How much to tell your students about the voice

Op-ed

Our style of learning may not suit our student, so sometimes we over explain technical concepts not because we're wrong, but because it loses our student. If you ever find yourself wondering why one student seems to understand an explanation perfectly well and another doesn't, this might be why.

The anxious singer: 10 tips to help with anxiety

Op-ed

This is why I have written down my Top 10 Tips for dealing with an anxiety disorder as a singer: to give a little bit of help to those who, like me, deal with anxiety on a daily basis, and also their colleagues/family/support system who wish to understand them a little better.

6 opera houses, Google-reviewed

Editorial

It seems that $7 sausage/beer deal is appealing, if a distant goal: "Only complaint is that the concession stands are too far away to make it there and back comfortably during intermission." The only other complaint? The length of Les Troyens: "It was much too long at 5 hours with two 30-minute intermission breaks."

Talking with singers: Layla Claire

Interview

Claire makes her debut at the Salzburg Festival this summer, singing Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, and she's part of a stellar cast, including Ildebrando D'Arcangelo (Giovanni) and Luca Pisaroni (Leporello). We were able to chat with Claire about the dream of singing Mozart in his birth-city, and how a cast of Italians helps her raise the bar with all those recits.

Magic & high standards: Midsummer at Glyndebourne

Interview

"Peter Hall's Midsummer is the first 'traditional' production of this opera that I have been a part of. It is specific without being rigid, magical without being obvious, and true to the story and setting. It is important to not shy away from the harshness within Midsummer, and to acknowledge the individual journeys of each of the characters, joyful and pitiful, alike."

Musicians, sexual harassment, & blurred lines

Editorial

Jokes about double-entendre music terms ("fingering," "tongue tension," "G-string," etc.), invasion of personal space (teaching by demonstration), and (perhaps) innocent flirting; all of these commonplace pieces of sexual harassment are perhaps more dangerous when combined with a captive audience of sorts.

Hilarity: stereotypes from choir

Humour

We laughed out loud at Cassie Kutev's YouTube video, where she "interviews" select members of a choir, from Soprano I to Bass II. Our favourite quotable quote from the "Tap...water? I want sparkling. I'm a diva. We sparkle."

Hilarity: how good are your gargling skills?

Humour

Honestly, can't you just picture her practicing this at home? Our bet is that many of you are now off to test your gargle-singing skills.

Nate Douglas: "Writing songs is fun."

Interview

"I know a lot of people that like to sing and play, but they don't really like it the way I like it," admits Douglas. "If you really like something you'll just keep doing it. I didn't know how much I like it until really recently."

Don't miss: Anthropologies imaginaires

News

"The experts on screen comment on invented vocal traditions demonstrated by the singer-performer. Various odd or isolated vocal expressions from around the world are woven together and revisited through imaginary folklore and experimental voice techniques, showcasing the virtuosity, versatility, and strangeness of the human voice."