". When we are thinking of our favorite singers, and I have a long list, generally speaking there are very composers that they sing well and where their voice is showcased BEST. This is not to say that they can't sing other composers well or that they aren't EXTREMELY gifted artists. I am saying that there are certain works we identify with certain singers. Like, Freni for me is a Puccini specialist. Tebaldi is heavier Puccini and all the lyric works sans agilita in Verdi. Millo is Verdi with agilita. Carol Vaness is Mozart and Donizetti. Joan Sutherland is Donizetti, Handel, and Bellini. To say Joan Sutherland isn't a great singer b/c she was incapable of singing 5 arias and ONE OF THEM had to be a Puccini aria is RIDICULOUS. That is the extreme b/c that wasn't really her "fach" but hopefully you get my point. I think we limit singers nowadays to these stupid little boxes<br /><br />Anywho that was my spiel. Sorry for being winded. I guess you can tell I'm most passionate here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3495622859323058834.post-79427416625253300502009-05-31T16:06:21.996-04:002009-05-31T16:06:21.996-04:00Thank you Susan! You've read my blog so you know I...Thank you Susan! You've read my blog so you know I'm going through this with one piece right now. For me it matters only because I have to decide which songbook to buy! :)Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10149585684469790767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3495622859323058834.post-15444810750929017382009-05-31T12:55:12.696-04:002009-05-31T12:55:12.696-04:00Super post. Thank you!Super post. Thank you!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3495622859323058834.post-71957741142505069312009-05-31T12:43:15.678-04:002009-05-31T12:43:15.678-04:00Excellent post and a subject dear to my heart with...Excellent post and a subject dear to my heart with young and not-so-young singers.<br /><br />Even within a fach, there might be roles that just don't fit for various reasons (looks, colour of voice, language skills, acting skills).<br /><br />I love coloratura repertoire, I always did yet, I am no about to sing Caro nome because I LIKE the aria. I love to sit back and listen to a real coloratura sing this aria. It is so beautiful.K-Momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02443866211485558090noreply@blogger.com