The Opera Singer's Acting Toolkit: An Essential Guide to Creating A Role

Description

The complete dramatic toolbox for the opera singer - a step-by-step guide detailing how to create character, from auditions through to rehearsal and performance and formulate a successful career. Drawing upon the innovative approach to the training of young opera singers developed by Martin Constantine, Co-Director of ENO Opera Works, The Opera Singer's Acting Toolkit leads the singer through the process of bringing the libretto and score to life in order to create character. It draws on the work of practitioners such as Stanislavski, Lecoq, Laban and Cicely Berry to introduce the singer to the tools needed to create an interior and physical life for character. The book draws on operatic repertoire from Handel through Mozart to Britten to present practical techniques and exercises to help the singer develop their own individual dramatic toolbox. The Opera Singer's Acting Toolkit features interviews with leading conductors, directors, singers and casting agents to offer invaluable insights into the professional operatic world, and advice on how to remain focused on the importance of the work itself.

Martin Constantine is an award-winning theatre and opera director. He has directed for such companies as the Royal Opera House, Royal Shakespeare Company, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Almeida Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, National Theatre Studio, Chichester Festival Theatre, and Grange Park Opera. He established and is co-Director of ENO Opera Works. Constantine has taught and directed in some of the leading conservatoires throughout the UK and abroad, and is currently International Chair of Directing at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. He is Co-Artistic Director of liveartshow, an award-winning company making new work with music. ENO Opera Works is a professional development programme for singers who have strong vocal technique and a clear commitment to developing a career in opera. Opera Works encompasses individual coaching sessions and tailored group workshops enabling singers to develop their vocal and dramatic skills in a professional environment, with unprecedented access to the wealth of expertise at ENO, insight into the world of professional opera, and valuable opportunities for dialogue with key people within the company.

Martin Constantine's vast experience in opera opens the mystery and discipline of the opera singers' craft to all - offering emerging singers, in particular, a fantastic viewpoint of the key tools required to bring opera to life. * Daniel Kramer, Artistic Director of the ENO *