Acting in Opera: A Contemporary Guide for the Inquisitive

Young Artist
by Nicholas Muni

The Seven Cornerstones of great singing-acting in opera: Musicianship, Vocalism, Acting,

Language, Dance, Artistry and Professionalism
Expertise in each of these areas individually can create a satisfying experience for an audience
member. A moment in which acting, musicianship and dance are suspended in favor of
astonishing vocalism can be wonderful. But it does not hold a candle to the moments when all
seven areas are operating at full throttle.

Musicianship
What is this thing we call “musicianship”? And can superior musicianship in and of itself be
exciting to an audience? If so, what makes it exciting?

Pitch
Pure pitch occurs when the fundamental vibration of the pitch in question, say A-440, dominates
the tone being produced. The nature of vibrato, which is one aspect that makes singing pleasant to
the ear, is that it consists of oscillating pitch: the core pitch (A-440) and a secondary pitch, usually
about a semi-tone lower.

Rhythm
A consistent heartbeat is a universal, primal experience for humans. As we develop in our most
primitive state, in the womb, the mother’s heartbeat is a constant companion, hard-wired to every
emotional experience. In music, the regularity of the heartbeat (the tactus) provides security and
relaxation to the listener, enabling them to descend into their primal emotional pool.

Tempo
While tempo is primarily the speed of the “heartbeat”, it also has a qualitative
component. Allegro not only has a metronomic definition but a qualitative one as well and the
interplay between speed and mood is one of the hallmarks of a good sense of tempo.

Dynamics
Understanding the “drama” of dynamics is vital. It goes beyond forte = loud and piano = soft. It has
to do with restraint and release. What makes a piano exciting is the potential energy, energy that
is restrained. The opposite is true of forte in which the energy is released. Of course, there are
various types of piano and forte, for example sforzando, in which sound is used as a momentary
aural assault. But the concept of restraint and release remains foundational.

Articulation
Staccato, marcato, legato, sostenuto, sforzando, slurs, etc. These markings serve as interpretative
guides directly from the composer. But it is not enough to merely execute them, the performing
artist must transform these markings into personal meaning.

Style
Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Expressionism, etc. Understanding and being able to execute the
“rules and codes” of the various musical styles is fundamental to good musicianship.
Vocalism
A massive topic, to be sure. But if we were to reduce it to an essence of excellence, it might read
something like this: the ability to sing every pitch easily, with the center of the pitch dominating
the tone but with the full spectrum of harmonics (ring) present and with a “natural” vibrato; to be
able to produce this kind of tone on every pitch in the singer’s range, on every vowel shape, at
every dynamic level—including the transitions of crescendo and decrescendo —in any
articulation (legato, staccato, etc.) and at any tempo.

Acting
Another massive topic. But instead of producing tone, the actor produces believability. In this
sense, the essence of acting might be reduced to: the ability to create 100% believability in your
character, compelling emotional engagement on the part of the audience. No matter what
character, no matter what illusion required, the actor has the technique to create 100%
believability and, thereby, to compel emotional engagement in the audience.

Language
The use of text to stimulate emotion through cognition is a vital skill for the singer-actor, even
though the musical and vocal expression may seem to dominate. The reason is that ideation can
broaden the spectrum of emotion beyond the capabilities of sound waves (music and vocalism).
Great diction is essential, but only as a vehicle for comprehension of the idea within the words,
between the words and beneath the words. The sub-textual meaning of the words is what
influences, even dictates, the expression. So when a mentor says “how beautifully you used the
words” or compliments a singer-actor on their good sense of the text, they are really referring to
the fact that the artist has discovered the sub-textual meaning and brought that meaning
out through the text. We tend to think of foreign language requirements for opera singers in terms
of pronunciation first, then vocabulary and grammar second—and certainly these skills are
absolutely essential. But in order to convey the all important sub-text, a much deeper level of
fluency is required, not only to get to the point where one feels the depth of the language but
also to understand the cultural “code” imbedded in a language, which goes well beyond grammar
and vocabulary. As daunting a thought as this may seem, only when a singer-actor is fluent in a
language can the full expressive range of that language begin to be leveraged. But take heart:
there is still a great deal of expressive power you can exercise even if you are not fluent in a
foreign language.

Dance
I use the term “dance” as a sort of shorthand. What I mean is story-telling with the body. The
singer-actor is occasionally called upon to use structured movement in their story telling, i.e. a
waltz, a pavanne or the “Charleston”. But they are constantly story-telling with their bodies in
terms of body language and the audience is constantly receiving visual information through the
physical shapes and movements of the singer-actor that create understanding and trigger
emotion.

Artistry
Artistry is the act of putting all of the skill and craft mentioned in the above categories at the
service of expression. Without something to express, all the skill and craft in the world may be
impressive, even stunning, but it won’t make the audience fully transcend. Artistry is the domain
beyond technique. When an artist attains the technical ability to express anything clearly,
beautifully and easily what is it s/he actually wishes to say? What are your viewpoints about the
great topics of existence: love, death, religion, spirituality, family, compassion, fidelity, freedom,
propriety, tolerance, society, capital punishment, freedom, the class system, poverty, privilege,
charity, etc.?

Professionalism
To sing, dance and tell stories are natural acts. We do them as children, from a very early age.
But to do any of these on command, when we do not feel in the mood—that is very unnatural.
That is the domain of the professional.

THE FUNDAMENTAL SEQUENCE

There is a psycho-emotional sequence that occurs within each audience member during any
performance that is essential for the artist to understand in order to be fully effective: Believe—
Infer—Invest—Feel
This is the sequence an audience member follows on the road to truly being moved by a
performance—and to appreciating an artist’s work.

Believe
It is absolutely paramount that the actor compels belief on the part of the audience. The actor
must do only those things that will create belief and, conversely, not do anything that will destroy
belief. Without success in this first step, the remainder of the fundamental sequence implodes.
What is it that we wish the audience to believe? Clearly, we don’t expect them to believe that what
they are seeing is real in any literal sense; it is patently false compared to reality. But as part of
the “contract” between actors and audience, each audience member engages in the willing
suspension of disbelief. In other words, the audience yearns to pretend that what is going on is
real. Why would they do this? Because the emotional payoffs are worth the temporary self-
delusion.

Infer
When an audience member believes in what is transpiring onstage, they automatically begin to
infer, i.e., they begin to invent meaning. They start to create stories in their own minds; they fill
in potential meaning of the events, the relationships between the characters, the likely outcomes,
etc. This is a process over which the actor has zero control—but they can embrace this
phenomenon and allow space for it to occur. It is vital for the actor to understand that unless an
audience believes, they are unable to infer. Even a single moment of disbelief can stall or
completely halt the process of audience inference.

Invest
Once an audience member believes and begins to infer, they automatically invest.
They personalize the experience. This personalizing or investing process is complex, deeply felt
and idiosyncratic. It cannot be predicted or controlled by the actor because every human being
is, psychologically and emotionally, uniquely wired.
Feel
This is the brass ring for artists, the ultimate goal. Why else do we do what we do if not to evoke
and/or provoke strong, meaningful and long-lasting emotional responses? If you agree that this
is your goal as an artist, then it is important to master an acting technique that is, if not sure-fire,
then at least optimizes your chances for success in this quest. “Making” an audience feel is an
elusive quest, fragile, impossible. The moment you try to make them feel something in particular,
you fail. This failure happens for a very natural and deep-seeded reason: it is human nature to
become terrified or resentful when we sense another person trying to manipulate us—and we turn
off—no one likes being controlled.

But the mechanism called “art” allows for indirect manipulation (control) of the audiences’
emotional state through the willing suspension of disbelief and the sequence of inference and
investment that follows.

The only phase in this sequence over which the artist has direct control is compelling belief—or
destroying it. Everything beyond that lies completely in the hands of each audience member.

Fach, Type and Career Friction

Fach
When deciding which roles you should be singing—and when—there is the obvious question: can
you sing all the notes? But making effective decisions in this regard is a bit more complicated than
that. Here are some thoughts to consider.

• Can you sing all the notes written for the role easily? Can you easily sing (and sustain) a third
above the highest note written for the role and, though less critical, a third below the lowest note.
• What is the tessitura of the role and do you sing very easily in that part of your voice?
• Can you sing the heaviest and most dramatic segments of the role easily and several times in a
row in the studio?
• Is the majority of the role written in a sostenuto or declamato style and to which of these styles
does your voice respond better? Is there a lot of syllabic writing (declamato), especially near either
of the principal passagi?
• Is your voice the type that takes a while to “warm up”? If so, what are the vocal demands in the
first act?
• What is the “flow” of the role? Where are your vocal resting places and how long are they? In
terms of the production, do you know if it will be one of those approaches in which you are onstage
during times when your character would normally be offstage taking a break? Will the
intermissions be taken where they are called for in the score (this is an especially important
question for German theater system offers, where there are generally fewer intermissions)?
• What is the orchestration for the heaviest and longest scene you have in the piece? Look
especially for brass and woodwind writing, especially sustained writing.
• Does a significant amount of the vocal writing lie near or within the lower passagio? If so, do you
traverse the lower passagio easily and with good squillo? And what is the orchestration like in
those segments?
• What are the emotional/dramatic demands of the piece for your character. These are a highly
underestimated aspect of decision-making. And can wear out a voice very quickly. Is yours the
type of voice that responds well to a high-adrenalin, “neurotic” dramatic situation? Further, the
heaviest of those types of scenes usually occur in the second half of the role. Is your voice one
 that tends to get stronger as you sing through a role or does your voice feel freshest and most
powerful early on in the evening?
• What articulation type of voice do you have (Leggiero, Lirico, Lirico-spinto, Spinto, Dramatico) and
what type does the role call for?. If it is a lirico-spinto role, does your voice really respond well
to spinto articulation? Or is your voice really a lirico, albeit a large or full lirico?
• What size theater (seating capacity) will you be performing the role in?
• What is the acoustic of that theater (especially important in the German theater system regional
houses, where the acoustic of many of the houses is designed to also accommodate drama—
which requires a dryer acoustic in order for text to be understood. It is extremely easy to sing the
“bloom” off the voice by unintentionally pushing in this type of acoustical environment) and what
is the acoustical balance between pit and stage in that theater?
• Who will be conducting? Is it a conductor known for controlling the dynamics and maintaining
transparency of orchestral sound or a conductor who “guns” it with the band? Also, is the conductor
known for demanding (or inspiring) full out singing during the entire rehearsal period?
• Who is the stage director (producer)? Is it a director who demands “high octane” emotional
performances or physically strenuous action? Also important, is the director known for demanding
(or inspiring) full-out rehearsals (even if you mark vocally)? Is the director known for “through-
composed” regie, in which your character is likely to be onstage more than indicated in the score?
• Will this be a new production? Inevitably, new productions involve much more emotional stress
than revivals. Do you, as a person, a performer and a vocalist, respond positively or negatively to
emotional stress?
• What roles will you be rehearsing and performing before and after this engagement? If the roles
are substantially different (style, tessitura, articulation type, etc.), is there enough time between
the engagements for your voice to acclimate, especially if it involves a very short rehearsal period?
• What is the career pressure level of the engagement relative to your present career status? Is it a
career upward move, lateral move or a downward move? And what is the career and press
exposure potential of the engagement?

This list of questions, while not comprehensive, should provide a good guide in deciding
upon which roles to sing when, in which theaters and in which situations.

Most on above-mentioned list you have direct control over. But to some extent each of us are
have certain qualities “by nature”. One of them is our basic vocal sound, the other is our basic
visual attributes. In both of these areas we can make refinements, we grow and change as we
mature but the basic qualities will dominate.

It is when we put these basic qualities in combination with roles that require different qualities that
we encounter career friction. If the combination is at extreme odds, we hit a career wall.

If you are OK with encountering some failure in exchange for the pleasure you get from doing
roles that create career friction for you, then it is fine to proceed in that vein. If not, you may need
to do some reflecting and objective analysis.

If struggle and career insecurity are not your thing, best to align your choices with your “natural”
attributes.