http://www.phantomoftheopera.com/modules/article/view.article.php/31/c11 Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:56:52 -0000 ARTICLE @ XOOPS powered by FeedCreator http://www.phantomoftheopera.com/modules/article/images/logo.png http://www.phantomoftheopera.com/modules/article/ 80 15 Article XML en phantomsite at gmail dot com phantomsite at gmail dot com Articles http://www.phantomoftheopera.com/modules/article/view.article.php/31/c11 Summary: Jennie translates advice to young singers by Christina Nilsson, Leroux's inspiration for the character of Christine Daaé.Below is my translation (from Swedish) of a leaflet I bought in Snugge, the birthplace of the Swedish singer Christina Nilsson.

Christina Nilsson was born Kristina Jonasdotter in 1843, and her musical talent was discovered by a civil servant when she was playing the violin at a market fair. He became her patron and set her feet on the path to an unequalled musical career that took her around the world. She had her operatic début as Violetta in “La Traviata” at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and performed at major opera houses in London, Saint Petersburg, Vienna and New York. Her second marriage, to the Count de Casa Miranda gave her the title of Countess. For more information about her life and career, look at the threads discussing this in the Lair forum on the site.

It is generally agreed that Christina Nilsson served as inspiration to Gaston Leroux for the character of Christine Daaé in his book “The Phantom of the Opera”.

The magazine “Ny Illustrerad Tidning” published this text in 1894, in issues 9 and 16.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On the education of the voice.

Advice to young singers by

Christine Nilsson
Countess de Casa Miranda

It has been said, probably with the support of some great authority, that the person who teaches singing to young ladies should be a woman. This is a mistake. Not forgetting the famous singing teacher Manuel Garcia the elder, who trained Jenny Lind’s voice, and the voices of his daughters, Madame Mallbrans and Madame Viardot-Garcia, we need only see the more recent examples of Lampert the elder who (to mention only his most illustrious pupils) taught Madame Marcella Sembrich and Madame Albani, while madame Adelina Patti in her early youth took lessons from her half brother signor Barili and later from Strakosch. It is a strange fact that men are best suited to teach women, and women to teach men to sing.

When a young girl’s voice is to be trained, it is of the greatest importance that the singing lessons do not start too early. First she needs to develop physically. She should not be allowed to study song/singing before she is fourteen years old. But she should be allowed to take music lessons as soon as she shows an interest for this. It is not too early to start to play the piano or the violin at the age of eight. Practice on the latter instrument has shown itself to be an invaluable introduction to singing studies. It sharpens the ear and develops taste and security in intonation. Before my voice was discovered, I took violin-lessons in my childhood, since I was meant to become a violinist. These early lessons have been a great advantage to me later in my life.

A rule that cannot be over-emphasized is that the young female student must not sing for too long at a time. It is of the greatest importance that she bear this in mind during the whole of her education. She should start the day with half an hour’s lesson and then abstain from singing for two or three hours. In the meantime she can practise on a musical instrument, take some exercise, but not outdoors, study French and Italian. After this she should sing again for half an hour, followed by a new period of complete rest for the voice. A third, or at the very most a fourth half hour of song may end the singing practice for the day. You sometimes hear of professional singers who spend eight hours a day on singing practice. But this is completely incorrect. Any voice that was exposed to such a trial would soon be worn out. It is necessary to take the greatest care not to loosen the vocal chords, an inevitable consequence of over-exerting the throat. And if this condition becomes chronic, then it is incurable. Such mishaps are due usually not to the singing teachers themselves, for they know better than that, but to persons who write tutorials without having any practical knowledge in the subject.

Embarking on her studies, the young pupil who is about ascend the opera stage may (if she has any true talent for acting) be advised to control her emotions and tone down her inspiration, so as to not exhaust her strength. But she should not follow this advice if she wishes to impress her future audience. My friend, the famous French baritone Faure, was wont to give me such advice: “You will wear yourself out,” he used to say, “if you allow yourself to be so carried away by the emotions which describe the character you portray!” But in order to make a sufficiently lively impression on the auditors and spectators it is necessary to identify with the character you portray.

A primadonna must completely incarnate herself with the personality that she is currently portraying. Ophelia’s madness, Lucie’s despair and loss of senses due to bitter suffering of the heart, Valentine’s (in “The Huguenots”) exaltation must penetrate the soul of the singer, if she is to command her auditorium. The young primadonna should also try to obtain a true idea about, and to create within herself an exact image of the character she has to give a picture of. The first opera I appeared in on the lyrical stage, was “La Traviata”. I was then very young. I had dedicated my time to fervent studies in an almost cloister-like seclusion. I only rarely attended the theatre, and thus I had never seen Dumas’ play “The Lady of the Camellias”. Nor had I read the novel. Thus I knew nothing about the heroine and her touching story. As a consequence thereof, my portrayal was childish and immature. I came across as a schoolgril doing penance for a fault I did not in the least understand. I had always liked the music of this opera, but I must admit that I was adequate only in the vocal part the first time I appeared in it. I told Mr Carvalho, the manager of the Théâtre Lyrique at the time, that I realized I was too young for the part. But he merely laughed at my objections and said that my childishness would only serve to make the character more sympathetic.

My second role was the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s “Magic Flute”. I found the part especially interesting, and in the original it was particularly appropriate for my voice. I also gave a new interpretation to the dramatical side of the part. The Queen of the Night has always been portrayed as a vaguely visionary and supernatural creature. But she loves, she experiences the suffering of repressed motherhood, and since she thus has her share of human feeling and suffering I decided to portray her as a real woman. The success I had with the audience showed that my choice had been the right one.

When the new singer has embarked on her dramatical career, she must be careful not only to take care of her voice, but also her health. She must be well to sing well. There is a general opinion that a primadonna should stay in bed all day when she is due to appear at the opera, getting up only just in time to get to the performance. This approach is completely wrong. I used to do quite differently when I was employed at the theatre. After a light breakfast I would go for brisk walk if the weather was good. After this I rested until dinner was served, invariably at three thirty, so as to allow the digestion process to be completely over before I started to sing. After dinner I sometimes slept for half an hour or an hour. I partook of no refreshment of any kind before going to the theatre. During the performance, and to quench the great thirst caused by singing I would drink during the entr’actes a little porter or brown stout, but never champagne which is a ruinous drink for singers, since it increases the dryness of the throat and has a tendency to cause obesity in those who consume it daily.

Another thing that a primadonna should be warned against is participating of a large supper after the performance. Myself, I would eat only some morsels of chicken at this meal – that was all. Moderation in food and drink are as necessary as regular meals and regular habits. Practice, simple, nourishing food, proper sleep and fresh air are the first necessary prerequisites to keep the voice in good shape.

It is of major importance that a young singer does not attempt to force her voice outside its natural range. If she is a soprano, she should not undertake mezzosoprano parts. If she is a contralto or a mezzosoprano she should not attempt to become a high soprano. If she has a weak voice that does not tolerate great strain, then she is not suited to purely dramatic singing. Nature has traced the path that each singer should follow, and every attempt to try to divert the will of nature or to force her into other paths will have disastrous results, since the voice will be damaged and in many cases be lost completely in the attempt. It is true that after a longer career as a stage artist, the lower range on a high soprano voice can be developed and strenghtened, and a primadonna who thus has won full experience in her art, may attempt more difficult and dramatic music. Both Mrs Patti and myself have sung such parts, but certainly not at the beginning of our careers.

A strange event that occurred at the beginning of my career may serve to illustrate what I have said above. After my fortunate début in “La Traviata” at the Théâtre Lyrique, the director undertook a brilliant repeat of Mozart’s “Magic Flute”. Since I was very young at the time, he intended to give me the part of the young girl in the opera, that of Pamina, the daughter of the Queen of the Night. But a certain primadonna, who at the time reigned supreme behind the scenes of the theatre, insisted that I and no one else should be the Queen of the Night. Mr Carvalho made the greatest objections, since in that case I, a girl of seventeen, would appear as the mother, and his own wife, who was closer to forty, as the daughter. But all his resistance was vain. The good lady insisted, and to her own intimate friends she made no secret of her reasons for this, which was that the part of the Queen of the Night was written for such an exceptionally high voice range that it would probably ruin my voice, thus ridding her of a rival. But my voice happened to be naturally suited for the high register/range, and I was capable of singing the great aria with its demanding staccato passages just as it was written and this without strain or tiredness. On the evening, I had to repeat the aria three times, and instead of ruining my voice I reached in this part my first great triumph as an opera singer. It was only several years later that I learnt the real reason why the part was given to me.

I want to advise any young woman who intends to follow the path of an opera singer to carefully consider the life of strict self-denial that lies ahead of her if she wishes to excel in her art. She must live not only in her calling, but solely for her calling. Her diet, her daily practice, her occupations, her pleasure must all be in harmony with the demands of her career. Once she has set out on her path within the theatre, she must forsake social life and all kinds of evening entertainment. On the day of her performance she must speak as little as possible, especially if she has a thin soprano voice.

Some singers push their caution so far that they do not speak, even in a whisper, on the day that they perform. As for food, sweetmeats, fruit and highly spiced dishes should be avoided. Where the different schools of singing are concerned, it is an incontrovertible fact that the Italian method is the best. It is true that my own teacher, Wartel, was French, but his method was a kind of its own, and I do not know of any teacher today that pursues it. He died several years ago. The German method is probably the worst of all, especially for weaker voices.

A great mistake, particularly on the other side of the Atlantic, is that some force their voice beyond its natural strength. Screams are not song, and the consequence is that those parts of the register that are strained will lose their timbre. It is strange to observe how general this aspiration is, to win high notes, that are musical tones as little as screaming is song. For it to be worth to take a note, it must sound forth full, firm, clear and ringing, and the hearer should receive the impression that the singer has complete power over it. The poorest art – if you can say so, since the epithet poor cannot be applied to art – is when the effort is visible, and it is always visible when the voice is violated. It must never be forgotten that much depends on the pupil, as well as on the teacher and school. A famous musician has said: “It is comparatively little that we have learnt. The greatest skill is gained only by dedicated study.”
]]> Jennie Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:57:29 -0000