Master Singers: Advice from the Stage

by Donald George, Lucy Mauro

Overview

There is often a dichotomy between the academic approach to singing that voice students learn in the studio and what professional singers do on the operatic and concert stage. Great singers at the top of the performing profession achieve their place with much analysis and awareness of their technique, art, interpretation and stagecraft that goes far beyond academic study and develops over years of experience, exposure, and the occasional embarrassing error. Master Singers brings these insights to the student, teacher, and emerging professional singer, giving them many needed signs and signals along the road to achieving their own artistry and established career.

Through interviews with some of today's most accomplished and renowned concert and operatic singers, including Stephanie Blythe, David Daniels, Joyce DiDonato, Denyce Graves, Thomas Hampson, Jonas Kaufmann, Simon Keenlyside, and Ewa Podles´, Master Singers provides vocalists making the transition from student to professional with indispensable advice on matters ranging from technique and its practical application for effective stage projection to the practicalities of the business of professional singing and maintaining a career to recommendations for vocal hygiene and longevity in singing. Rather than relying on a traditional one-singer-at-a-time structure, Donald George and Lucy Mauro distill answers to a range of essential, probing questions into a thematic approach, creating not a standard interview book but a true reference for emerging professional singers. An indispensable resource and reliable guide, Master Singers will find its place on the bookshelf of singers of this generation and the next.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199324187
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	02/12/2015
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	546,276
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Donald George's career as a lyric tenor has spanned the great opera and concert stages of the world, from La Scala, Milan to Berlin, Paris, Vienna, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, and Tokyo, among many others, working with such conductors as Bernstein, Masur, Tate, Menuhin and Jurowski. He has recorded for such labels as Sony, Phillips Classic, Naxos, Delos, Bavarian Radio, and Teldec. In 2008 he joined the faculty of The Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam as Professor of Voice. His students are regional and national competition winners and are singing in numerous professional venues in Europe and North America. He resides in Germany and New York.

Lucy Mauro, pianist, is an Associate Professor at West Virginia University. The Journal of Singing calls her "a perfect partner". Her recordings with tenor Donald George on the Delos label have been acclaimed in Gramophone and selected as a Recording of the Year 2011 by MusicWeb International, among other recognitions. Their latest CD, Songs and Arias of Joseph Weigl, was recorded in conjunction with the Esterházy Festival in Austria. Her website with Donald George is www.duodrama.net.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Brian Zeger
Preface
Acknowledgements
Artist Biographies
Chapter One: On the Craft of Singing
Chapter Two: On the Operatic Stage
Chapter Three: On the Recital and Concert Stage
Chapter Four: On Maintaining a Career
Chapter Five: On Teaching and Studying
Chapter Six: Extras from the Experts
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

"While fascinating, this book defies synthesis...which is indeed part of its charm, as well as part of its wisdom...this book provides a valuable vade mecum for those seeking to [go out and sing and have fun]." —Opera Obsession

"Master Singers is much more than just a guide for aspiring singers, it makes also for compelling, fascinating reading. It's an insider into the minds of opera singers, into the hard work and dedication that the profession demands and also into each singer's personal views, opinions, thoughts and experiences." —Margarida Mota-Bull, MusicWeb International

"An excellent addition to any opera aficionado's bookshelf. Especially for emerging artists, there is perhaps nothing more inspiring than words of encouragement from the greats that have come before them." —Kristen Seikaly, mezzo-soprano

"No aspect of musical performance is as dangerous as the teaching of singing, because each potential singer's voice is a unique instrument that can easily be damaged. The comments that Donald George and Lucy Mauro have collected from singers with successful careers should help to focus attention not only on technical problems but also on how to become a communicative singing actor."— Placido Domingo

"Artists will find this book enlightening as will the general public. The majority of vocal artists face many of the same issues. Understanding how we individually view and approach a particular subject proves fascinating reading." — Mirella Freni, Soprano

"Master Singers may well exist alongside Great Singers on Great Singing by Jerome Hines in 1982, in which the singers talk with base intimacy about their vocal technique. Master Singers is a fascinating book for voice students, researchers and teachers, but also for critics and opera lovers to find out what goes on in a vocalist and how vulnerable the singers are." — Opera Nederland

"150 pages of invaluable wisdom from many of today's most accomplished singers. The artists all create a unique tone in their responses...the book is overflowing with valuable information. Virtually every singer will find within its pages reinforcement of his or her own practices as well as new ideas to explore."—Classical Singer

"[T]here is much to be gleaned from the content of Master Singers: tips for breathing, diction, visualization, passaggio, coaching, as well as non-vocal but essential business questions like the use of social media."—Opera News Magazine

From the Publisher