We spent the week preparing for a final concert, which was performed at the Hotel, with Christa Ludwig acting as Master of Ceremonies. The programme consisted of Opera favourites and German Lieder. I opened the concert with Prince Orlovsky's aria, then sang two Mahler lieder from Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit, and a Brahms duet (Die Schwestern) with my friend Jenifer Lary, another curly-haired singer. It was very cute.
I learned some very valuable lessons during this program - but not the ones I was expecting to learn. Instead of gaining insight on German diction, lieder style, or vocal technique, I was surprised to learn that Frau Ludwig, as well as the other program participants, consider my voice to be that of a soprano, due to it's "light colour". I had never claimed to have a particularly dark voice, which is why I call myself a "lyric mezzo" rather than a "dramatic mezzo". However, according to the Austrian aesthetic (or at least that of Frau Ludwig), my voice is more interesting in my higher register. Indeed, I never heard true Mezzos until I arrived at this program. I didn't know such rich voices could exist in singers so young. I sounded like the Queen of the Night in comparison. All this to say, that I am rather confused at the moment, and eager to gain the opinion of other European pedagogues. Perhaps I will have to market myself differently in Europe than I do in North America. Or perhaps a "Zwischenfach" or "Falcon" classification will someday be in order. However, these fach classifications seem to be rather sensitive, and a little old-fashioned, so I may have to just choose - soprano, or mezzo.
In the mean-time, I continue to be inspired by other "lyric mezzos" with a lighter voice colour, who have been accused of being "lazy sopranos" - Frederica von Stade, Susan Graham, Magdalena Kozena, Anne Sofie von Otter, Angelika Kirchschlager, and Joyce Didonato. Ladies, give me strength!
Here's a clip of me singing Prince Orlovsky's aria for Christa Ludwig. You can even hear her voice as she chimes in during Eisenstein's line :)
Here's a clip of me singing Prince Orlovsky's aria for Christa Ludwig. You can even hear her voice as she chimes in during Eisenstein's line :)
