Marzo 2019 Tokyo
Masterclass Arte della Lirica Italiana 2019 (3°edition)
17-18 March-the 2 days course
19 March-Workshop of vocal technique
March 21-24 -the 4 days course
March 25 – private lessons
29 March -“LIBRETTIAMO”: Lecture on “Lyrical poetry in Le Nozze di Figaro”Speakers: Carlo Boschi and Manabu Morita
Total attendance: 96 people
Vocal technique and interpretation: Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz
Analysis of the lyrical-musical text: Carlo Boschi
◆Comments from partecipants
T.I – Student of the Masterclass
Thank you so much for admitting me to the Masterclass of Le Muse. The lessons of Carlo and Elisabetta were full of passion and deeply inspired me. At first, I felt a little uncomfortable because I didn’t know the other participants, but immediately I got to know the people sitting next to me: the atmosphere was really friendly and sympathetic!
Besides correcting the pronunciation of the texts (open and closed vowels, accents, doubles, etc.), Professor Carlo clarified many other aspects of the interpretation: origins of the works, styles of the composers, secrets hidden in the score and much more. Even after the end of the Masterclass I continued to think about everything I had discovered… I still have a lot of work to do.
Maestra Elizabeth taught me how to use my breath, how to make the right sound, how to naturally reach the highs, etc.. He gave a sense to my efforts, finalizing them to the optimal use of every part of the body.
For example, when you intone a high pitched sound, she makes you feel good about the right position of your mouth, touches you in the right places and your sound immediately changes for the better. I’ve heard it on myself!
In the end, I was free to really think about the character I was playing and I really enjoyed “living” the words and expressions of the song.
I still have a beautiful memory of the photos, with all my friends and teachers smiling.
I want to go back and get these lessons right away!
I’m committed to working hard to grow even more in the next Masterclass.
Thank you very much.
◆Comments from Workshop participants
K.S
Thank you so much for this wonderful project.It’s been 20 years since I started studying singing, but is it the first time I’ve been able to clearly feel the mechanism of my body, the fullness of voice and the timbre.
Four hours passed in an instant and not a word could be left out or wasted. It seemed to me to “touch” everything that has been said and experienced.
The day before I had participated as an auditor in the Masterclass. After the Workshop I returned because the interest was very strong.
I don’t know how much I really understood the great teaching of the Teacher, but my voice has definitely changed. I think it is easy for anyone to understand and re-educate themselves with this teaching: really to try!
What most shocked me was that, in a very short time, I clearly found the position of the vibration and I easily maintained it. Before I sang thinking a lot about the direction of the sound, but listening to the vibrations and singing freely was a big problem for me. Thanks to this Workshop, I have abandoned my previous concerns.
I knew Maestra Elizabeth well, but in person her generosity and that of the organizer, Satoko Kawabata, put me in a perfect relaxed position and ready to receive these gifts.
Thank you so much!
B.
The guidance of Maestra Elizabeth was invaluable: she explained to me where I should support my voice, how I can “capture” the sound and govern it with my emission.
So, I’m fully satisfied with the work. At first, it all seemed like new things to me and I thought I couldn’t deal with all these unknown stimuli. Then, the breathing exercises with the plastic bottle, the positions on the floor on the mat gave me a perfect balance between head and body in just 4 hours!
Of course, there are still several questions, but it only serves to wish to return as soon as possible to work with the teacher and have her available for more time.
T.
A lot of content has been proposed and not everyone has been able to internalize it. But it was great to hear the answers to a lot of questions that had accompanied me for a long time. You could understand what it actually felt like to sing.
I could only participate for half a day, but I would have liked to have stayed longer. Next year I will not miss the new appointments.
I am grateful to the staff, as well as the teachers, for the perfect planning of the Workshop.
Thank you very much.
Y.
Thank you for organising this “Speech Workshop”.
As Satoko said at the end of the session, I don’t think there is another teacher who, like Elizabeth, can explain so well how the whole body works in the practice of opera singing.
I realize how many teachers I have interrogated to date and how much I have missed this clarity that I found in the Workshop de Le Muse.
I want to be aware of what I have learned and put it into practice. I will certainly attend Elizabeth’s next lessons: it was a very happy moment: everything seemed easy and very clear to understand.
Thank you so much for the wonderful opportunity!
I look forward to meeting you again.
◆Comments and answers from online listeners of “Librettiamo”
Some answers to the questionnaire sent after the conference “Librettiamo”, on the poetry of Lorenzo Da Ponte for Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.
How did the theme of the conference seem to you?
– It was very good. I would like to repeat these experiences regularly.
– It was beautiful. I thought I spoke Italian well. But many of the explanations given were a great discovery.
– I discovered the real language of Figaro! It seems to me to be a fundamental work for the preparation of every Italian opera: an excellent opportunity for young singers, directors, conductors. The online participation allowed me to follow even from afar and it’s a great advantage!
– It completely captured my attention. I wanted to program the connection first so as not to lose a single word.
– This kind of work will be very useful for me for future studies.
– Very instructive. Thank you for choosing such a famous work.
– It’s very interesting to discover all the relationships between the phonetic aspects and the emotions of the characters. Just a deep look at the Italian language and melodrama.
– It made me very aware of these forms of expression.
– I fully understood the difference between Japanese and Italian in the way they express themselves emotionally. I could never have understood it so well without this lesson
. What do you think about the cost of the lesson?・
– Very accessible: perfect for my condition as a student!
– Optimal-
– It felt right.
– Very reasonable price.
Could you give us an opinion about the class on Internet.
– It would be nice to make this kind of appointments a regular occurrence. Since they can be attended online, I would like to follow the lessons here in Tokyo regularly, including those from Italy. For me it would be ideal on Friday night.
– With proper planning, I would like to continue the meetings throughout the year. This about the wedding was great.
– Very nice to listen to the Italian of the teachers. Music to our ears.
– If only we could continue, after this rehearsal meeting…. I would be willing to face even a higher expense, to have other lessons like this.
– Thank you very much. In a future lesson, I would also like to hear the opinions of Mrs. Elizabeth.
– It was very convenient and useful to follow the online conference for all those, like me, who do not have time to be present in Tokyo.
– I live in a rural area away from Tokyo and there are no opportunities to participate in cultural events like this. The seminar was a very rare learning opportunity. I hope it will be repeated as often as possible. Here, where I live, I am sure that other people would also like to take such lessons. Please keep me informed about any continuation of the work or other similar initiatives. One suggestion: could a chat session be envisaged, with questions to teachers also online? Thank you very much and congratulations!
