Neal Harrelson New York City Voice Teacher

Wow!

The Nearly Lost Work of a ‘Born Opera Composer’ Returns Only one copy survives of Carolina Uccelli’s 1835 opera “Anna di Resburgo.” The story behind it is a human one, touching and somewhat sad.

Gedda! Need i say more?

"The World of Nicolai Gedda" Documentary Film, 1968 "The World of Nicolai Gedda" An hour long documentary that contains remarkable performances of Gedda in his prime.

On the topic of body connection in singing:

Enrico Caruso said to: "feel the tone vibrating all down inside the body."

Richard Tucker said the tone: "is made by the big breath held in the lungs, and never by the vocal cords."

Rosa Ponsell said to: "to feel tone going deeper and deeper and deeper into the body."

In my teaching to develop lower body connection, I use the "NG" as in the word singING as a tool to develop this connection.

"NG" before any vowel initiates a response in diaphragmatic activity and allows the singer to find the "true" mask sensation.

Try this exercise:

1.Breath low into the body, at the tail bone or at least under the backside of the ribs.

2. At the end of the inhalation, just before phonation allow the forward arch of the sternum and slight engagement of the abdominal muscles - some singers feel this by leaning on the sternum. Be mindful not to allow lifting the ribs upward after the inhalation but seek a released, slightly downward feeling or vertical stretch of the ribs.

2. On a single sustained pitch sing NG-[i]-NG. you can adapt the exercise beyond a single tone once the singer has found/identifies this action and maintain action for a few seconds. You can also introduce other vowels into the exercise and increase the duration of from single tone to the addition of other intervals. Work slowly: 1-2-1, 1-2-3-2-1 etc. pattern as the singer is able to maintain this position.

What are your observations about the torso? Does it feel vertically expanded?

What are your sensations regarding the diaphragm? Engagement of the abdominal muscles? The pelvic floor?

Is there release at the vocal folds and laryngeal musculature or are you forcing/pushing air out. Do you have a sense of sitting in the body?

I say this to my students often but William Vennard in his book
"SINGING-the Mechanism and the Technique (page 212)" states it as well.

"there should never be a question as to which register to use. The answer is always: Both!"

I don't recall reading it here before but ran across it this morning.

Robert was one of my mentors when I was a graduate student at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and an apprentice in the Knoxville Opera Company. At that time Maestro Lyall was the conductor of the Knoxville Opera Company. It was a wonderful experience for me. I sang Parpingnol in LA Boheme, Don Basilio in Le Nozze di Figaro and a small role an opera commissioned by the opera company "Rachel" by Kent Coe. His presence in opera will be greatly missed. RIP Maestro.

Cancer claims US opera chief - Slippedisc New Orleans Opera has announced the death of...

A long-dead soprano has taken to the stage with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Are holograms the future? The audience was never fooled by the technology. Instead, they were awe-struck. A phrase I heard murmured over and over was: ‘how do they do it?’.