The video clip above is taken from National Geographic TV and it speaks directly to Arts education and the importance of Arts-music, visual arts, drama, dance, creative writing. The connection to and the dependence of a peoples culture and the mode in which that culture is preserved, fostered and developed is related exclusively to the Arts and how they become the medium and the vehicle for demonstrating the culture for the world to see. Without Art, there is no life and without life there is no Art.
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As a musician, both as a performer and director, I have mounted several musical theatre productions in my career with a trusted friend and brilliant director. His vision is unique, creative and all encompassing when it comes to creating a 'show'. His tag line became "I am look, you are sound--anything to do with the look goes through me and anything to do with the sound of our production, goes through you". And with that, we staged numerous successful projects. I must applaud Claudia for her open letter to the Knoxville Opera Company. This courageous stand has uncovered the elephant in the room. Our society is fixated on the unattainable image of the perfect physical human. The countless numbers of adverts that recommend this cream for that and this appliance to help you make these to lower your carb intake and the diet to end all dilemmas of fats or protein or not, are keeping ad agencies in business. Many folks just want to be someone they can never be and they will spend thousands to get there, they hope. In the opera business it seems to be the same challenge. I have attended many opera performances, from large and small companies, and have had the opportunity to audition many singers to work with the groups I have led. I marvel at the lengths that some artists will go to, struggling to be someone they will never be. Photos that are touched up in any manner that you can imagine, hoping to catch the attention of someone on the receiving end when in fact I just want to hear what they truly sound like. The look will not truly make me say yes or no, especially if they can act and sing the way I envision. I always asked my students after we as a class would go to the opera; would you rather a superb singer who can act decently or would you rather a stunning actor who can sing with moderate conviction and ability? Every year they would reply singing over acting. In this art form, it is important to be able to do both, but for the novice audience member they wanted to hear a wonderful aria, or duet or trio, and could get past the stilted acting that some wonderful singers present. For them the look did not matter so much as the sound. Leave the look of the production to the artistic team--set, lighting, props, costumes--all of these can make the magic come to life on the stage. This is the nature of the business--we want to hear the performance from a truly gifted performer. There has to be some logic in following the story line of the piece but any director worth their salt can find a way to make the story unfold in a manner that permits the best performer for the job to play that role. If they rely on the look to consistently make their job easier, I fear that they may not be up to the task that they were hired to do. Let the Music Director have the final say based on the sound, not the look. After all, what is it that you will remember most from the opera performance you attended last night, the beautiful manner she moved across the stage or the blend of her sound with his in that touching duet at the end of Act II? If it is the former, you may wish to see the play next time. An open letter to Brian Salesky, Knoxville Opera......
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I invite you to come by......This section is composed of observations or impressions I have, or others I value, share about music and its power. Archives
August 2019
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