For the September issue of Classical Singer, I had the great pleasure of interviewing Daniel Helfgot, recipient of the 2009 Classical Singer Stage Director of the Year Award. At the end of a conversation that covered everything from supertitles to taxidermy, he left me with the following thought:
“Opera is poorly taught in our society. We are shortchanging singers all the time because of the institutions that are in charge of teaching opera. That is something we should all be talking about.”
So, CS arranged a round table of sorts, and three of the most inventive minds in opera got together to discuss its education. We started at the beginning . . .
What is opera?
Daniel Helfgot: The simple definition is it’s singing theater. The complex definition is it’s a combination of different arts and crafts that become something else as a result of their coming together. It is theater with music, but it is neither music nor theater—just like water polo is neither swimming nor basketball.
Ann Baltz: It is a body of literature for the operatic voice and it’s a musical drama that requires extreme vocal techniques and registers.
Darren Keith Woods: It is a transcendent art form. The composer in “Ariadne” was right; it is heilige Kunst.
This is already getting complicated.
DKW: It is complicated. Opera is higher. It is bigger. It is, just simply, more. When we discussed the branding of Fort Worth Opera, one thought that came up often was the desire to say, “Opera is for everybody.” In some ways of course, that’s true—but in opera, the patron must meet it half way. You cannot just sit there and be a passive goer. But if you’re man or woman enough to step up to it, then man, have we got something for you!
AB: I agree. I’m passionate about opera, but I’ve also done enough temp jobs to realize that most of our population is not—which has led to my dedication and commitment to operas, albeit nontraditional ones, that draw people to the art form. I understand and agree with Darren. Opera is not for everybody, and that’s OK. Country Western music isn’t for everybody.
DH: We sometimes confuse our audiences, and we do not let them know that we are doing this. Under the title of “opera,” we sell them many different things—things that a composer might never have thought of calling opera, like singspiel and gesamtkunstwerk. At the same time, there are many things that we leave out. That is why I keep talking about singing theater—we have to agree to leave it lightly defined.
Have we reached a consensus?
DH: I think we agree that many things are valid. The moment we define it, we kill it. The constant conversation is what’s important. It is the singing theater. It’s about a curtain that opens and we express ourselves with our voice.
DKW: I agree. The minute it’s categorized, it loses a bit of its magic.
AB: It gets stuck. People hold it. We use the term “opera” at OperaWorks because that is the common language, but then we try to move beyond that and redefine it for people. The art form is evolving and the vocabulary could probably evolve as well.
Should we coin a new term today?
DKW: I like “opera”!
DH: Well, look at the word “opera.” What does it mean? Work! It defines itself by refusing to be defined.
OK, talk to me about what you think the ideal institution is to teach opera.
DH: Simple. It is an institution that teaches opera. It does not belong anywhere else. It does not belong in the music department. It does not belong in the theater department. As I said earlier, good swimming and good basketball do not good water polo make. We cannot continue to cheat students by sending them for eight years of voice, eight minutes of solfège, and eight seconds of acting technique.
DKW: I agree completely. It’s a specialized art form. Look at AVA. They are completely, unadulteratedly devoted to an opera education, and that’s where we’re finding our stars now. That’s a place where people are learning from people who have done it. As Daniel says, there is so much that they have to learn. The fact that I can analyze a Bach fugue has nothing to do with whether I’m going to be a great opera artist or not.
AB: For me, it’s ideal to change the paradigm completely. In so many ways, the old model no longer works. One problem is that universities are so restricted on funding that there aren’t enough credits for students. They have to fulfill so many general credits that the classes that are really pertinent to their interests have to be limited.
Can you describe the paradigm shift that you’d like to see take place?
AB: We need to move away from this idea that everyone should be trained the same way. At OperaWorks, all of the teachers get together two times a week to discuss the students. Then I create the schedule for the next week to meet each student’s needs. It’s a highly specific approach that’s focused on opera singers. Since opera is an integrated art form, the training needs to be integrated as well.
DKW: We do something similar at Seagle Music Colony. We treat opera not only as their heilige Kunst, but as their job. If our universities saw that the specialization required for a career in opera is as specific as that required of a physician or an attorney, we would probably have better music departments in schools.
DH: You have excellent examples in Ann and Darren of two people who are working hard to correct the ills of many institutions. Students should be breathing opera all day long, from the artisans to the leading tenor. If we don’t alter the institutions, it will remain in the hands of individuals like Darren and Ann to supplement what [the institutions] don’t deliver.
Why is the teaching of opera so music centered to begin with?
DH: It is music centered in part because the person who comes to write about opera in newspapers and magazines—and is, therefore, the face that we present to the world at large—is the music critic. We have to educate at this level as well.
DKW: I think it started in music departments because of its origins in the Florentine Camerata and the idea of “prima la voce.” For many years, the theatrical element just occurred by happenstance.
DH: Every time I hear the word “music” when we’re talking about opera, I find that there is a problem. In order to have a successful partnership, both partners must be of equal value. The moment the balance tips, the partnership is compromised. When it comes to opera, if we put music ahead of theater, or vice versa, we start failing. That is why I talk about an institution that is dedicated to opera. It’s not OK to put the music first and then add the rest. We have to turn things upside down and claim our space. That’s the goal.
What would be the first thing you might alter in a conventional university education?
DKW: I’d reward people for taking the classes they need. The core subjects have to take a back seat to the skills that an opera singer must have in order to be competitive in the marketplace. You have to be able to sing perfect French, German, or Italian—in tune and with dramatic intent—to sing on my stage. That’s just the basic requirement. Then you have to be magic.
DH: This is a critical moment. There is a generational change that’s occurring. When the teachers of the newer generation are closer to the realities of the business, these things will change, and we have to take advantage of that change. Educational institutions need to keep pace with the art form.
AB: Maybe what’s needed is a little basic training before we decide who goes to the “opera school.” Cloistering people off into conservatory settings to the exclusion of outside life is no good. Singers must be curious about life.
DH: My concern is that when we see people being taught technique, they are being taught technique in order to make sounds. What I do not see is the teaching of technique in order to express. Technique is not about listening to your beautiful sounds, it’s about using those beautiful sounds to express.
DKW: Yes! Do the technique. But at some point in the lesson, please let the students sing the aria all the way through in one beautiful long idea. If you stop every moment to correct something, the meaning has been long lost. And then the singers imprint it on their minds that they have to concentrate on “the sound.” At some point you have to just be Manon.
What you just described in terms of teaching reminds me of something Ann said about the students she encounters at OperaWorks.
AB: Sometimes we have to undo what singers come to us with, and a lot of that is just mental. It’s the negative feedback that they’ve heard constantly for six years. If we tell them that something is working well, they don’t trust us. It’s fascinating.
At one point when I was in grad school, I closed the lid to the piano and asked; “Am I doing nothing right?” My teacher was shocked and said, “Of course you are!” I said, “How would I know that? The only things you tell me are what I’m doing wrong!” It was painful, but it made me think, “Maybe I’m not the only one who feels this way.” At OperaWorks, the philosophy is that every time we stop a singer, they need to be validated for something. The first thing out of our mouths must always be something positive.
It sounds like all three of you are stealthily creating this ideal world.
AB: In several ways, we have just taken matters into our own hands. At California State University-Northridge, my opera workshop and a choreography class happen to meet at the same time, so we’ve started doing concerts where every piece is choreographed and includes the singer and dancer. It’s an art song recital, but it’s staged. The singers dance, they have to look at the words, create the images. It’s an amazing thing!
DH: Let me just say that when singing is taught with what you want to express in mind, and when the theatrical aspect is taught because it is what the composer has shaped with the music, you have opera. From the theatrical end, the language is the music—and from the musical end, the language is the expression. That’s the interaction that is sometimes missed. In theater, directors and performers must create the timing. In music, it is created for us by the composer. In singing, the technique should not be the goal, but should be what we use to express what the composer has shaped with the music.
AB: I’d just like to add that in finding ways around the obstacles, I feel so creative. It feels great to say, “You know what? We just figured out how to get the student to experience what they need by messing around with the system.” The students are having a good time, and audiences are bigger than they’ve ever been.
DKW: It’s so important that we empower our students to become complete artists and allow them to seek the courses they need. Thanks for doing this. The more we talk about it, the better.
