Analyse, explication et démonstration par Joan Rodgers
Lesson time: (17min 38sec)
Course preview
This lesson is part of the course Joan Rodgers : chanter Mozart, Gounod et Tchaikovsky
Watch a preview of the full course below.
Lesson transcript:
Music Lesson
Introduction
Well, Dante knows. Beautifully sung. And I would just say, you know, going for more characterization and clarity about the situation she's in, more like a little girl in a sweet shop.
Characterization
Sometimes it's hard to know when you haven't got to the...
No, no, I know. Yeah. Well, do it in your mind and take it as far as you can.
You know, all of a sudden, my God, I've got all these jewels!
And, you know, she's a young, impressionable girl, and she's fallen in love with Faust, not knowing the truth and trying to get that tenderness.
Just try it. Just try and see if we can get more of...
I'd use more, you know, keep it sort of a feeling of speech and recitation, rather, because there's lots of singing to do. So don't see it as a sort of stand-and-sing moment.
Performance Feedback
Yeah. Even there again, it's lovely. It's lovely. But I would just say, come on... without being too coy.
Can you even throw that G sharp away a little bit more without cutting? Just a feeling that it's been lighter. It just gets a little bit too much like that sometimes.
Yeah. That was lovely. I loved the way you did that then.
You didn't short sell us at all on the...
It just sounds like it's being thrown away a bit more, which is lovely because she's excited.
I'm sorry, being a bit naughty. But, you know, she's a girl.
Enjoying the Text
I think it's just about, you know, with everything we've done, it's about really enjoying the text.
You know, it's there because it's a fairly straightforward aria, this, really, but it has to have real charm.
And you get the charm through the articulation and language, the way you just sort of phrase and, you know, it needs oodles of that, and you have that potential to do all that.
Finding a New Color
So. Can you find another color?
No, no, no. It's not you anymore; you're a much grander person all of a sudden. But it's very nice.
Margarita Performance
Till then. Do Margarita. Margarita Margari.
I think you're slightly rushing. It's more charming, much better.
No, can you try? And that's great.
And it really did help when you didn't rush onto that.
Articulation and Breathing
Repo moi pon repo repon vite.
No, no. CE ne plutois non. Can you emphasize that second?
No. So, no, no. CE ne plois non. CE ne pluto. Visage go from the...
No, just from. Just got a little bit ahead of yourself.
There's... and, you know, it just needs...
Because it's so easy to do that in this piece, you know? Passage. Just,
You need to articulate it a bit here.
I'm not convinced by that. Ah. It's a bit too holy.
If he saw me looking like this... oh.
Longing in the Aria
So I think the R has to have a bit more longing in it, in my opinion.
I just think when you... ah. I don't know why; you kind of slightly hold back that G sharp.
La da da da da da da da da da da.
It's, you know, it's without a bad...
You know, it's real abandoned there, you know. So if you can... you know.
Okay, and you can do it. Don't rush it. Don't rush it.
Space and Breathing
That was great. Oh, God. There's nothing underneath you. Ah.
Don't feel you have to be too obedient there.
Do that again. That was great.
It just felt like you were here. Just give it a bit of...
Because it can get very sort of bizarre.
Yeah, well, no, it can sound a bit relentless, you know.
And when you get a chance to breathe space into it, do.
Isn't it because you haven't taken a breath? I don't know why you're going.
Because it doesn't make sense, you know.
Alternative Options
Commune Demoiselles.
Or you could do our: Commune Demoiselles, Il maitrou Veribel, if you prefer.
It doesn't matter. But it needs a breath somewhere.
I felt somewhere you were sort of giving a short shrift there.
I felt you're singing a Carmina demoiseelle too loud.
Change it. Ah. She's not a sort of, you know... Field Marshall Feld Marshall in... Change it.
You know, take the pressure off there. Take your time.
Final Performance Tips
That's love. That was really lovely. That was really different, I thought then.
So try now, the Communidemo. Is that the second one?
Such a wonderful word, isn't it?
That's really important. That was great. Again.
I just think you need to feel that... she doesn't know what's coming next, you know.
Just from Il Ma, she's trying this on.
It's so beautiful. Yeah. You missed it because you're thinking about...
I can understand that. But you know, it's like doing that, isn't it?
Imagining the Performance
But I want you to imagine in that... in that interlude that, you know, Desi, she's trying it on.
She's got the brass on. And now she's going to put on Le Collier.
Can you try that? Just go from the poulet; she's got this beautiful diamond on.
Just do that again. That's really good.
God, you know, so serious there. Right? Are you?
A little bit. I think even she's excited.
Just go from the deer. So she's got it on.
There's no N ever in. Keep it steady. Don't be tempted to rush ahead.
Ah, she's feeling on top of the world now. Confident.
I like the spirit, though. I like the spirit. You're better than...
But it was lovely because you did something very spontaneous, and you hadn't quite prepared the breath.
But I love the fact it was spontaneous.
Try that again. You still want to rush that, don't you?
I know it can be different from the first time, which is quite justified, but don't rush it.
It's good if it's got a bit more heft to it the second time.
But, you know, I'm a demoiselle, and he's going to see how beautiful I am.
Can you say but don't rush it? Don't apologize for it. Sad.
Just use the words, because she's confident now.
And it was lovely up to there.
C'est la fille d'arrois. Consalu au passage.
I feel good now. But if you do, Consalu just loses it.
Can you do... no, I don't know. I don't... Salut.
There's something about the way you sing the salut and salut.
The French shouldn't do that. Salut. Salut.
Don't say salut; salut. Maybe it's because... salut.
Well, you have to leave it behind now.
Well done. Lovely. Lovely. Lovely.
Just take your time with it. That's the thing. Great.
About the instructor

Joan Rodgers s'est produite en récital dans toute l'Europe et aux États-Unis, notamment à Londres, Paris, Vienne, Amsterdam, Moscou et New York, et en concert avec des chefs tels que Solti, Barenboim, Mehta, Rattle, Harnoncourt, Mackerras, Ashkenazy et Salonen. Elle est une invitée régulière des BBC Proms. Ses engagements lyriques ont inclus des apparitions régulières au Royal Opera House, à l'English National Opera, à Glyndebourne et dans d'autres grandes compagnies de Grande-Bretagne, d'Europe et des États-Unis. Parmi les nombreux enregistrements de Joan Rodgers figurent la trilogie Mozart-Da Ponte avec Daniel Barenboim et l'Orchestre philharmonique de Berlin, The Turn of the Screw (Virgin), des disques en solo de Tchaïkovski, Mozart et Wolf (Hyperion), The Creation (Philips), des mélodies de Rachmaninov avec Howard Shelley (Chandos) et un disque Hyperion de mélodies de Prokofiev, Moussorgski, Chostakovitch et Britten. Elle a reçu le Royal Philharmonic Society Award de Singer of the Year 1997, ainsi que l'Evening Standard Award 1997 pour une interprétation remarquable à l'opéra. Joan Rodgers a été faite CBE dans la New Year's Honours List de 2001. Dans sa Singing Masterclass, Joan met toute cette expérience de la scène et du studio directement au service des étudiants, en travaillant de près la technique, la langue, l'interprétation et le jeu scénique. Tu entendras comment se construit une grande chanson ou un grand air, phrase par phrase, et tu apprendras à apporter ce même art et ce même souci du détail à ton propre chant. read more




