Skip to body   Why Opera?  Opera Home | Dr. Gayla Blaidsell |
Auditions | Past Operas | Choral Home  Scene form Amahl and the
Night VisitorsOpera is a synthetic culmination of many forms of
artistic expression; a complete work, Der Gesamtkunstwerk to
Wagner. During the rehearsal period for an opera production, the
students and I explore a myriad of elements as they master the
challenges of this unique art form on their way to becoming
well-rounded and versatile performers.  The operatic vocal
repertoire is inherently demanding of the “soloist” requiring
that each singer be completely secure with their own part while
also depending on others. Operatic singing also asks young
singers how to “balance” their voices with others while
retaining the individual quality of their instruments; bridging
the gap between solo recital singing and choral singing. Opera
presents important challenges in the declamation of rapid
speech-like patterns in Italian, German and French. Singing
operatic recitative in any language requ