Singer and Actor: Acting Technique and the Operatic Performer

Current market forces in the performing arts such as aging audiences electronic media and HD broadcasts have changed the operatic landscape. Young opera singers entering the workforce find themselves navigating difficult and highly competitive waters. Previously ignored skill sets become assets ä and in many cases requirements ä in casting. But most singers graduate from college having never taken a formal acting class and knowing little about acting technique as it pertains to their craft.ÞÊSinger and ActorÊ demystifies theatrical acting technique stemming from Stanislavsky's Method of Physical Action and provides singers at all levels a roadmap with which to complete character preparation using a clear and organized progression based on the work of Franchelle S. Dorn and exercises and examples (recitatives arias and ensembles). Singers (including choristers) are given the necessary tools to prepare auditions and inhabit a character from rehearsal to final performance.ÞÊSinger and ActorÊ also provides a history of acting from its beginnings to the present day including a survey of acting techniques from Stanislavsky Meisner Hagen Strasberg Larry Moss and others. Drawing additionally on the writings of composers and other creators of opera the book deals with the misconception that only the singing matters in opera and includes a discussion of previous approaches to operatic acting.