This the hardest and probably the most important (at least to me) blogpost I’ve ever written. About a year ago, when I cleaned up my website, I changed my mission statement a bit and put the original in a blogpost so that I wouldn’t lose it because it was some important information. The part thatContinue reading “We breathe to live – we breathe to sing – but can we do it together? (Part 1 of 2)”
Author Archives: Mezzoid Voice Studio
Why I DIDN’T Sing – For Far Too Long
When I lived in Wisconsin, I spent about 8 years in a sort of vocal quarantine. I suddenly found my private studio taking up more of my time and energy, and I chose to stop seeking work in Chicago, where I’d been doing the bulk of my singing, and reduced my performing with professional choralContinue reading “Why I DIDN’T Sing – For Far Too Long”
What the Actual…
The word fach sounds like a bad word. It is a German word meaning “compartment” and is used in opera to describe particular voice types, often in incredibly specific detail. There’s: soubrette lyric soprano light lyric soprano full lyric soprano lyric coloratura soprano lyrico-spinto soprano dramatic soprano drammatico-spinto soprano helden soprano heldensoubrette (okay, that one wasContinue reading “What the Actual…”
Listening Party #3: Assassins
Stephen Sondheim certainly does like to write about varied subjects, doesn’t he? Here’s a few examples: A fake miracle, a corrupt mayor, and inmates from a local asylum called the Cookie Jar (Anyone can Whistle, 1964) A love story about two young people living in a department store with a subculture of residents who areContinue reading “Listening Party #3: Assassins”
Listening Party #2: The People Called it “Ragtime!”
My second favorite musical is Lynn Ahrens’ and Stephen Flaherty’s Ragtime, which premiered on Broadway in 1998. On Friday, May 8 at 3pm, we’ll be listening to the original cast recording, which features some of my favorite singers: Judy Kaye – Emma Goldman Lea Michele – Little Girl Marin Mazzie (RIP) – Mother Brian StokesContinue reading “Listening Party #2: The People Called it “Ragtime!””
Listening Party #1: Sweeney Todd (1979)
I’m starting a series of 5 Zoom Listening Parties, each one focusing on my favorite musicals. The first will be Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, of which I have yet to see a bad production. Some have been better than others (including the one I was in with Skylight Opera Theater in 1997, but perhaps I’m biased).Continue reading “Listening Party #1: Sweeney Todd (1979)”
May Musical Challenge!
Awhile back there was a Facebook group called, “There’s more to musical theater than just Wicked, Phantom, and Les Mis.” That was about ten years ago. I think nowadays it’d be “… Hamilton, Dear Evan Hanson, and … still Phantom.” There’s a lot more out there. A lot. So – since we’re all sitting at home,Continue reading “May Musical Challenge!”
/æn Intrə’dʌkʃən tu ði Intər’næʃənəl fən’ɛtIk ‘ælfabɛt bai krI’stin ‘tɑməs o’mili/
(An introduction to the International Phonetic Alphabet by Christine Thomas-O’Meally) I love IPA (aka /ai pi ei/)! It appeals to my inner geek and my wanna-be linguist. But I understand that not everyone does. Why bother using it? Why not just write down something the way you hear it? That might work just fine forContinue reading “/æn Intrə’dʌkʃən tu ði Intər’næʃənəl fən’ɛtIk ‘ælfabɛt bai krI’stin ‘tɑməs o’mili/”
Vulnerability vs. Oversharing, Part 3: Songs That Overshare (on purpose)
This is the last (for now) in this series of three blogposts about the difference between vulnerability and oversharing. Sometimes there are songs that do give a little more information than might seem necessary. Some of the ones that come to mind are: I’m not wearing underwear today, Avenue Q (well, probably 2/3 of the show qualifiesContinue reading “Vulnerability vs. Oversharing, Part 3: Songs That Overshare (on purpose)”
Vulnerability vs. Oversharing, Part 2
In Part 1 of this series, I talked about oversharing being the projection your emotions onto someone as opposed to being vulnerable and having those emotions resonate with them. This brings me to the topic of projection. People often ask me to teach them how to project (i.e., be louder), and I usually counter thatContinue reading “Vulnerability vs. Oversharing, Part 2”