Boston
Singers' Resource News Bulletin, November
9, 2005
The
following article is being reprinted with permission from Opera America's
Bulletin for Singers entitled "Voices." For more information
about "Voices" and other Opera America singer services, please
visit their website at www.operaamerica.org
or call 202-293-4466 x202.
"Relationship Between Singers and Conductors" by Stephen Steiner, Director of Productions, Boston Lyric Opera
The relationship between a singer and a conductor is one of the most
important in a singer’s career, and also one that takes a bit of
thought and preparation. This process is not without its challenges,
but through relying on a bit of common sense (and at times a good sense
of humor), you will almost always find your way down the right path.
Following are some considerations as you begin to negotiate your way.
Always come prepared. This is the most important point of all. No conductor,
director, coach, or colleagues will take you seriously, have interest
in what you have to say, or really be excited about collaborating with
you, if you don’t have your act together musically. You may have
an awesome voice along with great musical or dramatic instincts, but
if you can’t back it up with solid preparation, your voice had
better be more than first class, or you will quickly become, as they
say in the recent popular TV game show, “the weakest link.”
When you arrive on the scene for the first music rehearsal, thorough
preparation also means going far beyond merely knowing your words and
music. Dig down to the punctuation, remembering that how you approach
or inflect commas, question marks, exclamation points and the like does
affect how interestingly you communicate what you sing. Strive to always
“say” the text, not merely “pronounce” it. Know
what everyone else is saying, and in addition, what the orchestra is
doing. This is really what sets apart those artists that are really
in control. One expects that the conductor knows the entire score, so
why not expect it of an excellent singer as well?
For singers that are well prepared, there will be occasions when the
conductor might not be as prepared as one would like, or might not have
a feel for text. On these occasions you can be proud of your level of
preparation and delight in the knowledge that you might even be teaching
the conductor a thing or two!
Don’t tell them how you want it to go – show them. Once you
have successfully prepared your role, there really shouldn’t be
a lot of need for discussing or defending your interpretation. We’ve
all seen situations in which a singer decides to spend an inordinate
amount of time telling a conductor how this coach or that coach, this
conductor or that one, has told them how something is supposed to go.
If you are that singer, it’s most unfortunate for you in this situation,
since it’s not really important anymore – it’s now your
performance. Once, I encountered a singer that had worked with a number
of coaches and conductors, dutifully marking in the score with different
colors to indicate a different person’s thought. When it was time
to work, this poor singer could never decide which color scheme to sings
when, and you can only imagine how uninteresting the singing was.
You will always be taken more seriously if you sing with conviction
and commit to an interpretation with a point of view in terms of tempi
and characterization. I can’t tell you haw many times, while playing
auditions or working with a singer, that a singer took absolutely no
lead in the performance, afterwards mentioning that they thought things
went too quickly or too slowly. Remember, when collaborating with pianists
or conductors, if you don’t perform it how you would like it to
go, they will always take control and show you how they think it should
go.
The same goes for the singer who feels a strong desire to give an explanation
for every bad note or mistake. Everyone makes mistakes, feels moments
of insecurity, or has a bad day. Fight the temptation to make too much
of these, lest the explanations start to smell like excuses and become
a nuisance, not only to the conductor, but to everyone else around you.
Sing with rhythm. Some may feel that this sounds a bit too simple or
that this is inherent in good preparation, but there are quite a few
situations when a conductor muses, “if only such and such sang
with rhythm …” This goes for all singers, and for aspiring
singers in particular. Singing with rhythm will always strengthen your
relationship with a conductor: It puts conductors at ease and gives
them confidence that you will be with them throughout a performance
and not wandering around on either side of the beat for the good part
of an evening. Conductors will, again, be more inclined to take you
seriously - to view you as a 'musician' and not merely as a 'singer.'
In any business, effective communication and people skills are just
about as important as the other skills that you develop, including vocal,
linguistic, and dramatic skills. As I mentioned earlier, remembering
to clearly show a conductor how you intend the music should go, as opposed
to telling them, helps very much. What doesn’t help, especially
in a Sitzprobe or other orchestra rehearsal, is to snap your fingers,
tap your foot, or otherwise noticeably move your body to show your discontent
at how things are going. Always remember that a conductor’s goal,
like yours, is to give a first-rate performance.
Most singers I’ve known are always wonderfully supportive, hard
working, and a lot of fun to be around, but every once in a while you
come across one who’s a real pain in the neck and tends to brings
down the whole spirit of a production. Treating your colleagues, conductors
included, as you’d like to be treated will always have the most
rewarding payoff.
Being an opera singer is extremely complex, but singers must also respect
the fact that being a conductor comes with its own set of challenges,
After you’ve worked through a solid rehearsal period, remember
that once the conductor is in front of the orchestra, a much bigger
part of their attention must focus on the players. That will take some
getting used to by a more inexperienced singer, but remember that, at
this point, strong support from the orchestra will only enhance your
ability to give your strongest performance.
You must always keep in mind that this business is smaller than you
can imagine, so even in the worst of situations, avoid burning any bridges.
The key to a successful career is to encourage as many people as possible
to want to continue hearing you as well as working with you. Always
be careful not to create a situation in which you will be viewed in
a bad light or get a bad reputation.
How about when the conductor and stage director don’t agree, or
when other artists in the production have an uncomfortable interaction?
Luckily, this doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, my advice
is: Stay neutral, maintain the integrity of your own work, and let them
take care of business. If things get out of hand, however, one must
assume that the appropriate individual from the company administration
will keep watch over the situation and will intercede if necessary.
There will be many times when you will have the great fortune of working
with what is known as a “singer’s conductor,” a conductor
who not only makes wonderful music with the orchestra, but also is attuned
to what the singer is doing, breathes with the singer at every step
along the way, and chooses tempi that enable a singer to do his or her
best work.
At other times, you will not be so lucky. A conductor I once assisted
made the comment that ‘Cosi fan tutte’ would be a wonderful
piece of music if only it didn’t have any vocal parts in it. Boy,
do you know you’re in trouble then! Again, at that point, it’s
best to grin and bear it and make the best of the situation, remembering
that there are plenty of fine conductors out there who will make most
of your experiences absolutely positive ones.
The longer you are in this business, the more opportunities you will
have to perform the same role with different conductors. Every musician
has a different take on a piece of music, and that’s what makes
being a part of this art form so interesting, exciting, and rewarding.
This also means that you must be open to these differences and not lose
yourself in integrating the new ideas of a different conductor with
your existing interpretation. Be willing to try things differently or
to see things in a new light. It may or may not ultimately work in the
new way, but your willingness to try and your ability to clearly show
how it may or may not work will show you as a true collaborator and
make working with you that much more attractive.
When you are faced with differences of opinion, just remember to keep
a cool head, have confidence in the fact that you are well prepared,
know why you’ve made the choices you’ve made, sing with conviction,
and remember that you’re all in this process of creating the best
performance together. It sounds easy on paper, but after a bit of experience,
you’ll start to find your way to strong alliances with conductors
as well as the many other individuals you will encounter in the business.
And don’t forget to try to have a good time while you’re at
it.
For More Information:
Boston Lyric Opera
Stephen Steiner, Director of Productions
http://www.blo.org
Opera America
"Voices" Opera America's Bulletin for Singers
http://www.operaamerica.org
202-293-4466 x202