I am currently polishing the aria "Nobles seigneurs, salut!" from Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots. In true French Grand Opera style, the aria is flashy, with good amounts of coloratura. One passage defeated me when I first approached this aria. This one: It isn't very long and it goes by very quickly. Hearing other people sing it, I never noticed it sounding particularly difficult, but when I was learning it, it made no sense to me. I had a very hard time getting it in my voice. I practiced that one passage over and over again, slowly, then breaking it apart and singing only certain notes. I analyzed the crap out of it. Every interval, every possible imaginary chord underneath (the orchestra drops out on this cadenza), every way I could possibly dissect it. I put in the work and felt like I was getting nowhere.
After working on that cadenza every day for a week, I let it go. I walked away from it. I practiced the other parts of the aria and left that passage alone. Then I went into my lesson a week or two later. We sang through the aria, and I was so concentrated on implementing a new idea I didn't realize the passage was coming. I sang it perfectly. I got to the end of the cadenza and thought, "Oh wow, that just happened. Holy shit, I did it!" I listened to the recording later; it sounded easy. What I'm trying to say, chickadees, is: Put in the work, then walk away for a bit. Beat yourself up all you want during the difficult parts, but trust that your self-flagellation is not in vain. You will learn it. Do your homework and give yourself time.
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AuthorMaayan is a Manhattan-based opera singer. Archives
January 2019
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