Diana Soviero Masterclass

Soprano, Diana Soviero, who has been proclaimed as one of the world's greatest singing actresses, will open the Martina Arroyo Foundation's Prelude to Performance Master Series, Saturday June 7th from 2-5p.m. at Lang Recital Hall, Hunter College. (Enter E. 69th st. between Park and Lexington Ave.) The event is  free and open to the public.

For those who cannot attend the wonderful Diana Soviero masterclass in person, you can watch the live stream at:
https://new.livestream.com/productionshollc/soviero

For those attending, it is in Lang Recital Hall, Hunter College.

Diana Soviero Masterclass Livestream

Saturday, June 7 at 2:00 pm

For those who cannot make the wonderful Diana Soviero masterclas in person, Saturday, June 7 from 2:00 - 5:00 pm EST, you can view the event in realtime online here.

For those attending in person, please note that the masterclass is now located in Lang Recital Hall on the 4th floor of Hunter College.  Enter the building at East 69th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues.

See you there!

Tips on Bel Canto

By: Alicia Waller

 

Gioacchino Rossini

I’ve always thought the operatic voice was the pinnacle of singing.  Of course, I’m prone to think that as a young student of voice and opera studies.  Nevertheless, the voice’s capacity for endless expression is undeniable.  It is like a fingerprint.  Though two voices may be similar, they will never be exactly the same.  We singers are products of nature and nurture.  We are products of our generation, where we’ve grown up, how we’ve grown up, our early musical influences and of course the natural instrument.  There are countless other factors that inspire our individual sounds as well; one of the most important being the years of carefully cultivated learning that this style of singing requires.

Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Gioacchino Rossini stands amongst an elite few operas as a definitive representation of the Bel Canto art form and period.  As such, rehearsals for this opera under the baton of Maestro Willie Anthony Waters have been incredibly informative, and have reminded me of some of the things that make Bel Canto singing “beautiful.”  I’d like to share some of the tips I’ve learned with you!  Keep in mind, they are also entirely relevant for our other opera this season, Guiseppe Verdi's La Traviata.

(1)  When looking for meaning in your text favor the verb.  Meaning, go towards it in your phrasing.

(2)  Most musical phrases should have some element of crescendo and diminuendo.  

(3)  Always sing through your vowels.  This tip never gets old, and I can never be reminded enough!

(4)  The accompaniment in Bel Canto is often the same no matter the sentiment.  As such, the singer should show intention both musically and visually as an actor.

Thanks again for reading! 

Please contact us with any questions or ideas for future blog posts.  You can follow us on twitter @martinazprelude or @aliciaenvivo.

Annnnd, We're Off!

By: Alicia Waller

I imagine many of us woke up similarly this morning – like it was the first day of classes at a new school that you’d really wanted to go to for a long time.  Our backgrounds are similar, give or take a few nuisances.  We all have a few solid years of vocal study under our belts, we’ve earned or are pursuing undergraduate and/or graduate degrees in music, we’ve learned our characters and the story for our prospective operas, we’ve studied language and diction, and perhaps most of all… we love to sing.  We love it so much in fact, that we’ve blocked out six weeks of our summer schedule to learn more about it, practice and perfect it.  As you can imagine, many of us were boiling over today with anticipation for meeting one another for the first time.  Well, I was boiling over with anticipation.

Questions raced through my mind of what the other singers would be like… what would my maestro and director be like? the Prelude staff? our stage manager?   Not to mention, of course, the flurry of butterflies circling my stomach eager to meet Madame Martina Arroyo.  Fortunately, all of my questions were answered swiftly the moment I walked through into Hunter College this morning. 

I was greeted warmly in the elevator to the fifth floor by fellow singer Wendy Wang (Rosina Cover - Barbiere), who was kind enough to direct me to Brecher Hall where we would all meet as a company for the first time.  The next face I recognized, of course was that of Madame Arroyo whose genuine warmth and operatic wisdom practically radiated through the entire room and down the hall.  Leading the helm of the opera I will be studying, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, are none other than Maestro Willie Anthony Waters and Mr. Anthony Laciura, each of whom revealed himself to be charming, hilarious and razor sharp.  I also learned that despite his astonishingly Verdian and resonate speaking voice, Mr. Mark Rucker (Administrative Director) is quick to share a laugh and pat a colleague on the back.  Additional notes were that Ms. Molly Johnson (Assistant Administrative Director) holds the key to all, tardiness is never tolerated, music must be memorized and… oh yes, music must be memorized! 

There are many other names and faces I met today which I hope to introduce to you over the next several weeks – singers and staff alike.  I look forward to sharing my experience as a Prelude to Performance participant with you, and invite you to tweet me @aliciaenvivo or @martinazprelude with any questions.

Thank you so much for reading, and talk to you soon!

P.S. For all of you Boardwalk Empire fans out there Eddie Kessler is even cooler in person.

Congratulations to Ryan Speedo Green!

Bass Baritone Ryan Speedo Green (Sarastro and Il Commendatore, Prelude 2010/2011) has been awarded the very prestigious Annenberg Fellowship! Congratulations Ryan!

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/07/annenberg-fund-awards-fellowships-to-seven-young-artists/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

Congratulations to Metropolitan Opera National Council Winner!

Congratulations to Patrick Guetti (Il Commendatre, 2011) for being one of  five winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council!

Congratulations to our Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition Finalists!

Congratulations to Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition finalists  and Prelude to Perform Alums Patrick Guetti (Il Commendatore, 2011) and Nicole Hazlett (Nanetta, 2012)!

The finals will be held at the Metropolitan Opera on Sunday March 30th. Tickets are available at:
https://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/auditions/national-council.aspx

They will also appear on WQXR's Greene Space on Aprisl 1st, at 7p.m. Check out the broadcast!
We are so proud of them! Toi toi toi!