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Acting in Plays, Singing/age restrictions and roles

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Expert: - 7/8/2008


Question
Hi Sean,

Okay, so I've been an aspiring professional singer since fourteen. Classical training began at seventeen, but it was only when I reached twenty-three that I actually got a great vocal coach as others before had categorized my voice incorrectly and you can guess the outcome of that. Vocally, I'm a colouratura (according to my voice coach)...which was somewhat disappointing for me as I've heard that the role of Christine Daae is more lyric... which is a role I've been aspiring to play since I began to sing. There are many other roles I have in mind, but to conquer Christine's role would be a dream!! I guess what I'm asking is 1)When would I be too old to play Christine (is it just a matter of looking like you're in your twenties) and 2)Can a colouratura sing Christine or would she sound too much like Carlotta (another role I wouldn't mind depicting :)

Thanks in advance,
Gabriella

Answer
Hello, Gabriella –

Thank you for the question.  I appreciate your sincerity and understand the frustrations you express.  Let me help you – OK?

The role of "Christine Daae" in Andrew Lloyd Webber's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is a dime-a-dozen role vocally speaking.  Any lyric soprano can sing it; any coloratura soprano – with nothing else to do – can sing it.  The show is over 20 years old.  It has been produced around the globe and is commonplace in non-paying local theatre companies and colleges.  Thus, thousands of sopranos – of all stripes – have performed the role.  In fact, an enthusiastic, young and well-trained lyric or coloratura mezzo-soprano can easily carry off the role given the "pop" nature of its lower register.

Line up a dozen or more girls – whose vocal qualifications and musicianship are of equal value – for a CD recording project. Chances are, no matter who is chosen, the end results will be the same: yet another lovely recording of the PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.  However, it does not follow that the same singer will be hired to perform the role on stage – unless, of course, she looks like a porn star who could also be in a daytime TV soap opera, might have some classical ballet training, and is so not going to be cast in a mother role such as "Carlotta".  Simple.

The appeal of "Christine" is obviously due to the melodramatic nature of the story and the possibility of appearing in a production with an unlimited budget for costumes and sets.  Totally understandable, right?

My concern for you as a professional vocal coach is that you are now beyond 23 and have misspelled coloratura and are not totally certain it is your true vocal category.  No one hired to play "Christine" in a professional production can turn around and play "Carlotta".  The roles sit in completely different vocal categories.  If that were not true, then anyone qualified to play "Carlotta" (including a high school production where age is not the issue) could step-in for "Christine".  Not going to happen.

You need to get a more accurate grip on what it means to be a true lyric and/or coloratura soprano.  Professional vocal training includes a relationship to repertoire written for your specific vocal category.  To be dreaming about Webber's "Christine" is a waste of your time and your life.

While you are digesting all of the above, listen to the opera LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR by Gaetano Donizetti.  There are three excellent recordings featuring world renowned coloratura sopranos Joan Sutherland, Beverly Sills and Natalie Dessay (the French version).

I am a professional singing teacher and vocal coach in San Francisco.  If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, you can contact me through Craig's List – http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/lss/735495752.html — and at www.SanFranciscoSentinel.com.

Take a look at my You Tubes:
Lorena Feijóo - A Look at "Giselle" with Seán Martinfield
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I am also the fine arts critc for the San Francisco Sentinel.  Below are some links to recent articles and reviews:

SAN FRANCISCO SILENT FILM FESTIVAL OPENS TONIGHT
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VERTIGO – AT THE LEGION OF HONOR, July 10th
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http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?cat=65

SILENT FILM FESTIVAL, 2008 – Opens Friday, July 11th at The Castro Theatre
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http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/

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ARIODANTE – Cross-Dressing Goes Baroque – at SAN FRANCISCO OPERA
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WOMEN IMPRESSIONISTS – At San Francisco’s Legion of Honor
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TIMOTHY HORN – BITTER SUITE – A Sweet Tribute To Alma Spreckels
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‘TIS PITY SHE’S A WHORE – At A.C.T through July 6th
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60TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT – San Francisco Boys Chorus celebrates this Sunday Night at the War Memorial Opera House
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=13747

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Best regards,
Seán Martinfield

Acting in Plays, Singing

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Sean Martinfield

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I am a professional vocal coach in San Francisco. In addition to answers from a previous web site (Askme.com - where my "tag" was "VocalCoach") I have published over 2000 responses related to vocal training - particularly as it relates to Musical Theatre and Opera. I have 24 years of experience as Personal Trainer to singers and actors in the San Francisco Bay Area. I sang professionally for 20 years and know what it means to live the life of a musician. I can determine your voice category, i.e., Tenor, Baritone, Bass, Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Alto Belter, etc., and how to broaden and strengthen your range. Need an audition song for a Broadway Musical? I will give you suggestions that are appropriate to your vocal category and to requirements specified in the audition notice. I have also created a vocal methodology, "The Belter`s Method". It will enable those in Musical Theatre to practice more efficiently because it focuses on the demands of professional performers as well as to those auditioning for school and community productions, and as University and Conservatory performing arts majors. If what you want is a better voice and more control over your career moves and choices, contact me. Also, as the Editor of SanFranciscoSentinel.com, it is my privilege to review productions at the San Francisco Opera, Ballet and Symphony, as well as Broadway National Tours booked into San Francisco's Orpheum, Golden Gate and Curran Theatres. I also review works by A.C.T (the American Conservatory Theatre) and Magic Theatre. I cover select films, tributes and retrospects, and various international film festivals – particulary those booked into The City's opulent Castro Theatre – including the LGBT Frameline Festival, International Film Festival, Silent Film Festival, Jewish Film Festival, etc. For private vocal instruction, I can be contacted through SanFranciscoSentinel.com. Look under: Seán Martinfield, Sentinel Editor and Publisher.

Experience

As a vocal coach, I work primarily with singers and actors throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. My students range from absolute beginners to working professionals, from pre-schoolers to senior citizens. The vast majority of my clients come to me through recommendation. I know how to identify any singer's vocal category, i.e., soprano, tenor, alto, baritone, etc. I know how to muscle-up every singer's vocal range and to expand it beyond conventional definitions. I have developed a vocal methodology for those who want to know how to belt, THE BELTER'S METHOD. As a singer who spent half of his career doing Bel Canto, I know that classical or Italian methodologies do not work in Standard American music. Bel Canto cannot be "adapted" to meet the needs of contemporary American music, including the demands of the Musical Theatre. There are a number of major components to my work as a vocal coach. The first is to identify the client's vocal category and to strengthen and maximize the vocal range accordingly. Then it's about teaching a reliable vocal workout that will enable the client to gain better control of their musicianship. That includes scale work to expand the vocal range and to improve placement, breath control, and diction. Then we work on material for the audition portfolio, the immediate job or assignment, a recording session, etc. My task to is to better equip singers and actors who are hoping to or relying upon their performance skills and vocal endurance to maintain a career in the Performing Arts. My clients regularly appear in cabarets and musical productions throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Some have worked in New York and gone on National Tours. For more information, Contact me at: Broadwaybelters@yahoo.com

Education/Credentials
San Francisco State University – BA in Theatre Arts; graduate work in Theatre, Philosophy, and Comparative Reiligion. Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley – Graduate work in Ethics

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