Quantitative and Qualitative Results of the survey

‘Getting into Character’

April and May 2012

KEY STATS

•Survey between 23rd April – 31st May 2012

•48 respondents

•Respondents taken from Trinity Laban College and Facebook Group ‘Opera Talk’

1. What is the first thing you do when you have a new aria to learn ?

Watch the aria onDVD/youtube

Watch the wholeopera

Find out the plot

Learn the text of thearia

Translate the aria

Learn the music

Other

2. When learning new arias, how frequently do you watch the whole opera (live and/or DVD) from which they originate ?

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Sometimes

Never

Comments can be summarised as :

•Time/cost issues

•Don’t want to pick up others’ mistakes

2. When learning new arias, how frequently do you watch the whole opera (live and/or DVD) from which they originate ?

3. In a concert setting, what techniques do you use to convey the character to an audience (ie when you have no other characters on stage, no costume and no props) ?

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35 I adopt a physicalityappropriate to thecharacter

I alter my facialexpressions

I use myarms/hands toshow meaning

I choose what I'mwearing carefully

I walk around thestage (in a concertsetting)

3. In a concert setting, what techniques do you use to convey the character to an audience (ie when you have no other characters on stage, no costume and no props) ?

Comments can be summarised as :

•Act !

•Appropriate suitable physicality for the character

4. Do you prefer to sing arias in a staged format (ie costumed, with props and other characters) or in a concert setting ?

Staged format

Concert setting

4. Do you prefer to sing arias in a staged format (ie costumed, with props and other characters) or in a concert setting ?

Comments can be summarised as :

•12 people said ‘easier’

•Many comments surrounding ‘more personal input’ and ‘flexibility’ in a concert setting

•More fun (3 people)

5. What, if any, barriers do you find in performing an aria in a concert setting ?

0

10

20

30

No other characters on stage to react to

Difficulty in switching from one character to another in quick succession

No costume to help me get into character

No director to help my movements/choreography

Lack of understanding of the character

Lack of knowledge of the whole plot

5. What, if any, barriers do you find in performing an aria in a concert setting ?

Respondents were equally split in their comments:-

•4 people said ‘no barriers’ (out of 8 responses)

6. What top tip can you give to help a singer characterise an aria in a concert setting ?

Overwhelming, people said :-

•Know the whole role/fully understand the character, by the following :

Understand the text

The whole opera’s plot

Visualise the surroundings of the aria (woods, glade etc)

Research the opera’s context

In your opinion, how important is it that the aria remains true to the original plot when sung in the concert setting ? (38 respondents)

Differing opinions :-‘There may be too much back-story…..therefore, to provide a meaningful performance, a new context needs to be invented and communicated. The plot isn't necessarily important to the audience but they should hear the emotion and understanding in your voice.

Versus:-‘Some arias don't make any sense out of context - in this case, better to give a straight performance than try to convey the whole sense of what's going on!’

And then the middle way :-‘It really depends on the aria!’

Conclusions

•Singers prefer to sing the whole role in a fully staged opera as it’s easier to get into character and more fun to perform the whole role.

•When singing arias in a concert, there are mixed opinions in terms of whether an aria should be ‘generalised’ or whether it should still be sung as if in its original context.

•They all agree that ideally, to characterise one aria properly, the whole role should be totally understood, along with the whole opera.

•There are no short cuts in preparing an aria for a concert setting rather than the whole role in an opera.

Conclusions (cont.)

This has implications for the amount of preparation time necessary for an opera ‘concert’ comprising arias from numerous operas.