Matching Items (33)
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- All Subjects: Music
- Creators: Dreyfoos, Dale
Description
This paper and its accompanying recital examine three solo vocal works by Italian composer Alfredo Casella (1883-1947): "Larmes" from Cinq Mélodies (Op. 2); "Mort, ta servante est à ma porte" from L'adieu à la vie: Quatre lyriques funèbres extraites du "Gitanjali" de Rabindranath Tagore (Op. 26); and "Amante sono, vaghiccia, di voi" from Tre canzoni trecentesche (Op. 36). Each of these songs is discussed as representative of Casella's three compositional periods. A fourth song, "Ecce odor filii mei" from Tre canti sacri per baritono et organo (Op. 66), is also examined, as an end-of-life composition. Some of the more important solo vocal works composed in each period are mentioned to show where the four selected songs fit into Casella's compositional output and to suggest music for further study or repertoire.
ContributorsGordon, Stefan (Author) / Mills, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Holbrook, Amy (Committee member) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Committee member) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The thrill of a live performance can enhance endorphin, serotonin, dopamine, and adrenaline levels in the body. This mixture of heightened chemical levels is a result of "performance adrenaline." This phenomenon can positively and/or negatively affect a performing singer. A singer's body is her instrument, and therefore, any bodily change can alter the singing voice. The uptake of these chemicals can especially influence a central aspect of singing: breath. "Performance adrenaline" can induce shallow or clavicular breathing, alter phonation, and affect vibrato. To optimize the positive effects and counteract the negative, diaphragmatic breathing, yoga, and beta-blockers are explored as viable management tools. When managed properly, the boost offered by "performance adrenaline" can aid the singer in performing and singing. After a review of medical and psychological studies that reveal the physiological and emotional effects of endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, and adrenaline, this paper will explore the biological changes specific to vocalists and methods to optimize these effects in performance.
ContributorsPaige, Belinda Roseann (Author) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
The purpose of this study is to examine and explore Hatha Yoga and how it relates to a practice consisting of singer-friendly yoga postures, how these postures may benefit the singer's mental and physical health, and how these techniques relate to designated research. The study also investigates yogic breathing techniques and how these exercises relate to selected research. Lastly, the paper examines how the voice student and professional singer may alleviate anxiety by introducing a practice of daily yogic mediation of mudra and mantra techniques, and how voice teachers may better understand and assist their students with stage performance anxiety.
ContributorsHutton, Christopher (Singer) (Author) / Rogers, Rodney (Thesis advisor) / Doan, Jerry (Committee member) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Kopta, Anne (Committee member) / May, Judy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
From the time it was written, the aria "Largo al factotum" from Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia has been performed and ornamented in many different ways. The present study is an inventory and analysis of ornaments sung in 33 recordings from 1900 to 2011 and the major differences that they exhibit one from another. The singers in this study are baritones with international careers, who have performed the role of Figaro either at the Metropolitan Opera (New York) or at La Scala (Milan). The study identifies and tracks some of the changes in the ornamentation of the aria by noting common traits and new approaches across the one hundred eleven years of practice illustrated by the recordings.
ContributorsBriggs, Andrew Nathan (Author) / Mills, Robert (Committee member) / Oldani, Robert (Committee member) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
A resurgence of the American art song is underway. New art song composers such as Adam Guettel, Michael John LaChiusa, and Georgia Stitt are writing engaging and challenging songs that are contributing to this resurgence of art song among college students. College and University musical theatre programs are training performers to be versatile and successful crossover artists. Cross-training in voice is training a performer to be capable of singing many different genres of music effectively and efficiently, which in turn creates a hybrid performer. Cross-training and hybridity can also be applied to musical styles. Hybrid songs that combine musical theatre elements and classical art song elements can be used as an educational tool and create awareness in musical theatre students about the American art song genre and its origins while fostering the need to learn about various styles of vocal repertoire.
American composers Leonard Bernstein and Ned Rorem influenced hybridity of classical and musical theatre genres by using their compositional knowledge of musicals and their classical studies to help create a new type of art song. In the past, academic institutions have been more accepting of composers whose careers began in classical music crossing between genres, rather than coming from a more popularized genre such as musical theatre into the classical world. Continued support in college vocal programs will only help the new hybrid form of American art song to thrive.
Trained as a classical pianist and having studied poetry and text setting, Georgia Stitt understands the song structure and poetry skills necessary to write a contemporary American art song. This document will examine several of Carol Kimball’s “Component of Style” elements, explore other American composers who have created a hybrid art song form and discuss the implementation of curriculum to create versatile singers. The study will focus on three of Georgia Stitt’s art songs that fit this hybrid style and conclude with a discussion about the future of hybridity in American art song.
American composers Leonard Bernstein and Ned Rorem influenced hybridity of classical and musical theatre genres by using their compositional knowledge of musicals and their classical studies to help create a new type of art song. In the past, academic institutions have been more accepting of composers whose careers began in classical music crossing between genres, rather than coming from a more popularized genre such as musical theatre into the classical world. Continued support in college vocal programs will only help the new hybrid form of American art song to thrive.
Trained as a classical pianist and having studied poetry and text setting, Georgia Stitt understands the song structure and poetry skills necessary to write a contemporary American art song. This document will examine several of Carol Kimball’s “Component of Style” elements, explore other American composers who have created a hybrid art song form and discuss the implementation of curriculum to create versatile singers. The study will focus on three of Georgia Stitt’s art songs that fit this hybrid style and conclude with a discussion about the future of hybridity in American art song.
ContributorsKlofach, Carrie Ann (Author) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Wells, Christopher (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
It wasn’t long after the Chicago Opera Company postponed staging The Love for Three Oranges in December of 1919 that Prokofiev decided to create The Fiery Angel. In November of the same year he was reading Valery Bryusov’s novel, “The Fiery Angel.” At the same time he was establishing a closer relationship with his future wife, Lina Codina. For various reasons the composition of The Fiery Angel endured over many years. In April of 1920 at the Metropolitan Opera, none of his three operas - The Gambler, The Love for Three Oranges, and The Fiery Angel - were accepted for staging. He received no additional support from his colleagues Sergi Diaghilev, Igor Stravinsky, Vladimir Mayakovsky, and Pierre Souvchinsky, who did not care for the subject of Bryusov’s plot. Despite his unsuccessful attempts to have the work premiered, he continued working and moved from the U.S. to Europe, where he continued to compose, finishing the first edition of The Fiery Angel. He married Lina Codina in 1923. Several years later, while posing for portrait artist Anna Ostroumova-Lebedeva, the composer learned about the mysteries of a love triangle between Bryusov, Andrey Bely and Nina Petrovskaya. It was then that Prokofiev’s characters took shape, reflecting the conflicting relationships in Bryusov’s real life and characters from the novel, as well as themes from Prokofiev’s own life.
This paper will discuss Prokofiev’s third opera, The Fiery Angel. In addition to brief biographical, character, and plot information, topics will include issues Prokofiev encountered with creating the libretto, the relationship between his real-life love triangle and that depicted in the opera, and the impact Prokofiev’s ever-evolving relationship with religion and the occult had on the work.
This paper will discuss Prokofiev’s third opera, The Fiery Angel. In addition to brief biographical, character, and plot information, topics will include issues Prokofiev encountered with creating the libretto, the relationship between his real-life love triangle and that depicted in the opera, and the impact Prokofiev’s ever-evolving relationship with religion and the occult had on the work.
ContributorsNikolovski, Vanja (Author) / DeMaris, Brian (Thesis advisor) / DeMars, James (Committee member) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Caslor, Jason (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
This dissertation investigates vocal performance of art songs requiring authentic and appropriate regional dialects of the American South. Through close analysis of performance practice in American opera, musical theatre, and art song, this document follows the existence of regional southern dialects on the stage from the early 1800s to today’s practice. Evidence of specified regional southern accents is discussed regarding literary depictions in librettos, lyrics, and dialogue. Other topics include the ways regional nuances and colloquialisms differentiate southern regional accents, the existence of a generic “southern” accent to stand for any representation of rural whites, and, briefly, the nonspecific ways African American southern dialects are usually rendered. Art song selections from Kenneth Frazelle’s Appalachian Songbooks (1989) and Doug Borwick’s Southern Comfort (1989), which I studied, recorded, and transcribed into singer’s IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), are the central texts of this discussion. The recording can be accessed online at https://soundcloud.com
ina-c-garguilo/sets/southern-study-through-song.
This research will benefit the performers of American art song that specifically requires “white” dialects, the native and non-native speakers of some Southern-American dialects, and scholars who seek to promote authentic performance practice of southern oral tradition in concert music.
ina-c-garguilo/sets/southern-study-through-song.
This research will benefit the performers of American art song that specifically requires “white” dialects, the native and non-native speakers of some Southern-American dialects, and scholars who seek to promote authentic performance practice of southern oral tradition in concert music.
ContributorsCole, Nina Michelle (Author) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Thesis advisor) / Norton, Kay (Thesis advisor) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
While opera often portrays young heroes and heroines in love, only recently have children taken center stage as principal characters in opera. This paper outlines the evolution of child characters in the standard opera repertoire, beginning with the famous trouser roles of Cherubino from Le nozze di Figaro, Siébel from Faust, Stéphano from Roméo et Juliette, Octavian from Der Rosenkavalier, and Hänsel from Hänsel und Gretel, and ending with principal child roles written for boys (Amahl from Amahl and the Night Visitors and Miles from The Turn of the Screw). Examination of the history of childhood and the casting of children in opera reveals that the two are closely related; as children gained more legislative protection against child abuse and labor, children also appeared more frequently in opera. The evolution of children in opera culminates in the mid-twentieth century, when children perform principal roles in operas like Amahl and the Night Visitors (1951) and The Turn of the Screw (1954).
The study of trouser roles and roles for children in opera also reveals the heteronormativity and misogyny that is deeply engrained in the art form. While trouser roles might have reached popularity because of the vocal aesthetic created earlier by castrati, it is possible that heterosexual composers, librettists and audience members may have wanted to objectify the women playing those roles. Although trouser roles may have also been conceived as a way to create vocal or comedic variety, the strength of these roles has been their openness to multiple interpretations. The primary advancements for children in opera are entwined with this ambiguous history of trouser roles, as this paper will show. These milestones only seem to occur for boys instead of girls; for the most part, if a girl character appears in opera, she is portrayed by an adult woman. This paper will also discuss heteronormativity and misogyny in opera while following the evolution of child roles and child actors in the art form.
The study of trouser roles and roles for children in opera also reveals the heteronormativity and misogyny that is deeply engrained in the art form. While trouser roles might have reached popularity because of the vocal aesthetic created earlier by castrati, it is possible that heterosexual composers, librettists and audience members may have wanted to objectify the women playing those roles. Although trouser roles may have also been conceived as a way to create vocal or comedic variety, the strength of these roles has been their openness to multiple interpretations. The primary advancements for children in opera are entwined with this ambiguous history of trouser roles, as this paper will show. These milestones only seem to occur for boys instead of girls; for the most part, if a girl character appears in opera, she is portrayed by an adult woman. This paper will also discuss heteronormativity and misogyny in opera while following the evolution of child roles and child actors in the art form.
ContributorsSchildkret, Miriam R. (Author) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
This paper is a performance guide for Quatro Canções da Floresta do Amazonas [Four Songs of The Amazon Forest] by Brazil's most prolific composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos. The primary purpose of the paper is to serve as a source for the correct pronunciation of the Brazilian Portuguese language of the songs. It will begin with an overview of Heitor Villa-Lobos's life and career, showing how his compositions catalyzed the Nationalistic movement in Brazilian classical music. His inclusion of native and folk elements into classical compositions was a significant innovation, which places Villa-Lobos as one of the most important Brazilian classical composers. Furthermore, this paper will explore the issue of Brazilian Portuguese diction in depth, using the Quatro Canções da Floresta do Amazonas to aid non-native Brazilian speakers. This includes an International Phonetic Alphabet transcription of the songs, as well as a recording of the songs being read and sung by the author, a link to which can be found in the appendix.
ContributorsWillmer, Asleif Findabhair (Author) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Solis, Theodore (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
In the triumvirate of composer-performer-listener, while the listener always wins, the performer is the interpreter through which the listener experiences the writings of the composer. When the composer and performer are combined, however, a unique situation arises: the link from the composer to the listener becomes a direct line and the composer becomes his/her own interpreter. Such is the case with Benjamin Britten. Britten conducted almost his entire repertoire in recordings for Decca (the exceptions being Paul Bunyan, Owen Wingrave, and Death in Venice). A comparative analysis of the recordings of four of Britten's works, the Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, Op. 31; Albert Herring, Op. 39; Spring Symphony, Op. 44; and the Nocturne, Op. 60, shows that despite his complaints about performers not following his tempo markings, Britten often deviated from them himself, tending slower. Britten also occasionally added additional rubato, ritardandi, and accelerandi to his works. Additionally, a discrepancy regarding a pitch in the "Prelude" of the Serenade comes to light. Video of Britten conducting the Nocturne in rehearsal with the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) Vancouver provides additional insight into his methodology. Benjamin Britten succeeded as a composer-conductor, and his catalogue of recordings provides essential primary reference material when studying his works.
ContributorsSterneman, Walter (Author) / Reber, William (Thesis advisor) / Russell, Timothy (Committee member) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Oldani, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014