Opera vs. Orchestra
Last night, I attended a concert of the MIT Chamber Music Society. Having spent high school and college as a vocal performance major, I am currently trying to maintain the presence of classical music in my life, in addition to my other professional and personal interests.
I find it both inspirational and bittersweet: On the one hand, I am reminded that musicians are always musicians, whether they perform or not. On the other hand, I am reminded of how much technique I have forgotten, despite over a decade of practice.
The selections and the performers in last night's concert were both outstanding. The pieces were Fantastie in F minor, Op.103 by Franz Schubert (for four hands!) and the piano trio in G minor, Op.15 by Bedrich Smetana.
As I watched the Fantasie, I was struck by the differences between public speaking and performing on an instrument, which are also differences between opera and orchestra.
In public speaking, as in opera, the performer is an actor: conveying emotion through one's face, body language, and voice. The text itself is important, but is not nearly so without these presentational aspects. No scripts are used in an effort to maximize the actor's contact with the audience. (And public speaking is definitely a form of acting; no matter what kind of bad day you are having, you cannot pass it along to your audience.)
However, in an orchestra or instrumental performance, it is the opposite. The focus is almost exclusively on the music itself; aside from bowing, no eye contact is made with the audience, sheet music is the extreme focus of the performers, and there could quite possibly be no emotion on their faces, despite the glorious sounds emitting from their instruments.
But it varies from performer to performer, and I'd like to compare each of the two pieces I heard last night as examples.
The piano Fantasie for four hands involved three actors: two pianists sitting at one piano, and a page-turner. The two pianists (male and female) sat side-by-side on the same bench, eyes focused intently either on their sheet music or on their instrument. With every crescendo or decrescendo, with every scherzo or pizzico their arms and hands reacted, the music flowed out of the piano with amazing emotion and feeling, yet the performer's faces were motionless. They could have been sitting bored through a lecture. And they were so perfectly in synch with one another, that their eyes never met, despite the fact that their hands caressed and intertwined throughout the piece. It was at the same time intimate and distanced.
The piano trio was somewhat different. It involved four actors: a (different) pianist, a cellist, and a violinist, all of whom were female, and a male page turner who was the pianist from the previous piece. As in the Fantastie, there was no eye contact with the audience, and they mostly focused their eyes on their music or on their instruments. However, the energy in their performance was completely alive; they frequently made eye contact with each other, whether to ensure consistent entry or exit on a passage, smile at a favorite section, or otherwise share emotion. The energy and emotion came not only from the beautiful music they produced, but also from their visible relationship with one another.
Both performances were powerful, arresting, and professional. But I was struck by the inherent differences between opera and orchestra, between singing and playing an instrument.
Since much of my time is dedicated to helping people improve their presentation skills by establishing a connection with their audience, it is fascinating to realize that other aspects of performing require little to no interaction with the audience, and nevertheless result in being absolutely effective. It reminded me that the variables, the possibilities in every field, are endless, and it instilled in me a sense of awe and appreciation for the infinite combinations that can be made.
I find it both inspirational and bittersweet: On the one hand, I am reminded that musicians are always musicians, whether they perform or not. On the other hand, I am reminded of how much technique I have forgotten, despite over a decade of practice.
The selections and the performers in last night's concert were both outstanding. The pieces were Fantastie in F minor, Op.103 by Franz Schubert (for four hands!) and the piano trio in G minor, Op.15 by Bedrich Smetana.
As I watched the Fantasie, I was struck by the differences between public speaking and performing on an instrument, which are also differences between opera and orchestra.
In public speaking, as in opera, the performer is an actor: conveying emotion through one's face, body language, and voice. The text itself is important, but is not nearly so without these presentational aspects. No scripts are used in an effort to maximize the actor's contact with the audience. (And public speaking is definitely a form of acting; no matter what kind of bad day you are having, you cannot pass it along to your audience.)
However, in an orchestra or instrumental performance, it is the opposite. The focus is almost exclusively on the music itself; aside from bowing, no eye contact is made with the audience, sheet music is the extreme focus of the performers, and there could quite possibly be no emotion on their faces, despite the glorious sounds emitting from their instruments.
But it varies from performer to performer, and I'd like to compare each of the two pieces I heard last night as examples.
The piano Fantasie for four hands involved three actors: two pianists sitting at one piano, and a page-turner. The two pianists (male and female) sat side-by-side on the same bench, eyes focused intently either on their sheet music or on their instrument. With every crescendo or decrescendo, with every scherzo or pizzico their arms and hands reacted, the music flowed out of the piano with amazing emotion and feeling, yet the performer's faces were motionless. They could have been sitting bored through a lecture. And they were so perfectly in synch with one another, that their eyes never met, despite the fact that their hands caressed and intertwined throughout the piece. It was at the same time intimate and distanced.
The piano trio was somewhat different. It involved four actors: a (different) pianist, a cellist, and a violinist, all of whom were female, and a male page turner who was the pianist from the previous piece. As in the Fantastie, there was no eye contact with the audience, and they mostly focused their eyes on their music or on their instruments. However, the energy in their performance was completely alive; they frequently made eye contact with each other, whether to ensure consistent entry or exit on a passage, smile at a favorite section, or otherwise share emotion. The energy and emotion came not only from the beautiful music they produced, but also from their visible relationship with one another.
Both performances were powerful, arresting, and professional. But I was struck by the inherent differences between opera and orchestra, between singing and playing an instrument.
Since much of my time is dedicated to helping people improve their presentation skills by establishing a connection with their audience, it is fascinating to realize that other aspects of performing require little to no interaction with the audience, and nevertheless result in being absolutely effective. It reminded me that the variables, the possibilities in every field, are endless, and it instilled in me a sense of awe and appreciation for the infinite combinations that can be made.
posted by Allison at 11:04 AM
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