You've only got one weekend left to see Jane Eyre at Seattle Musical Theatre! This adaptation of the Charlotte Brontë novel, with book by John Caird and music/lyrics by Paul Gordon is musically and emotionally compelling; I have to admit it greatly exceeded my expectations and provided a thoroughly captivating experience. Why did it exceed my expectations? Well, I love musicals and I love Jane Eyre, but I wasn't sure how I felt about such a beloved novel being delivered in musical form. When I think about it, though, Jane Eyre is particularly well-suited for the task: the novel contains your basic "girl rises from tragic background, meets boy, survives further drama and receives happy ending with aforementioned boy" story, which has been the basis for many successful musicals, plays and a few operas (although in the operas the girl and her boy usually survive their drama only to die at the end). Fortunately we all know that a happy ending awaits Jane, and so I was able to watch the drama unfold without the anxiety of wondering what would happen to her and her beloved Edward.
We went to see Jane Eyre last Saturday night and were enchanted by the production. I was amazed at what a large, lovely sound the band produced, and their musicality dramatically enhanced the action onstage. I frequently forgot that there were only 5 instrumentalists because their sound was so full and lush. Olivia Spokoiny stood out as Jane's childhood friend, Helen Burns, and Jenny Shotwell was great fun as the obnoxious fiancee Blanche Ingram; for me, however, it was Danielle Barnum that carried the show along with James Padilla, who sang a passionate Edward Rochester. Barnum did a wonderful job with the deceptively plain lines of Jane (which I think fit the character perfectly), occasionally bursting forth from Jane's calm decorum to show the fiery emotion underneath. Keaton Whittaker convincingly portrayed the origins of that emotion as the young Jane, and she and Barnum had a natural rapport - an important detail in a production that requires the child and adult Jane to repeatedly share the stage.
SMT has provided a study guide for those unfamiliar with the novel, detailing the plot synopsis, major characters and their relation to one another, a timeline of Charlotte Brontë's life, and several other extension ideas to help audience members delve further into the story of Jane Eyre. It's rare and refreshing to see a company go to this extent to enhance their audience's enjoyment of a production. If you're looking for something to do this weekend, get yourself out to Magnuson Park and settle in for an evening of great theater.
Read the Seattle Times' review of Jane Eyre here.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Bluebeard's Castle/Erwartung reviews
The Seattle P-I and Times have posted their reviews of the latest Seattle opera production, Bartok's "Bluebeard's Castle" and Schoenberg's "Erwartung" here and here.
I can't encourage you enough to go see this double bill, which is playing through March 7. The P-I reviewer is not exaggerating to call it "brilliant opera." The singing is fantastic and the orchestra does an amazing job, but it's the staging that drew me in from the start and held my attention through both operas in surprising ways, sometimes disturbing and often delightful. I don't want to say any more because it might ruin the experience to know too much before you go. Just go!
If you think you can't afford the opera, you're in for a pleasant surprise; Seattle Opera has done a great job of providing lower-cost options to make opera available to everyone. Visit their "Ways to Save" page for more information. Teenagers in particular should enroll in the Teen Tix program to get $5 rush tickets to a host of different shows at Seattle Center.
I can't encourage you enough to go see this double bill, which is playing through March 7. The P-I reviewer is not exaggerating to call it "brilliant opera." The singing is fantastic and the orchestra does an amazing job, but it's the staging that drew me in from the start and held my attention through both operas in surprising ways, sometimes disturbing and often delightful. I don't want to say any more because it might ruin the experience to know too much before you go. Just go!
If you think you can't afford the opera, you're in for a pleasant surprise; Seattle Opera has done a great job of providing lower-cost options to make opera available to everyone. Visit their "Ways to Save" page for more information. Teenagers in particular should enroll in the Teen Tix program to get $5 rush tickets to a host of different shows at Seattle Center.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Alice Tully Hall is now open
Great article today in the Times about the new acoustics at Alice Tully Hall. What are your favorite acoustic venues in Seattle?
Friday, February 20, 2009
Auditions for new Seattle School opera
Just saw this on Craigslist:
"CALLING ALL SINGERS, MUSICIANS, ACTORS and PERFORMERS!
SEATTLE SCHOOL is holding a casting call for singers, musicians, actors and performers for The Anarchist Songbook, a contemporary opera around the WTO demonstrations in Seattle. An initial reading has been set for the end of March in partnership with ACT Theater. The Anarchist Songbook takes us back to November 1999 as we follow a makeshift gang of WTO protesters, teenage runaways and hardened street punks who take over an abandoned former candy factory in the Denny Triangle. Through The Anarchist Songbook we experience their travails through a uniquely Seattle perspective, visited by the ghosts of local uprisings in the past, revealing almost a 'culture of protest' in the Northwest."
Read the rest of the audition posting here.
"CALLING ALL SINGERS, MUSICIANS, ACTORS and PERFORMERS!
SEATTLE SCHOOL is holding a casting call for singers, musicians, actors and performers for The Anarchist Songbook, a contemporary opera around the WTO demonstrations in Seattle. An initial reading has been set for the end of March in partnership with ACT Theater. The Anarchist Songbook takes us back to November 1999 as we follow a makeshift gang of WTO protesters, teenage runaways and hardened street punks who take over an abandoned former candy factory in the Denny Triangle. Through The Anarchist Songbook we experience their travails through a uniquely Seattle perspective, visited by the ghosts of local uprisings in the past, revealing almost a 'culture of protest' in the Northwest."
Read the rest of the audition posting here.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
What can you learn in a month of voice lessons?
I'm often asked how long I think adult students should take voice lessons, and my answer can be annoyingly vague to some: "It depends." It depends on where you're starting from - can you match pitch and stick to a melody? Have you taken lessons before? Have you done any singing outside of your car or shower? Did you sing or play an instrument as a child? Your prior experience (or lack thereof) will have an impact on how quickly you learn, and some skills (like matching pitch) take much longer to learn than others (like taking the right breath).
Slate's Human Guinea Pig article from 2005, "Song of the Damned," details Emily Yoffe's monthlong venture into voice lessons and answers this question in an honest, entertaining way. I was intrigued by the article but really wanted to hear the end result; as a voice teacher I was skeptical that one month of lessons would prepare her for a performance.
Please note: comments on Yoffe's singing voice are offered only as an explanation of vocal technique, NOT as professional criticism.
If you listen to the recording of Yoffe's performance (link is toward the end of the article), you can hear the potential that her teacher, Deborah Benner, heard at her first voice lesson. There's a warmth in the tone that with proper technique and practice could be extended throughout the range.
As the song progresses you can hear tension building in her throat, most likely caused by nervousness; when a beginning singer gets nervous, the first thing to go is typically breath support - and as Deborah succinctly puts it, "Without breath, the melody has nothing to float on." If there's no breath moving over the vocal folds to create pitch, the folds themselves have to squeeze together to create the sound. This tension makes it difficult to sing above mid-range, often resulting in flat intonation and a pushed sound.
A month of voice lessons had helped Yoffe to correctly use her breath and sing more easily, but I imagine it was difficult to apply such new technique in a pressurized situation. In my experience, new vocal technique won't be solidified in only one month of lessons; it takes a bit longer to work new habits into your muscle memory, especially if you're an adult student and have to "unlearn" old ways of breathing and singing. For this reason, after my vague answer of "it depends," I recommend at least 3 months of study for singers entering my studio.
Since this was for an article that I'm assuming was on deadline, the Human Guinea Pig wound up performing after only one month of lessons, which would likely be too soon for most students. However, as first performances go I would deem it a success; along with some truly lovely notes, Yoffe gets across the overall attitude of the piece and sounds like she's having fun - which is the whole point of taking voice lessons, right?
Slate's Human Guinea Pig article from 2005, "Song of the Damned," details Emily Yoffe's monthlong venture into voice lessons and answers this question in an honest, entertaining way. I was intrigued by the article but really wanted to hear the end result; as a voice teacher I was skeptical that one month of lessons would prepare her for a performance.
Please note: comments on Yoffe's singing voice are offered only as an explanation of vocal technique, NOT as professional criticism.
If you listen to the recording of Yoffe's performance (link is toward the end of the article), you can hear the potential that her teacher, Deborah Benner, heard at her first voice lesson. There's a warmth in the tone that with proper technique and practice could be extended throughout the range.
As the song progresses you can hear tension building in her throat, most likely caused by nervousness; when a beginning singer gets nervous, the first thing to go is typically breath support - and as Deborah succinctly puts it, "Without breath, the melody has nothing to float on." If there's no breath moving over the vocal folds to create pitch, the folds themselves have to squeeze together to create the sound. This tension makes it difficult to sing above mid-range, often resulting in flat intonation and a pushed sound.
A month of voice lessons had helped Yoffe to correctly use her breath and sing more easily, but I imagine it was difficult to apply such new technique in a pressurized situation. In my experience, new vocal technique won't be solidified in only one month of lessons; it takes a bit longer to work new habits into your muscle memory, especially if you're an adult student and have to "unlearn" old ways of breathing and singing. For this reason, after my vague answer of "it depends," I recommend at least 3 months of study for singers entering my studio.
Since this was for an article that I'm assuming was on deadline, the Human Guinea Pig wound up performing after only one month of lessons, which would likely be too soon for most students. However, as first performances go I would deem it a success; along with some truly lovely notes, Yoffe gets across the overall attitude of the piece and sounds like she's having fun - which is the whole point of taking voice lessons, right?
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The start of something new
For some time now I've wanted to have a place to post studio news and collect all the music-related articles, photos and trivia I often come across. If you have a news tip, article or photo you'd like to share please feel free to email me.
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