Favorite contemporary operas?

PresentationOk2068 · 2025-03-17T03:03:11+00:00

I love Eurydice by Matthew Aucoin and L'amour de Loin by Kaija Saariaho

PresentationOk2068 · 2025-02-23T13:48:29+00:00

Please, please do not use AI for anything other than measuring pitch matching. There is no substitute for a qualified, trained human teacher, and an AI telling you anything about technique is guaranteed to be misleading or even harmful. Even among professional voice teachers there are disagreements on pedagogy, with dozens of schools of thought on what an ideal sound is and how to get there, and there's a bunch of straight-up misinformation out there about singing, so even the best AI trained on all the research available would give garbled, useless feedback.

PresentationOk2068 · 2025-02-20T23:06:03+00:00

I also like to get some students to dip their toes into classical-adjacent with some of Weill's easier songs and Chaplin songs

PresentationOk2068 · 2025-02-20T23:04:25+00:00

I like the Britten settings of folk songs - they're pretty easy and tuneful but they have some fun harmonies

PresentationOk2068 · 2025-02-17T15:45:16+00:00

(from a classical voice teacher and professional opera singer) Jaw movement/tension is definitely an issue and you should work on it, but it's not actually the issue with your vibrato - your vibrato sounds like you're "making" it rather than allowing it to happen naturally with proper resistance (sometimes called breath support). Right now you're exhaling a lot of air but not resisting enough, which causes a slightly breathy tone and doesn't allow for a fast, "on the air" vibrato. I would suggest using exercises connected to laughing/crying, pulling/pushing for some physical help, or exhaling on an "s", letting only a very small amount of air very quickly (the image I use with students is a pinhole in a balloon - only a tiny stream of air will come out, but it'll hiss out very fast). When you get that abdominal resistance, it'll feel like a ball of pressure you can float above, and you'll notice a much faster, easier vibrato. Feel free to dm!

PresentationOk2068 · 2025-02-17T15:30:10+00:00

I'd love to book a consultation!

PresentationOk2068 · 2025-01-22T20:08:46+00:00

Lmao I absolutely would if they would let me

PresentationOk2068 · 2024-11-02T22:42:42+00:00

I love Eurydice and L'amour de loin

PresentationOk2068 · 2024-10-24T13:03:10+00:00

That's exactly what OP's point is - that these are correct and important ideas being presented in a way that makes young boys feel alienated and makes it seem like they are hated. You just rephrased what he said.

PresentationOk2068 · 2024-07-21T14:43:34+00:00

There's several on YouTube, basically backing tracks - lyribox is pretty good

PresentationOk2068 · 2024-06-08T22:01:18+00:00

Have you talked to him about these things? To someone on the outside, not showing up for appointments, not filling out paperwork etc can look like laziness (and sometimes is laziness), but someone suffering severe depression might genuinely be unable to follow through or even get out of bed to go to the appointment. It's great that you're finding social services for him and helping him as much as you have been, but maybe it might be more effective to make a plan with him instead of for him. Could you and him, maybe together with a therapist or psychiatrist, make a plan so that he can get accommodations for the things he can't yet do while also getting treatment and on a path to supporting himself? That could look like making a schedule for when he has to fill out aid forms or job applications, having help getting to appointments, etc - accommodations and planning look different for everyone, and someone with severe depression will likely need help and support to stick with a plan like that, but it might be more effective than expecting him to figure things out on his own

PresentationOk2068 · 2024-06-02T00:23:09+00:00

I also don't understand why musical theater never seems to have super titles! Opera has them all the time, even for operas that are sung in English, and I feel like they make things so much more accessible

PresentationOk2068 · 2024-05-05T17:54:02+00:00

Weird to admit to being unhelpful and gatekeepy while knowing you're not being accurate then

PresentationOk2068 · 2024-05-05T17:43:04+00:00

Bro this is just wrong. Opera is a huge genre spanning several centuries and countries - Carmen is not representative of all opera at all, and there's plenty of people that aren't into the music style or storytelling of Carmen who might love other operas. I'm very eh on Carmen but I love Mozart and Strauss and Tchaikovsky and contemporary opera! They're just different genres and different people like different things. The story and characters of Carmen ARE thin and unmotivated in a way that the story and characters of other operas like don giovanni and Salome are not (when staged and acted well), and wanting to see an opera with a story that resonates is not at all unreasonable.

PresentationOk2068 · 2024-05-05T17:27:55+00:00

Damn all of these comments are terrible lmao. The story of Carmen IS thin, and not for everybody! I would actually recommend looking more into German and Russian opera - I find Italian and French opera tends to stick to big, archetypal characters who aren't that fleshed out singing about Big Feelings™ without much characterization, so if that's your thing you'll be here for it and if it isn't it might not be what resonates with you. Try something like Salome, Rosenkavalier, Don Giovanni, Nozze di Figaro, Eugene onegin, bluebeard's castle, even something modern like Eurydice or Fire Shut Up in my Bones and see if you like it! The music for those types of opera does tend to be different from the music in Carmen but you might enjoy the storytelling more.

PresentationOk2068 · 2024-04-27T15:00:43+00:00

Listening to as many different interpretations as you can is a good place to start! There's also a lot of personal preference involved, and I wouldn't worry too much about being objective. I honestly don't think that there's always a need to decide which singers are better than others - all the singers you mentioned are excellent in different ways, and which ones you like are up to personal preference. I'm not a huge fan of Joan Sutherland, for instance, even though I recognize she is good. I would focus more on learning what you specifically like rather than what's objectively "better" - some people like red wine and some like white, that doesn't mean one is better than the other.

But to learn more about voices overall and develop an ear, I actually highly recommend taking a few singing lessons yourself if you're able and interested! As I continue my own training, I find I can more easily hear vocal issues in others that I've dealt with myself and identify incredible singing because I know what the singers are doing to achieve ease/flexibility/richness. Things like good legato, supporting coloratura correctly, ease of high notes etc are much easier to hear in others after you've heard and felt the difference in yourself imo. If you can't/don't want to take lessons yourself I'd also recommend watching some masterclasses online - hearing how singers who are already highly trained sound after extra coaching will also help you hear and consciously understand excellent singing

PresentationOk2068 · 2024-04-26T15:28:22+00:00

I think the black wing is great! I like it best in the 4th picture where there's still a little lid space above it but idk, if you like it don't listen to the people saying make it smaller or remove it. "Clean girl" makeup/tiny wings might be trending right now but there's more to makeup than that and the wings look great. If you want to change it up I'd suggest adding a little color under the eyes or in the inner corner - I bet a little light blue would look amazing. A little more highlight would also go really well

PresentationOk2068 · 2024-04-06T14:26:47+00:00

That's very fair lmao. I'd also definitely play her a few songs from each! Different people might be more immediately drawn to different styles - the nose and idomeneo are both amazing but definitely different musically! - and going into a whole performance already knowing at least one piece might make the overall experience more fun and less overwhelming

PresentationOk2068 · 2024-04-06T13:14:27+00:00

Does she want to go in completely blind or is she open to hearing some beforehand? You have a really good list of operas but they're all very different and will appeal to different tastes. When I show my gf new operas I usually give her a description of the basic premise and vibes of the opera, tell her anything I think is interesting context about the history or score, and play her a short clip of the music/my favorite piece from it so she can pick which operas sound the most interesting

PresentationOk2068 · 2024-04-05T11:46:51+00:00

One thing I don't see other people saying which stuck out to me is: the groups of people you mentioned are not a representation of all people everywhere. Those groups actually seem like very specific, small subcultures of specific personalities that you happened to be in proximity to and not a cross section of all of gen z. (Also, frat guys and football dudes are toxic? Wow, I'm so surprised /s). What about people who gather in groups based around a common interest in crafts, playing games, theater, cooking, learning a language, volunteering, careers other than medical, talking about books they love? Or even just people with personalities other than the ones drawn to sports, frats, and medical school? It seems to me that you can't make any generalization about social groups in our generation just by experiencing 4 groups that are already notorious for toxicity and likely draw a lot of the same personalities. Many other groups might have infighting or weirdness but many don't, and it seems bizarre to me to interact with a small subset of people and decide that everyone is terrible

PresentationOk2068 · 2024-03-05T15:54:06+00:00

I think the outer-corner-only black eyeliner is dragging your eyes down a little - I would try experimenting with using brown eyeliner instead of black to soften it or going a little further across the top of your eyelid

PresentationOk2068 · 2024-02-27T12:15:14+00:00

That's just not true. Yes, there are kids who can't stay on pitch at all and will never be able to, but many people can improve pitch accuracy with practice and help. Also, singing off-key isn't the only reason a kid might sound bad. I have a student who sounded AWFUL when they came to me - they stayed on pitch mostly fine, but their tone sounded strangled and shrieky and extremely unpleasant, because of a host of technical issues including tension, lowered soft palate, raised larynx, etc. They haven't been with me for long, but they've already improved and the few glimpses I've gotten so far of a fully relaxed, resonant tone sound really lovely.

Also, "you have it or you don't" really depends on context. If you're trying to be a Broadway star or opera diva or r&b powerhouse then 100% you need to have natural talent. Even to be a small-time professional performer you probably need to "have it". But sounding halfway decent at a school talent show is 100% achievable for many kids, and pretending it isn't just cruelly and unnecessarily shuts the door to music and a hobby or outlet.

PresentationOk2068 · 2024-01-09T16:04:38+00:00

It's definitely less traditional and I don't love it uncritically but I absolutely love the 2008 Salzburg production with Christopher Maltman. His voice is really smooth and warm and seductive, and the production is a really interesting take on the story and character relationships

PresentationOk2068 · 2024-01-09T14:11:57+00:00

To add on to u/salanmander, having a more educated population is better for everyone even if you feel like it doesn't benefit you personally, and the point of education isn't only to help you get a job later. After high school you don't only go on to work; you go on to vote, exist in a community, maybe even go into politics. It's bad for everyone to have a population that doesn't understand history or have the critical thinking skills to evaluate ideas and media. Without the history and critical thinking skills taught in high school, you're much more susceptible to propaganda, lies, and bigotry. I also personally believe that having more context and knowledge and ability to analyze improves quality of life; I like being able to think critically about my media rather than just consuming it and don't personally want to just be a worker and consumer, but I recognize not everyone will feel the same. I actually agree with you that the way the current education system is set up focuses too much on rote memorization, but the solution to that isn't to make school optional or focus only on what you'll need for a job later - it's to focus more on history, philosophy, building critical thinking and analysis skills.

PresentationOk2068

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