NEWS

AIMS Graz

This summer, James will be joining the acting faculty at the American Institute of Musical Studies.

National Opera Association

Saturday, January 5, 2019

Musical Synthesis of the Michael Chekhov Technique:

Integrated Training for the Singer—Actor

(James Haffner, Amy Johnson)

Training opera singers to be singer-actors requires an acting technique that addresses the needs unique to the demands placed on the performance of operatic theatre. Whereas psychological realism does not always effectively serve the genre, the Michael Chekhov technique unlocks a singer’s acting potential, creating independent individual creative artists. The tenets of the Chekhov technique can be expressed fully in musical terms, which facilitate a more integrated and full-bodied performance approach. This presentation outlines the relationship between the Michael Chekhov technique and its application to operatic expression, specifically the ‘aria’. The technique frees the singer-actor: music has its own dimensions in space and can serve as a vehicle for character creation. For example, melody and harmony can be both expressed physically in the Chekhov principles of Sensations (Three Sisters), Expansion/Contraction, Qualities of Movement, the Four Brothers (feelings of ease, form, beauty and entirety) and Staccato/Legato. Staccato/Legato can be applied instantly by either mimicking the motion of the music or engaging in physical counterpoint (polarity). This session would apply the basic tenets of the technique to aria work, focusing on how the individual singer can begin character work—in the studio—before making the transition to the rehearsal hall.