Voices in Space or the Contemporary Realism in the Pedagogy of the Future Opera Singer

Abstract

The Romanian opera and operetta repertoire is a constant objective in the Opera Class of the Faculty of Performing, Composition, and Musical Theoretical Studies in “George Enescu” National University of Arts from Iași. The stylistic diversity and the richness of the drama make not only an important instrument for the study out of it, but also a moral debt for the knowledge and transmission of a music whose beauty – once (re)discovered – is a source of enchantment for the artists, as well as for the public. If in the beginning of the professional route singing in the mother tongue facilitates the work and the study of the opera singer, over time this option may enter an ethic of the performer, happily completing his repertoire. Although one of our main goals is to guide the students, future opera singers, to gain and to develop their acting skills so as to be natural and convincing on stage, contemporary realism does not exclude experiments. Having this in mind and in order to make studentsʼ work visible, we made an experimental video document, based on a first selection from our recitals, which is aimed to let the audience take a glance into the intimacy of our class study on Romanian opera and operetta, both from the musical and drama perspective. By changing the original objective – the entire presentation in semester exams of studentsʼ classroom work – the fragmentary nature of the processing gives a certain dynamism to our work. Changing the purpose brings things to a new light, the artistic overbearing the pedagogical, and last but not least, the Romanian music proving that it supports an experimental treatment.