OPERATIC MUSIC.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 210, 5 September 1925, Page 10

OPERATIC MUSIC.

ADVICE TO SINGERS. Some interesting advice to contralto singers was given recently by Mr. Roland Foster, of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, at the Wellington competitions, when commenting upon the performances in the operatic (or dramatic) solo, contralto class, in which twenty-two competitors came forward. "There is an essential difference be- ■ tween the singing of oratoria music and operatic music," said Mr. Foster. "In operatic music, dramatic interpretation assumed greater importance, and tbe ability to visualise the scene nnd give character to the rendering of words ' and music atoned to some extent for minor defects in vocalisation. Tbe j singing of classical opera, however, approximated more closely to the | oratoria style, as at the period in which those operas were written there was no great distinction between opera and oratorio as regards the musical setting, the main difference being that ' one had a sacred subject and the other a secular. For this reason, singers j attempting Cluck should realise the . stately grandeur of the music and give it entirely distinct treatment from that 1 of Gounod, Verdi, Puccini, and latter- ' day composers, with whom dramatisation was paramount. • h"r <<One "' important requirement for singers," continued Mr. Foster, "was the 1 power to obtain every graduation of 1 tone from 'pp' to 'ff', the crescendo ' and diminuendo, or 'messa-di--voce,' as ! the Australians termed it, this being * one of the most powerful elements in ' musical expression. It was.not enough j- to sing contrasted passages; alternaLively loud and soft. The singer should be able to start a tone softly, gradu- ! ally swell out to full voice, and diminish ; again. This applied to the higher notes " as well as the lower, if properly pro- ' duced. High notes need not be forced 1 out, or 'driven'; they could be floated ' out with ease and fulness of tone if 1 skilfully placed and properly reinforced ' by breath control and head resonance." ' Air. Foster concluded by stating that contraltos frequently had a weakness and absence of true quality in tbe middle register of the voice which should be given special attention, otherwise there would always be a marked disparity of tone and consequent lack of vocal efficiency.