Scientists theorize that humans used song to communicate before developing spoken language. Though we cannot be certain of this, we know that music and song have been central to human culture since the earliest of times. The opera singer belongs to a long western tradition of art and technique that goes back hundreds of years, but is also a part of the greater world history of human music-making that goes back thousands of years. But why has music and song survived into the twenty-first century? What purpose does it serve? Its function today is the same as it was before humans were able to write — to communicate. With today’s sophisticated technological methods of communication, why use music to speak to one another? Because it conveys thoughts and emotions that mere words alone cannot fully express. The expression of these universal human ideas is the goal of music, of opera, and all art.
The artist’s job is to evoke emotion in the audience; hopefully leading to a new understanding of our shared humanity. If the audience leaves the theatre without having been moved in some way, then the purpose of the performance has been lost. The ancient Greeks believed in catharsis: the cleansing of the spirit through the experience of emotion which leads to renewal; for them it was the central purpose of drama. The opera singer must remember this while training the voice to sing high B flats and clean trills. We are musicians AND dramatists: communicating with the audience in a way that transcends words. We must make sure that we have something to say.
The voice, then, is not the only resonator by which a singer communicates. Eastern philosophy teaches us that the mind and the body are one. The nexus of these is the spirit, the mysterious essence which resonates with emotions and thoughts on a deep level. Opera, too, is a hybrid that resonates on the level of the spirit. Drama and music are fused to create a human story made of sound, language and imagery. It is the pinnacle of theatrical art. The opera singer must bring humanity as well as musical skill to be effective in the goal of creating a spiritual experience for the audience. It is an act of mind, body and spirit. All musicians are communicators. We strive to connect to the hearts of those who hear us. Opera singers have the special duty of making that connection through language, drama and action. A wholistic philosophy of singing synthesizes these elements to create a method of communication that reaches the audience on the level of the soul.
A wholistic singing technique involves an approach that incorporates the entire body and mind. Body work in Yoga, Alexander Technique, and Feldenkrais, all of which are used by actors to create a flexible, responsive instrument, are part of the singer’s essential knowledge as well. Mind work such as meditation and creative writing are also imperative to center the singer’s mind and allow for spontaneity in creating the dramatic content of a work of opera-theatre. The singer who utilizes the entire instrument, mind and body, to bring a character to life will be a more compelling and authentic presence on stage and a more effective artist in general.
The spiritual is also a dimension of the wholistic opera singer’s art. Singers are taught in school to sing from the diaphragm. They learn, if they are wise, to sing from the heart as well. The heart communicates authentically; what the audience receives from the opera is invisible to the eye. This is not to negate the contributions of voice science knowledge and technology to the technique of singing. A free singing technique demands that the singer be a scientist and an expert technician as well. But skill alone cannot create a deep and meaningful dramatic performance.
The contribution of each instrumentalist of the orchestra is vital to the composer’s work as a whole, and the absence of any one instrument diminishes the overall effect of the work. Singers also inhabit a unique space in the orchestral ecosystem. Each voice has its own color, range, and dramatic weight to add to the ensemble. The baritone voice is the voice of the father, the confidant, the soldier, the saint, the villain, the king, the jester, and on rare occasions, the lover. The baritone does not need to have lived all of these roles, but he must identify some part of himself with each of these characters in order to bring them to life for the audience. The operas of Mozart, Rossini, Wagner, and Puccini each offer differing stylistic challenges and musical structures to the singer, but they all strive to convey human characters and emotions making a statement about the human condition through music.
Imagination, therefore, is an indispensable tool for the artist. It comes from the synergy of mind, body and spirit, and it is what gives life and meaning to art and the stories that are told on the stage. The Little Prince of Antoine de Saint-Exupèry’s book lives in this world of imagination, where the artist lives; he knows that the most important ideas are not communicated with words, but with the heart. A drawing of a hat can become a boa constrictor swallowing an elephant in the imagination. The artist must also see it as more than just a hat AND must allow the audience to see it that way as well. For the singer, opera must be more than just a collection of notes. Brian Fitzgerald, or “Fitzcarraldo,” of Werner Herzog’s film also lives in the world of imagination, where dreams are as important as the mundane reality of life; this is how he understands opera. He is like the artist in that the struggle to make dreams into reality gives his life meaning. Ultimately, the great magic of opera is that there can be essential truth to be found in a world of characters who communicate through song. It is the truth of dreams and the illusion of waking life. When we sing we must create the reality of that dream.
