This is it

The final days of my URGO research.

Tomorrow at 2:30PM is when I shall be presenting.
If you are available at that time, do drop by the choir room and watch me perform.

This is my ideal presentation:

In the beginning, my initial goal in my research is to be able to compile books and books of methods written for the style of singing-acting in opera. Since the opera industry has been focusing their productions more into the arts of acting, I wanted to read and learn about these methods, and put them into practice before I head out into the real world. Besides reading, Janet and I have also decided to set up interviews and coaching sessions with the local opera artists to understand the industry's condition a little better.
Surprisingly, there weren't as many books written about the methods of singing-acting for the operatic stage today. Most opera methodology books were written in the 1950-1960. The conditions of the opera industry in these books were not as up to date as our condition today. Seeing this, we realize that our crucial question is no longer "what are the methods?"--because there were none.
Through our many interviews, we became aware of a gap created between the shift in expectations of an opera singer today, and seeing well trained singers-actors performing in operas. The new question is "How and where are opera singers being helped to adapt to the new style of opera singing today?"
With our new question in mind, we eventually shifted our focus to the interview responses for more information.
Opera is a traditional art form. It is high art--"The Olympics of the Voice". It is such a stylized form of art that it takes decades to master the vocal technique on its own. Singers must learn the music theory, the music history and tradition, the opera's background, and the languages in order to be able to "sing well".
Our interviews have shown that it takes more than great singing to make it in the opera industry today. We are required to sing well, act well and natural, look attractive, and have a great personality on stage.
The main factor that has caused this change in the industry is the development in our media. The television and video camera were invented, more operas were being recorded and aired on TVs.
The Metropolitan Opera doesn't even travel and perform internationally as much as they use to. They now have what's called "Met at the Movies", where people could sit and eat popcorn while watching operas in movie theaters for an affordable price.
From the marketing standpoint, this is a strategic move. It makes opera more accessible and friendlier to all common people--those that like operas and those that don't. Their productions are set to fit the needs of the recording cameras and the HD screens.
Because of this, opera productions are now set to satisfy the needs of recording equipments. However, the product set to satisfy technology does not honor the traditional style of opera singing. Opera is the theater of the voice, and when the industry takes this stylize high art form and tries to fit it into the screen, the voice is no longer the main focus. Instead, the looks become a more dominant concern.
The voice and looks may be enough for the recording equipments, but that does not mean that it may be enough to attract the attention of an opera house as big as 3 football fields combined.
Through our interviews, we also found the importance of realism in opera. Audiences want to see real people on the operatic stage. They want singers to look like their character. They want the production to look more believable.
This is another factor that cause this shift. Singers must learn how to be convincing as their character on stage. They cannot just walk on stage thinking that they can win the hearts of listeners without looking "natural" and acting "real". They want to see real characters that they can relate to.
Fifty years ago, opera was all about the singer as themselves. They were known as themselves on stage, they were known for their voices. They did not need to live, walk, and move like their characters on stage. People idolized and adored Callas for Callas, Caballe for Caballe, Carrusso for Carrusso, Pavarotti for Pavarotti and so on.
They were not idolized because of their convincing acting, they convinced audiences through their great stylized singing. They made drama through their voices.
This change is shifting opera to a new style of singing. Singers need to communicate the music's intention through their singing and acting combined.
From what we have seen in the interviews, people are noticing this change. People are admitting that they want to see more acting. People are complaining that opera singers do not know how to act and are not believable enough on stage.
However, it is truly unfortunate that there has not been anyone besides Wesley who has came close to figuring out a method to help future opera singers to adapt to this shift in expectation. The changes wanted in opera requires a change in the training and teaching of this art form.
Institutions and conservatories are still training the voice through the traditional teaching, some are beginning to include acting and body movement classes into their curriculum. But none have been able to teach a method that could hep singers combine the skill of singing-acting as a whole.
If the style of this art form is to change, the training needs to change accordingly. The traditional training of singing and the training of acting cannot satisfy the attributes needed in singer-actors.
We need a method that could train us to combine and balance our singing-acting abilities on stage.

Women

Strong and Successful Women:
Seen as weirdos
Most of the time are outcasts
Willful is seen as a form of stubbornness
Workaholics
Selfish
Most of the time, alone
Has only a handful of friends
A heartless bitch
Too picky, too fussy

Ideal Characteristics of Women:
Baking cookies
Cook good meals
Baby Machines
Stay at home
Work part time
Knit or sew
Raise the kids
Weak and emotional
Clean and organized
Creative
Obedient to her responsibilities

Does it always have to be like that? Can this ever change?

Cabbage Wabbage

Successful Men

Do not allow their emotions to get in the way of their goals.
They are able to separate their life goals from their personal lives and not allow the two of them to clash.
They are so goal oriented that when they get into fights with their girls, they are able to move on in a blink of an eye.
They feel guilt, but they are not guilty enough to let the guilt get to them.
They feel anger, but they are not angry for long.
After a little burst and one punch into the wall, they move on with their lives again.
You wanna get over with a problem?
Easy.
Just forget about it.
Find another girl.
Focus your energy into drugs.
Be a workaholic.
Play video games all day.
Love something else.
Why invest my time and emotions into something that saddens me?
Why have a leash around my neck when I can easily choose to be free?

Yup...
This is why men can become so much more successful than women.

Female Vs. Male

It's great to be in a relationship. But sometimes, I can't help but to wonder how much more fun life would be to be a guy.

Females are born to be emotional. We care about things a lot more than males, which can cause more worries, heartaches, stress and anxiety.
Our decisions and goals are consistently influenced by our emotional journey.
Growth happens when we choose to feel less and think more goal-orientated.

Why do we feel self-worth when we sacrifice ourselves for others?
The Savior Syndrome. Many times, we think that we are able to save men from making stupid and childish mistakes.
For some reason, we always mistaken our emotions as wisdom. We think that because we feel more, we are wiser and more mature.
We think that we must help men because they are being too objective about their problems. "They are just not in touch with their emotions", so we must help them to see that they are making wrong decisions.
But seriously girls, how many of us have actually felt like the energy and emotions that we've invested to "help men" have actually grant us successful crops? Did they ever learn? Will they ever learn?
In the end, we always find ourselves feeling worthless. Our lives that we've sacrificed for men become pointless.
And here we are again. Lost in the middle of no where. Lonely, and scarred.
Yes? No?

And if you look at the society, there are respectful and successful women. But if you were to compare the life successes between a successful lady to a successful an, you cannot deny that males usually able to achieve more goals and earn more credits. They have the energy saved p to do more. Whereas for the female, our energy orients around our emotions and feelings.

Sometimes, I'd like to think that it is better for girls to be less in touch with their femininity, and think more like a guy.

Cabbage Wabbage

Mantras...

Be true to yourself.
Have a soul of steel.
If you can live without it, don't. If you can't, do!

You must find a way to be able to say "Yes, I deserve to occupy space of this stage!"
Your only competition is yourself.

****Side note****
I did not consider the consequences of indulging in chocolate.
The forbidden drug that is too frequently mistaken as a stress reliever.
Now I feel bloated, sick, and I can feel sores all over my swollen lips.

Chocolate is definitely not one of the mantras for a young opera singer.
Reminder: No more chocolate for a really long time.


Cabbage Wabbage

More on Opera

Okay, so I guess it is true that the culture has everything to do with the shift in opera industry.
With opera being broad-casted on screen, singers must learn the techniques of looking great and convincing"realistic" in their performances.
The gap happens between these two pools of people in the industry.
Pool 1: People who expects to see real people with raw emotions on stage.
Pool 2: People who expects to hear good singing quality on stage.
Safe assumption: Majority opera listeners and watchers lie in Pool 1

In the end, what are the most important aspect in opera?
The voice of opera singers. We choose who we want to be on stage, without us, there can be no opera to perform.

So here's the industry complaining on one side about bad acting and ugly faces on stage, regardless the great singing.
While on the other side, the industry complains about the awful sound projection and horrible musical interpretation, regardless the great acting.

What is great singing and great acting combined?
As a singer, I know that my best performance happened when I was truly honest to myself.
It is vulnerability.
The willingness to share on stage.
When an artist is true to him or herself, it is only natural for him or her to want to be true to the music and the drama in opera.
It is our responsibility to get listeners to love what we do.
It is our responsibility to communicate the beauty of music through our instrument.
It is not about earning performance credits, and being a world known opera star.
It is about the purpose of our lives.
Because it means so much to us, we want other people to have a chance to feel the same way about music as well.

Cabbage Wabbage

Opera is Diamond

Opera vs. theater. No matter how hard you try, the truth is, they are not the same thing.
Everyone keeps babbling and nippering about how opera must change into a theatrical art form.
But how many of them actually stepped up and wrote a book suggesting ways to approach this shift?
Opera is the theater of the voice, not the theater of realism.
We keep pushing for this change, but in the past half century, no one has figured out the right ways to balance acting and singing. And I have a strong feeling that this forced push can only leave our ears with more sour music.
If it is not right, it will not feel right...it will not look right...and it will not sound right.

Why cover gold with silver? Just because the culture cannot see the worth in a diamond, does not mean that we(the musicians) should turn it into stone.
A diamond will always be a diamond, but if one cannot see the worth in that diamond, he will not appreciate it the way it should be appreciated.
Why would someone ever prefer a stone over a diamond?
Or Hershey's over Godiva?
Or cheap copied print over the original?
Or a cheap slut over a noble queen?

Why must we lower ourselves for the dumb unappreciative minds?
There isn't an answer, because there should never be one.


Cabbage Wabbage