I’m absolutely swamped this week with recital prep, so here’s a quick little quote from Kelli O’Hara in Classical Singer magazine (October 2021) regarding authenticity:*
“The biggest advice I ever give is this authenticity thing, which is to be who you are and not make yourself into something you’re not, vocally or otherwise, ever. Because, again, so cliché … but no one’s you but you. There’s nothing like the catharsis in being totally and authentically you when you’re performing.”
*Note: you probably won’t be able to read the entire article unless you’re a subscriber.
Another great quote from the same article, also relating to being authentic:
“The tool of heart, which is what I fall back on when I say, ‘Oh gosh, can I hit this note?’ Well, if I mean the word, I can. And if I crack because I’m emotional—and that’s the other thing in musical theater—cracking is horrible, but we get over it, as opposed to it ending our careers. We don’t think about it.”
Kelli O’Hara, Audra McDonald, and Laura Benanti are three of my favorite contemporary musical theater singers, and I think the thing you can say about all three of them is that they are authentic. I’ve seen both Kelli and Audra in person (actually, within the same week!) and I look forward to the day I see Laura perform live.
Technique is important, but if you don’t believe what you’re singing, then what’s the point?
*****
On Sunday, June 5, we will be performing our studio showcase, “If we only have love” at 3pm at Trinity Episcopal Church in Towson, MD. Two of the songs will be from the musical Light in the Piazza, in which Kelli O’Hara created the role of Clara. Admission is free – message me if you’d like more information!
Christine Thomas-O'Meally, a mezzo soprano and voice teacher currently based in the Baltimore-DC area, has performed everything from the motets of J.S. Bach to the melodies of Irving Berlin to the minimalism of Philip Glass.
As an opera singer and actress, she has appeared with companies such as Charm City Players, Spotlighters Theatre, Chicago Opera Theater, Opera Theater of Northern Virginia, Opera North, the Washington Savoyards, In Tandem Theatre, Windfall Theater, The Young Victorian Theater of Baltimore, and Skylight Opera Theatre. She created the role of The Woman in Red in Dominick Argento’s Dream of Valentino in its world premiere with the Washington Opera and Mary Pickersgill in O'er the Ramparts at its world premiere during the Bicentennial of Battle of Baltimore at the Community College of Baltimore County. Other roles include Mrs. Paroo in Music Man, Mother Abbess in Sound of Music, Dorabella in Cosi Fan Tutte, Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro, both Hansel and the Witch in Hansel & Gretel, and many roles in Gilbert & Sullivan operettas. Her performance as the Housekeeper in Man of La Mancha was honored with a WATCH award nomination.
Ms. Thomas-O'Meally received an M.M. in vocal performance from the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. She regularly attends master classes and workshops in both performance and vocal pedagogy, and is certified in all three Levels of Somatic Voicework™ The LoVetri Method. Her students have performed on national and international tours of Broadway productions, at prestigious conservatories, and in regional theater throughout the country.
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