Recital Technique

A couple of weeks ago my classmates and I had the pleasure of giving out junior recitals at SUNY Purchase college. Due to inclement weather we were forced to cancel of original date for the recital and reschedule. As a result we were actually able to give the same recital twice. Once for the faculty and a very, very, small audience and then again for a much larger audience of family and friends. This gave us a very interesting opportunity to learn about ourselves as performers and what we are capable of. I learned some very valuable lessons. Performance is an art in and of itself. it requires its own technique which is different for everyone. I preparation is at the root of every good performance, but the biggest difference i noticed between the two performances was that as we all were more relaxed the second time around we were able to communicate more affectively with our audience. The level of artistry skyrocketed and the confidence levels were lifted. it was a great learning experience. Now that I know hat I am capable of putting out i can build upon the progress the experience allowed me to have.

Hamlet at the MET

A week or two ago I went ot see Hamlet st the MET Opera. Although I was dissappointed about Natily Dessay's cancelation, I was pleasently surprised With her replacement. Though I was nto thorughly impressed, the broadcast on NPR that I had heard earlier that week gave me some prospective. Having learned the stageing in 48 hours, she really did do a good job. I thought the night was full of great singing and I didnt mind the fact that the shakespeaare was completly underminded by the oepr and the french language. Over all I really enjoyed it and would deffinatly reccomend it.

Recital Preparation

As a young singer, I feel it is incredibly important to establish good work and preparation habits. In order to present ourselves in a professional manor we must do the proper ground work to ensure a high quality result. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of learning a new piece. Rushing only leads to half done work that cannot be refined into art. I feel that when preparing anything that will be presented outside of a coaching or a lesson, it is imperative to follow these preliminary steps to insure that your presentation will be of optimum quality. Beginning with understanding the rhythmic structure of the piece is key. Then applying all IPA to the rhythm meticulously. The adding pitch to the rhythm and IPA being careful of elisions and stylistic modifications that will affect the rhythm of the natural language with pitch. LASTLY, rehearse with a pianist adding in any extra markings in the music. This simple ground work will give you the ability to effectively apply style and personal interpretation to you work. These steps should make your next presentation very successful!

Alyssa