David Coughanour and Dr. Arden Hopkin, School of Music
This project entailed studying with great performers, directors and pedagogues to increase my ability in and understanding of Italian Opera. My primary study took place at the Atlantic Music Festival this last summer from July 11th to August 14th. I was able to study with Dr. Carla Rae Cook, Dr. Anton Belov, Dr. Arlene Schrut and Dr. Nic Muni.
The intensive 4-week program allowed me to prepare for several contests and my Junior Recital at BYU. It enabled me to win the Utah Valley Symphony Young Artist Competition, and to receive a letter of interest from Dr. Gerry Pope from Boston University.
The training program at AMF was rigorous. We began with movement class at 7:30 A.M., followed by opera rehearsal, personal coaching, and master classes throughout the day. Most of the nights were taken up by performances. I have never followed such a demanding performance schedule before, and I feel that it taught me what I can expect of my body in a professional situation.
Our responsibilities also included collaborative pieces with other artists at the festival as well as performances with the symphony. I chose to perform “Dover Beach” by Samuel Barber with a fantastic string quartet. This experience was one of the most challenging of the festival. The quartet didn’t know what to think of the piece, and most of them had never worked with a vocalist before. Performing with them required me to take charge of the rehearsal and to be completely prepared to answer any question about the score. After much hard work, we were able to perform at a very high level. The performance was a personal best for me.
In the realm of Italian Opera, I was able to study with two experts in the field, Dr. Muni and Dr. Schrut. Dr. Muni is a professional opera director, a former basso profundo at the La Scala, and a master of the Italian language. Dr. Schrut is the head of the collaborative piano department at Julliard and an expert in Italian Opera in the common practice period.
Dr. Muni spent many hours coaching my Italian language skills and helping me to understand how a phrase is put together in Italian. My knowledge of the inflection of other languages did not seem to carry over very well into Italian. After much work, I am now able to sound much more Italian than I did at the beginning of the summer. I also feel confident that I have enough knowledge to go about learning songs on my own, without leaning so heavily on my teachers. I also feel that I can teach what I have learned about Italian and recognize when others are pronouncing correctly or incorrectly.
My time with Dr. Schrut was also well spent. A large critique that has been consistently leveled at me involves performing Italian Opera in a more German style. Her diligent teaching has greatly aided me in my understanding of style. Understanding this style has actually made sound production much easier and has added to my comfort in performing on stage. My biggest discovery was that the style actually has logical and practical purposes. The style was developed partly out of a need to streamline and simplify the performance process. Mozart especially seems to have been aware of the needs of the performer and constructed his music accordingly.
Upon my arrival home, I set about planning my Junior Recital. This recital heavily relied on the instruction I received during my time at AMF. I was able to perform art song in the Italian Baroque style without critique, something for which I have always been heavily criticized. I was also able to pronounce my arias in such a way that my adjudicators complimented me on my Italian diction. It was very satisfying to have areas that were weaknesses become strengths.
The culmination of this large and lengthy project was satisfying. It was very nice to have my Junior Recital done with so early and to be so well prepared for it. I am grateful to those who made it possible for me to complete this project. I could not have done it without my ORCA grant and the tutelage of great teachers. This study of Italian opera has afforded me many new opportunities. I look forward to continuing my studies.