Con Espressione

About a month ago I watched Joyce DiDonato’s Vlog entry on expressive singing. Just like all her entries, it was quite interesting for me as a critic in terms of what to listen to and what to pick up on in a vocal performance. Not that I did not know anything about it before. I certainly did. However,  I have to admit that when it comes to singing, an artist’s perspective is priceless. (That also explains why I recently developed a weakness for opera master classes. Along with being fun to watch, they shed quite a bit of light on areas that would otherwise remain in the dark!)

It is no secret that operatic singing must be expressive. If it is not - why even bother singing?
Good technique and hitting all the right notes are uber-important, however, without a concept, without a character behind those notes, there is no good singing.
In her Vlog entry Joyce suggested mentally turning your back to the audience and trying to create a character without any help from your mimics, gestures, etc. Once your voice becomes the only expressive means available to you, your have no choice - your singing has to be expressive. If just from listening to your voice, the audience can tell what you are singing about and what kind of character you are trying to portray, have no doubts - your singing is expressive enough.

Ever since I discovered Troy’s love of music, I have been doing my best to provide him with the best CDs, DVDs and of course, opportunities to enjoy live opera and classical concerts. Like most people, Troy has been fascinated with Mozart for quite a while. However, since the night of this glorious performance, it has become a lot more than just “liking”. Somewhere between this guy and this guy, this guy has become an important part of Troy’s life.
He talks about Figaro several times a day. He asks to see Le Nozze pics over and over again. And of course, to his list of favorites formed a while ago from listening to essential Andre Rieu, he added the famous Overture and Se vuol ballare, signor Contino. The latter quickly became his favorite in the opera.
Not only did he like the music. He wanted to sing it and - he wanted to know, “what Figaro is saying over there”. Thus,before I knew it,  the words “signor”, “padrone”, " dice", “contino”, “ballare”, “si”, “sapro”, “piano” got into his vocabulary, and I dare say, even my sloppy Italian has been on the rise now that I patiently translated everything Troy wanted to know about "what Figaro is saying over there"...um... quite a few times.

By now Troy knows half the words from this magnificent piece, including some from the recit preceding the cavatina. He starts off bravely, pacing around the living room in wide steps and a funny frown on his face: “Bravo, signor padrone!”, mumbles just a little and then finishes it off in a very decisive manner “Non sara, non sara. Figaro il diiiiiiiice”. Then, just like Figaro picked up his guitar in Uzan’s production, he picks up his ukulele and pacing slowly around the living room, starts "Se vuol ballare, signor Contino…” He hums half the aria, just to keep the music going, but the other half he sings quite clearly and carries the tune quite well too.
And so he goes over and over again.
Not sure what pushes him to do it with so much persistence. Passion for music? Great memories of the performance? But whatever it may be, he is quite determined.

When  two years ago, I decided to get Le Nozze and Don Giovanni CDs, I was not quite sure which ones to pick, so I went for the pure and timeless classic – Cesare Siepi. Besides, I got them just a day or two after this wonderful artist passed away and felt that it was my tribute to the great opera master.
Now, however, seeing how much into Le Nozze Troy has become, I decided to add something else to his listening experience. What else could I add? What can be possibly added to the impeccable performances of Cesare Siepi? Absolutely nothing, except for just a little more ...espressione.

Before I go any further, fine print, my friends:

Please do not think that I claim Cesare Siepi not to be expressive enough. He certainly was. In fact, he was perfect. Yet, his was the singing of an old master. Like a Renaissance painting that is so terrifyingly perfect that one starts doubting if it is even man-made, Siepi's voice is so perfect that sometimes you wish for a hint of spice in it.

So, while Troy was enjoying Siepi’s Figaro and excerts from Don G, I conducted a thorough search and founded exactly what I was looking for. This CD should have been in our collection for a long time, but then again, better late than never.

Forget about portraying different characters on the same CD. Old stuff! Boring!

How about portraying several different characters within the same character? In this CD, in a mere matter of minutes, you get to listen to 3 completely different Figaros and 2 completely polar Don Giovannis.

A wonderful vocalist with endless breath, superb diction and very distinct phrasing, Erwin Schrott makes his performance a thrilling listening experience. A talented actor who lives the life of each of his characters, he brings his energy and inspiration into this insanely diverse vocal show, making the most out of every Mozart's note!

When he sings, Mozart’s music breathes. And lives.

 Take a look. Take a listen. Judge for yourselves.

Needless to say, Troy loves it, sings along, accompanying himself on the ukelele and learns more music (and diction, essential at his age) as he listens to it. In fact, watch out, my friends: he has just switched from "Ma-ma-Nina" to "Mada-mina"!

Happy Friday, everyone!