Trials of Opera

It is fascinating how your brain can generate ideas and create fantasies. It’s beautiful that we are able to develop, expand, improve and have an outcome that is impacting, vulnerable and worldwide. Greek mythologies and plays were often driven by a dramatic narrative, executing powerful choruses, combining singing and dancing. Greek theatre started to die out so Opera was born. Opera took on forms and themes Greek plays majored in. Most Operas were based on pre-existing work, focussing on re-telling the story in a more dramatic and captivating way. Opera draws you in by overfilling the room with emotional depth, letting the audience see the vulnerability of the storylines and the characters. It allows us to feel, to leave our worlds behind and collectively stand in the shoes of the characters within the storyline. We would not only understand the tough circumstances of the story, but to feel the heaviness of the emotions, to be swayed, to be uncomfortable, to relate to a certain extent, the reality of being seen, to leave your mind speechless..and that will be a mutual process for the entire audience gathered in the same room.

In 1637, Venice, Italy, the first ever public Opera house was born and became the main centre point for Opera in Europe. Opera grew more and more in popularity, which inspired composers to write their Operas in their audience’s language. That is why there is a diverse language range within the genre. I actually only realised this fact when I attended an Opera Conservatoir performance exam! We will get into it.

Opera merged in England in 1656, although it wasn’t fully developed until around 200 years later. There was a ban on theatres and plays by the king reigning at the time, so Sir William Davenant wrote an Opera called ‘The Siege of Rhodes’ which was permissible by using musical elements. Davenant wrote dialogs in-between each song numbers ,which would’ve usually been acted out during a mainstream Opera, but would have the singer/s recite the dialogue in a ‘melodic’ way that would almost sound like singing. This technique is called ‘Recitative Music’ where the singer would manipulate the pitch to emphasise the dramatic-ness that normal acting would provide. Typically a piano would accompany the piece, playing every bar, portraying the same emotion as the dialogue. As Opera grew popular, so did the language barriers. Composers modified their songs to be in the language of the audience, if you have any friends who sings Opera, you may have noticed each song recital may be in different languages like Italian, French, German and more. Pit orchestras became larger, building many compartments for the performance. There would be a wind section, brass section, percussion and string whilst a conductor is directing them. Putting myself into the singers shoes, as much as I would be nervous, I would feel influenced to perform in more of a powerful way due to the support of the pit and conductor. However, studying and upcoming in classical music within an institution, performing in exam showcases, would apply more pressure.

I used to go to university to study popular music, aiming to strengthen my knowledge within music as well as gaining experience performing on stage as a singer/songwriter who started writing in my bedroom. I also needed direction on how to utilise my talent and skills to its maximum anddd the fact that I just needed to transition from creating in my bedroom to creating with like-minded people. Growing through the years of university, I started to feel confined to a box and my intentions for studying this course started drowning in coursework and exam performances that were very irrelevant to me and overall stress without much guidance. I lost the ability to curate my art and have creative freedom, so I dropped out and that was the best option I could have ever chosen. I started to study myself, study my art, the genres I want to tap into and dedicated all of my time and energy to put out my art. Now I am an independent artist climbing upwards. However, it is much more tricky for students who study classical music. Classical music is a particular genre of music that you’d have to study within multiple institutions for some years. It is much more technical and structured that when a student would finish their degree, they would be left to fend for themselves. Unlike popular music, to succeed in classical music, you’d need to either have a successful journey whilst studying, that will give you opportunities after you graduate that will further your career or to have a family who are already established within the industry which might give you further opportunities as well. But what about those students who were exceptional but don’t have any opportunities waiting for them after graduation? An issue that I have with institutions, is that they do not find solutions for students for when they graduate and expect them to just go onto their careers. Gigs may be a couple times a year but what would you do inbetween those gaps? Students will most definitely have to work minimum wage jobs to stay afloat, which would cut their attention on their classical music careers by half. Popular music is slightly easier, since it is more widely accepted by any and all generations. You can gain respect and acknowledgment by promoting your music in an artistic way on platforms like TikTok or Instagram which would drive traffic straight to your music on streaming platforms. Even by networking and being in the right place at the right time could gain you acknowledgement as an artist but for classical singers, that is scarce.

Classical singers would usually join church and community choirs and perform at concerts, aiming to network and connect with industry people. Even if classical singers would create their own Operatic songs and release them on streaming platforms, they would not have the respect and acknowledgment within the classical music world like they would in the rest of the world.

From then on, it is up to YOU to keep your career moving. You’d have to step out of the conventional box and create something beautiful with the little you have. As well as joining choirs, perhaps a way you can gain visibility and a side source of income in-between gigs could be if you sing covers or originals, solo or with a partner and upload them to social media. You could give vocal tips that you have learnt over the years and maybe even participate in challenges such as a ‘Ostinatos’ (riff) challenge and compare yourself to some of the classical singers who are staples in the industry and try cover some of their iconic works.

Classical music after graduation is not a flexible genre for an independent artist but I would advise to keep on singing, keep on being in the right places at the right times, carry on performing whenever you can because one thing for certain, passion does not lie, people will be attracted to your authenticity.

I had the pleasure of seeing classical singer, Lizzie Estell, perform for the last time at her conservatoire, a series of beautiful songs, accompanied by a pianist. When interviewed about her thoughts on her performance, she found it to be nerve-wracking especially at the beginning and as she was in the midst of singing she had a massive sense of relief, also knowing that she was being supported. When asked about how she feels now that she is actively living a part of her dreams, she replied, “good, however, it doesn’t feel like that at the minute..” she states that she does not feel like she attacked her vision of her dream when she studied in University. University was just a structure to define and nurture her talent as well as to network and learn but reality only starts outside of the institution. Lizzie craves for the creativity and the performances that she’ll do on her own accord, and to have fun with it outside of an educational system. It is important for all musicians to ensure that their passion is dedicated to stay as a passion rather than it becoming a job, otherwise the passion would be lost.

Times are beginning to be really tough for creatives as the government, specifically the Department for Education, are making cuts to funds for arts and music education which means that in the near future we may not have the option to study any creative arts or music courses. The culture is dying out. It is up to us to keep singing, keep creating because without music and art, the world is depressing.

I can’t wait to see what Lizzie Estell has up her sleeve to further her career after graduating! Do you have any plans for yours?