According to the Deutscher Buhnenverein, the association of German theaters and orchestras, there are 130 opera houses in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, almost twice as many per capita than in America. Each year, hundreds of young ambitious American opera singers fly to Europe for an audition tour, hoping to land a singing contract. Although they master German arias, they do not often speak German well enough to be accepted. A new language book, written for English-speaking opera singers and voice students, can help.
“Ach ich fuhl’s – German for Opera Singers in Three Acts: Studying, Speaking, Singing” by the Berlin-based writer and language teacher Bernd Hendricks is a quick, lighthearted guide book that immerses singers, vocal students and their teachers in one of the most important languages of their art.
The book is structured like an opera. The opening chapter, called “Overture” guides through the most noticeable differences to the English language to alleviate the fear of the curiosities in the language.
In “Act One” the readers learn how to write and speak, following the classical structure of language learning, beginning with the study of word types until they are able to understand and build complex sentences. However, other than in most language books, every linguistic rule and grammatical twist breathes operatic drama. It draws examples of personal pronouns from Wagner’s arias, or uses opera plots and the biographies of well-known singers to explain the tenses.
In Act Two” the readers learn to navigate the language within the daily routine of a German opera house and the world outside. In the middle of the book, the interlude or Zwischenspiel presents a brief theater dictionary, 100 theatrical terms the singer might encounter in his or her first 100 hours at a German opera house. The readers’ journey culminates in ”Act Three” when they explore ten arias in depth, with the help of a new translation and linguistic interpretations. From Pamina’s Ach ich fühl’s and the Composer’s Sei’n wir wieder gut to the Holländer’s Die Frist ist um and Florestan’s In den Lebens Frühlingstagen – the arias cover most Stimmfächer. The last part of the book, the “Encore” provides a list of 54 German operas played in German, Austrian and Swiss opera houses in recent years, the repertoire the readers can likely expect when singing in a German-speaking country.
In a number of sidebars, the book offers a moment of pause with interesting and amusing aspects of the German language: false friends and mix-ups, what gender a bagel has, the quaint wording of Richard Wagner’s libretti, or the role of punctuality and superstition in a German opera house.
“Ach ich fühl’s” will help American singers to stay competitive, even when time is scarce. The book fits into hand-luggage and can easily be read on an overseas flight to Europe.
In his blog http://achichfuehls.wordpress.com the author provides samples from the book, observations of the German language, and information about new productions at German opera houses.
Ach ich fühl’s – German for Opera Singers in Three Acts: Studying, Speaking, Singing is available through the CS Store. If you would like to submit your book review, contact marianne@classicalsinger.com.
