Diva Complex
I witnessed a rather interesting phenomenon at the Tosca rehearsal last night. The group was comprised of many different singers from different groups. Some have had extensive opera experience, others are like me with none. For the most part it was an interesting, eclectic ensemble.
In the middle of Tosca there is a cantata that is 3 part in the women. As is usually the case with 3 part music, they always need more people in the middle part. I have been a middle part singer for quite a few years now, and I have no problem with it, despite the fact that my sight reading skills leave much to be desired. Most other altos felt the same way, as a good number of us volunteered for the middle (SII) part. At one point MLB decided that she needed more soprano IIs, and was asking the sopranos for volunteers. The interesting thing that happened was--NO ONE VOLUNTEERED! She had to ask quite a few times, then finally a couple volunteered, but she said that she knew those people and they should be SI. At one point she even went as far as to suggest people who she KNEW did not have an operatic high B, and the person involved was still rather reluctant to switch, citing bad sight reading skills. I find this incredibly amusing as I had never been in this situation before in any of my choirs. And just earlier that day I met a woman who said that she has ruined her voice by singing too much SI and is now hoping that she will recover for this performance. Isn't that a sign for you to switch to a more manageable part?
Sure there is always the glory of being a SI. You get the melody and the attention, and if you are a contralto you have the benefit of being part of a rare voice group. But most people fall into that dreaded middle range, sort of like a middle child that is always neglected by the parents. I sense the frustration too. However, I also realise that when you are part of any group, sometimes you have to do what the group needs. And rather then being typecast as a particular voice type, why not just work on being the best singer you can be and then go from there. And just because you can sing a note doesn't mean that's where the color of your voice is.
Funny, this thing called ego is.
In the middle of Tosca there is a cantata that is 3 part in the women. As is usually the case with 3 part music, they always need more people in the middle part. I have been a middle part singer for quite a few years now, and I have no problem with it, despite the fact that my sight reading skills leave much to be desired. Most other altos felt the same way, as a good number of us volunteered for the middle (SII) part. At one point MLB decided that she needed more soprano IIs, and was asking the sopranos for volunteers. The interesting thing that happened was--NO ONE VOLUNTEERED! She had to ask quite a few times, then finally a couple volunteered, but she said that she knew those people and they should be SI. At one point she even went as far as to suggest people who she KNEW did not have an operatic high B, and the person involved was still rather reluctant to switch, citing bad sight reading skills. I find this incredibly amusing as I had never been in this situation before in any of my choirs. And just earlier that day I met a woman who said that she has ruined her voice by singing too much SI and is now hoping that she will recover for this performance. Isn't that a sign for you to switch to a more manageable part?
Sure there is always the glory of being a SI. You get the melody and the attention, and if you are a contralto you have the benefit of being part of a rare voice group. But most people fall into that dreaded middle range, sort of like a middle child that is always neglected by the parents. I sense the frustration too. However, I also realise that when you are part of any group, sometimes you have to do what the group needs. And rather then being typecast as a particular voice type, why not just work on being the best singer you can be and then go from there. And just because you can sing a note doesn't mean that's where the color of your voice is.
Funny, this thing called ego is.
posted by La Nuage at 11:50 AM
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