Each month I
start, early on, running through the myriad
of topics that one must cover when, teaching
a session, sitting in front of a student or
professional singer, with the confidence and
knowledge to show her/him how to measurably
be singing better when they walk out the
door, than when they walked in the door ...
each and every lesson. I am happy to report
that I am pleased with my consistency at
doing the job for which I am paid ... oh,
but not always paid.
I was reminded
of this last night, as I was watching the
Classic Arts Channel and saw a former
student/professional of mine, on whom I had
a virtually immediate and lasting effect.
I say “lasting”
because I saw her singing more than
acceptably well with a major European
Orchestra, on a performance dated back in
2005, my having prepared her for her “final”
recital at the Paris Opera sometime around
1985/6. (I didn’t know for what I was
preparing her ... I didn’t find that out
until her daughter send me the tape of her
performance.) I previously wrote about my
working with Renata Scotto in an earlier
edition of “Tip,” but her performance in
last nights clip inspired me to flesh-out
the story a bit more.
She had sung Francesca da Rimini in March of
1984 and received this review from Donal
Henahan-N Y Times critic: “To succeed even
on its own modest level, the work needs a
Francesca of irresistible stage presence and
a voice to match. Renata Scotto is at a
point in her career where the voice is
colorless and often downright shrill.” He
then went on about her acting ... Google
And then,
Renata’s subsequent review from her
Juilliard Recital was not quite so
flattering, the critic essentially saying “
... when will these aging Prima Donnas know
when it is time to hang up the vocal cords?”
... I paraphrase. And so I contacted her and
suggested it was time for her to come by and
toss around a few ideas. (She had earlier
approached me saying she had heard I was “a
really good voice teacher.” She came in two
days later!)
To recap my
previous offering, in the very first session
I took the wobble out of her voice she’d had
for ten years-that took twenty minutes-and
fixed her break between the high B flat and
C-she was “flinching,” which took another
ten minutes. Both of these were accomplished
only after I had taught her my
flexible-breath-pressure on demand concept.
“Like a duck to water ...” When I show it to
really seasoned professionals who have been
around for years, laboring on stage with
something else ... this technique is like a
soft breeze on a summer day ...
NOTE: WHEN
THINGS GO WRONG WITH MAJOR ... and minor ...
SINGERS, IT IS VIRTUALLY ALWAYS A BREAK DOWN
IN SUPPORT!!!
The support had always “just been there”
with these natural singers and then one day
... it just wasn’t. Since the singer never
really knew how or what the support entailed
... they didn’t have a clue on how to try to
fix it! (Check my August Tip just last
month.)
Renata’s Paris
tape was really very good, sounding
like the voice we all knew and loved, a few
high notes notwithstanding.
I am writing
this because I put her back together in
1985/6 in about ten lessons and she was
singing well in 2005; I didn’t know that!
Remember ... when she came to me, she was
singing her “Farewell Recital!” I have just
done a little Google research ... and
discovered that Renata apparently took what
I gave her and found her old/new voice again
and then …sang a ton more performances, over
the ensuing years, only formally retiring
from singing in 2002! Do the math ... is
that another twenty-six years or so?
Not bad for
only ten lessons! With Pat Boone-fourteen
years ago, it was nine days-he’s still
coming in every week-Andy Williams sang a
fully supported operatic high A in twenty
minute and had his voice firm in six days.
It took Howard Keel, thirty minutes (it
subsequently took about three weeks for him
to build up his confidence, to be able to
raise his touring Man of La Mancha a fourth,
into the original key), etc.
Oh yes ... from
the first paragraph I now reference the “
... but not always paid.” comment. After
working one great session, Renata asked if
she could buy me a cappuccino. As we were
sitting and sipping, discussing her
“dramatic vocal revitalization”-my
characterization, certainly not hers, as I
don’t think she ever realized she was in as
bad shape as she was, genuine a Prima Donna,
you know-she told me she was uncomfortable
with taking lessons from me, without paying
for them. (To be fair, my initial note to
her backstage at the Met never mentioned my
fee ... and neither did she, after we first
met; never offered, never asked for. Stars
are used to being given things, even
though she was being taught, by a former
Principal Baritone who also sang at the
Met!) I allowed that I would
appreciate her paying me and she asked how
much I charged. (This was some twenty-eight
years ago, when money had some value.) I
replied, “Seventy-five dollars.” She seemed
a bit startled, looked at me and with a
straight face, and then this millionaire
singer said, “Oh ... that’s too much!” She
rose, leaving the coffee shop without a
backward glance and ... I never saw her
again. Oh … and I got the check!
However ... It was really
nice to know that she had a few more
productive years, because of my support
technique and my instruction on how to sing
the B flat at the end of “Un bel di!”
“Richard ... why can’t I sing the B flat on
the end of Un bel di?” “That’s an easy one,
Renata. Every time you get there, you want
to sing the biggest, bestess, high B flat
ever, just like ... ohhh ... um ... yeah,
Renata Scotto!” Oh, wait a sec ... you
are Renata Scotto! So maybe you should
just sing a clean, crisp, mezzo-piano B
flat, growing through it and crescendoing to
forte to the pop-rest ending of the note.”
She did just that ... and then walked around
the rehearsal hall singing one high B flat
after another ... after another ... after
another ...
CLICK LINKS BELOW TO VIEW PREVIOUS TIPS...
AUGUST 13 -
HOW TO FIX YOUR
“WOBBLE” AND SINGING UNDER PITCH!
JULY 13 -
FROM THE LIPS OF
OPERA GREATS OF THE PAST
