Prior to entering the OONY Young Artist Program in 1994, I was very frustrated. My singer friends and I all had good, well trained voices; we were all musical, intelligent, and worked hard at our art. We attended opera and concerts often but it seemed “soul-stirring” experiences were rare. I admit that sometimes I wondered if I had chosen the wrong field. Something had been lost in the translation from the dream to the reality.
I was determined to find out what tools singers needed to learn how to make the great art which had so captivated me. I began systematically trying different coaches in the city trying to find someone who could teach me. Looking back on it now, I found some wonderful coaches along the way, but as I entered the OONY Young Artist Program, I found my mentor in Eve Queler.
As rehearsals began, it seemed as if I’d been transported back in time to where singers lived, worked, ate, and socialized with the master teacher and artist friends. This was not a matter of scheduling an hour, paying $45, and hearing “next.” (One coach even said to me that this business is all about simply being “adequate!”) Joining Opera Orchestra’s Young Artist Program was a new experience; total immersion into an incredible artistic environment. I believe that this approach is what is needed so that simply talented singers can make the leap from “promising” to “great”. I’d like to share with you some of the tools the Young Artists were given.
Honesty: This is the very first gift the Young Artists got from Ms. Queler. I’ve always been surprised when some singers get angry or defensive when told the truth. I sat in on a few coachings with singers who responded to her comments or suggestions with “Oh, well that is only because I have a cold,” (or “I’m tired”; or “I’ll try it at home”; etc.) The vocal changes Ms. Queler asked for never materialized unless the singers were willing to try out new approaches on the spot. It is as if, in an attempt to shield themselves from the damaging type of criticism, some have also locked out the advice that would help them get from “good” to “great.” Ms. Queler has the best ears I’ve found anywhere. Suggestions are easy to take from her, though, because she sticks with it as long as the singer is willing, and she works until it is fixed.
Empowerment: In the NY Times on Sunday [April 24, 1994 Arts and Leisure] Dawn Upshaw remembered a painful rehearsal early in her career when she was yelled at for taking too long on her recitative and “…turning it into an aria.” I’ve often wondered if it is in this negative process that we lose many potential great and sensitive artists. Perhaps this negative approach would tend to favor sturdy, run-of-the-mill singers who specialize in being “adequate.” It seems from Ms. Upshaw’s comments that the negative approach taken by many directors and conductors tends to stymie the creative impulse that creates great art. It is hard to find singers with great sensitivity who are able to expose their innermost soul when at the same time having to keep a hard, defensive shell for protection. These two qualities of sensitivity and defensiveness rarely exist together. They shouldn’t have to.
Anyone who is committed to helping good artists become great must know how to help the artist develop confidence so that they can find their own unique sense of style. Ms Queler allows — even demands —that singers have opinions. The time I became aware that this had been happening all along was when we were in final rehearsals for Capuleti. I had found a place where I wanted to take a bit more time to emphasize the character’s new train of thought. She followed my impulse, and we finished the piece. Then, and only then, did she stop to ask why I’d made that choice. I told her and she seemed intrigued. She and the pianist looked at the orchestral score carefully. She then showed me that although it was a good impulse, it might not work in performance because of one of the orchestra parts. I realized suddenly that I had felt confident to go with my impulses because over the weeks of rehearsal she had never stifled an impulse; she just trained it.
Singers have to develop mental toughness, but there needs to be a safe place to try new skills and new impulses, or how can they grow? How could Carlo Bergonzi and Mariella Devia have learned when and how long to hold those long, beautiful notes if there were only coaches and conductors screaming at them, “That’s only a half note! Who do you think you ARE, Maria Callas?!” (Those acidic words are a direct quote from a conductor.)
Tricks of the trade: Because she has worked with so many great singers, Ms. Queler is able to pass on important information, such as in the role of Romeo, “Don’t sing that high cadenza so early in the opera. This opera requires great stamina and that is why great singers don’t do that early. You’ll have plenty of time for high notes.” She’d tell me how Tatiana Troyanos did different passages and why. Once while helping her fix her orchestral score at her kitchen table, she played a recording of Montserrat Caballé and kept pointing out to me specific instances where the artist used the bel canto freedom to capitalize on her strengths and stay away from her weaknesses. She pointed out how Carlo Bergonzi makes a tiny “huh” syllable just prior to beginning a phrase and we discussed why that worked for him. She taught the importance of learning to sing “piano” and talked often about how many singers are taught to sing loud all the time. I learned to love supported pianissimo singing.
I thought I knew the skill of singing recitative well, but at our first rehearsal together, she spent thirty minutes on two sentences. We covered legato, using more consonants, which note to emphasize, learned the difference between portamento and scooping; how to pace the words, pure vowels, beautiful tone, emotional content. She apologized when the coaching was done that we’d gotten through so little material, but that is exactly what was needed. Those skills I learned on those two lines are exactly what I use to master recitative today.
Trying out your voice with established artists: Whenever I hear great singers, I wonder what it would be like to just stand up right there in the audience and start singing with them! I think all singers wonder how their voices would sound working with great artists. The Young Artists actually get that chance. The cover artists rehearse first, then one by one the main cast comes in and covers and cast are intermingled. It is a wonderful feeling to finally know that your voice can sing a lead role with a Paul Plishka just fine!
Stamina: The role of Romeo is a good example of Ms. Queler’s mentoring. The role stays high, and she taught me many skills to make that easier. She taught me that you MUST sing in a correct bel canto style to have stamina to make it through these roles. It was a revelation that if you follow bel canto stylistic idiosyncrasies, you can sing the opera. Some of the tools she gave me included learning to slightly decrescendo just prior to a coloratura passage; learning to sing on a pure vowel by keeping an “l” or an “r” from coloring the vowel; how portamentos prior to and after a note are used and how they help prepare the note to come; the dramatic and physical need to use consonants; starting pitch before the beat; singing on the consonant before starting the vowel, and much more. She also is the one who taught me how to sing in a way that a conductor cannot misunderstand.
Eve Queler is a singer’s conductor. When all the rehearsing and coaching are done, she steps down as teacher and becomes a wonderful partner on the podium. This is where you see her gift of empathy; she can hear when a singer needs to go faster, when they are going to run out of breath, when they want to hold a note. And most of all, when that soul stirring performance starts to happen, she lets it flow.
I want to thank Ms. Queler, on behalf of all the Young Artists, for all her blood, sweat, and tears over the years. The artists that have been produced in the Opera Orchestra greenhouse in the last thirty years are proof that great art and great teaching are alive and well.
This article was adapted from a speech originally given in 1994 at a board meeting for Opera Orchestra of New York.
