Rehearsal Notes:

Recitative Coachings: Day 1

 

I was fairly pleased with the preparation of those I heard today.  For the most part, text had been learned to the extent that lines could be spoken with fluidity and confidence.  While there is, of course, always room for improvement in the Italian (which we will continue to work on), and a great deal more to be done in securing the text, I thought it was a very productive and encouraging start to Act I recitatives.

In my studio, we worked through the Act I recits of Donna Anna and Don Ottavio.  The accompanied recits in particular are substantial scenes with a great deal of text.  Continue to work them as we discussed.

Imperative to the work being done now is to really think through your characters: why do they behave the way they do, why do they say the things they do, how are they likely to move, to look, to interact, etc..  The more intimately you understand your characters, the more “life” you will be able to breathe into them during the course of these recitatives. 

 

 

Consistent practice SPEAKING through lines is imperative.  Not just for the sake of fluidity in language, but also with inflection and dramatic meaning.  The only thing that makes recitative interesting for the audience is if you, the performer, own this text as though it truly is yours.  For that reason, spend time reciting your text from the libretto only, NOT from your scores.  If you are reading the text from your scores you will attempt to assimilate the notated rhythms without linking about actual sentence structure.  Remember that recitatives are notated according to certain conventions and traditions.  Mozart does an exquisite job of setting text in a natural way, but his rhythms are easier to decipher if you learn the text first and fit it to the notation afterwards. 

 

 

Continue, of course, to refine your work on pitches and the musical notation, but never lose site of the dramatic meaning of what you are “saying.”  Only when you truly understand, and have internalized, the meaning as well as the pronunciation can we really begin to shape these recitatives into something that will be interesting and propel the drama as we need it to. 

 

Keep up the excellent work.  Investing your time and sweat now will pay dividends later.  This is one of the few investments anyone can count on these days!!!