22-Oct / 0 COMMENTS

Last weekend I had the privilege of taking part in Nelly Miricioiu’s masterclass that was beautifully organized by stichting Vocale Muziek Den Haag.

 

It was truly an amazing experience. For the first half of the day I was just sitting there star struck. All I could think of was that my idol and I are in the same room, and she is singing- giving tips and examples from only three rows of chairs away! I was so much living the dream, that when I went up to sing Semiramide’s aria by Rossini, I looked like Maria singing ‘The Hills are alive’ from ‘Sound of Music’- rather than channeling the fierceness that is the Semiramide. Luckily I snapped out of it mid aria and was able to work the character.

 

I wasn’t the only one acting all “Nelly Crazy”. This graceful Diva has a loyal fan base that follows her around wherever and whenever possible. Which is pretty cool because it means the room was full of opera lovers that were there to have fun and get their “Nelly fix”.

 

 

It’s funny how the audience has so much power in a master class. At times one might feel a completely different vibe- an interesting vibe, coming from people that know more about the music business. As eager to get every word of wisdom from the person giving the master class, these people might come across as less enthusiastic. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? We all sat at one time or another next to someone that expresses their own musical ideas over the pieces that are worked upon in full blunt body language to the point that you can read clearly that they disapprove when something technical or interpretation wise doesn’t go their way. I wonder, why would someone sit somewhere listening to lessons for two days if they’re not happy?

 

Back to last weekend, I got to work with Nelly on two arias of characters I absolutely adore: Semiramide and Königin der Nacht. It was especially interesting to be coached by her on them, because she performed them both during her long carrier in such a captivating way. Like she said a few times during the weekend- a master class is for inspiration. I’d like to take the inspiration she gave me, and keep developing these characters of evil queens. I’d like to develop a physicality that will allow me to move from one affect to another without going out of the body language of the figures I’m portraying. Stay tuned for more on this topic, hopefully, in next week’s post 🙂