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Ann Arbor, MI 48106 OPERA WORKSHOP FOR THE UNDERGRADUATE: MORE THAN ARIA COACHING Document Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Musical Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Christine Anne Janis,B.M., M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 1994 Document Committee: Approved by Prof. Marajean Marvin Dr. Robin Rice Dr. 0. Patrick Woliver Advise/School of Music Copyright by CHRISTINE ANNE JANIS 1994 For Stephen and My Parents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Robin Rice for his constant encouragement and faith in my abilities. His teaching has inspired me in my efforts as a singer and teacher of singing. Special thanks to Marajean Marvin for her guidance and willingness to stay with this project even in her retirement. Gratitude is also extended to Dr. Patrick Woliver for stepping in as a reader at the last minute. Finally, to my husband, goes my undying affection. His love, support and understanding made the completion of this document possible. VITA October 6,1963 .......................................................Bom, Passaic, New Jersey 1985........................................................................ B.M., Music Education, Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey 1985-1989................................................................Jr. High School Teacher, Vocal Music Saugerties Schools, Saugerties, New York 1989-1991................................................................Graduate Teaching Associate Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1991.........................................................................M.A. Vocal Pedagogy, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1991-199 2............................................................... Graduate Administrative Associate, Ohio State University, Coiumbus, Ohio 1992-199 4............................................................... Graduate Teaching Associate, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio IV FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Music Studies in Applied Voice: Professor Helen Swank and Dr. Robin Rice Studies in Opera: Professor Roger Stephens Studies in Song Literature: Professors Eileen Davis, Marajean Marvin, Dr. Robin Rice and Dr. Patrick Woliver Studies in German Diction: Professor Marajean Marvin Studies in Vocal Pedagogy: Professor Helen Swank Studies in Speech and Hearing Science: Dr. Michael Trudeau Studies in Education: Dr. Jere Forsythe Studies in Dance: Dr. Rosalind Pierson TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION...........................................................................................................il ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......................................................................................... Ill VITA........................................................................................................................Iv CHAPTER....................................................................................................... PAGE I. REASONS WHY Introduction ........................................................................................ 1 Survey of Professional Singers ......................................................... 2 Interviews.......................................................................................... 5 Summary.........................................................................................12 II. EDUCATIONAL MODEL Description...................................................................................... 13 Supportive Needs ............................................................................ 15 Conclusion ...................................................................................... 17 APPENDICES A. Sample Survey.................................................................................... 19 B. Represented Schools .......................................................................... 22 C. Educational Model...............................................................................24 vi Table of Contents (Continued) LIST OF REFERENCES.......................................................................... 119 vil CHAPTER I REASONS WHY INTRODUCTION Opera is a multi-disciplinary art. Music, drama, and dance are woven together in this centuries old entertainment. The opera audiences of today are very critical and expect a great deal of realism. The advances of technology enable producers of opera to create more convincing sets and scenery and more realistic climate conditions than in the past. Discoveries of diaries, journals, newspapers, and letters give producers historical insight and background information on lifestyles, customs, and fashion trends of many of the eras during which operas take place. Such knowledge helps in creating a realistic backdrop for opera singers to perform against. Considering the vast scope of opera and the high expectations of opera patrons, those who sing in them must possess a wide range of talents and skills. "A realized singing-acting performance requires a believable portrayal of character, an enormous expenditure of physical energy, an extremely complex, taxing, and technically difficult vocal delivery, and the comprehension and coordination of a musical score..." (Balk, 1985, p.10) The responsibilities of opera singers are tremendous. The voice must be well-developed and of the quality and size suited to stage use. Next, the singer must be able to sing the words. "...the human being who is able to fuse the energies of words and music touches the very core of our collective being." (Balk, 1985, p.10) A compelling singer-actor is one who sings with total 1 2 emotional commitment to the words. Still another responsibility for today's opera singers is the ability to portray vocally and through movement, a believable character. The demands placed upon opera singers are numerous, making the task of educating them exceedingly difficult. Who should take on this job? The singer? The college or university? Yes, to both. A young, enthusiastic singer needs not only solid voice training, but also guidance and instruction in the many disciplines required of a complete singer-actor. An opera workshop program at a college or university is the perfect venue for such education. Unfortunately, in the opinion of this author, many undergraduate opera workshop programs are not supplying young singers with the necessary tools to competitively enter the world of professional opera. The goal of this document is to demonstrate evidence, by way of a survey and interviews, which supports this opinion and to illustrate, through a year long educational model, a comprehensive, interdisciplinary curriculum for an opera workshop program at the undergraduate level. SURVEY OF PROFESSIONAL SINGERS To investigate the opinion that many opera workshop programs at the undergraduate level have a shallow and limited curriculum, a survey was conducted among some of the professional singers in the Columbus, Ohio area. Please refer to Appendix A for a copy of the survey. The results of the survey represent the opera workshop programs at seventeen colleges and universities across the country. A list of schools represented by the survey can be found in Appendix B. The responses were restricted to undergraduate experiences only as many of those surveyed had gone on to graduate school and gained 3 additional instruction in opera performance techniques. All but one of those surveyed participated in more than one year of an opera workshop program. For the survey, singers were asked to answer fifteen yes or no questions pertaining to topics of discussion or instruction in their opera workshop class. In addition, they were asked to list subjects discussed in their workshop classes which were not on the survey. Finally, the singers had the opportunity to indicate