Suggested Listening
Suggested Listening
Classical Singers
Sopranos
|
Kathleen Battle Barbara Bonney Maria Callas Natalie Dessay Renee Fleming Edita Gruberova Diana Damrau
|
Sylvia McNair Cheryl Studer Joan Sutherland Kiri Te Kanawa Dawn Upshaw Deborah Voigt Kristin Chenoweth
|
Mezzos
Cecilia Bartoli
Susan Graham
Marilyn Horne
Christa Ludwig
Frederica Von Stade
El?na Garan?a
Countertenors
Brian Asawa
David Daniels
Drew Minter
Tenors
|
Jussi Björling Andrea Bocelli Ian Bostridge Franco Corelli
|
Plácido Domingo Jerry Hadley Luciano Pavarotti Fritz Wunderlich
|
Baritones and Basses
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Thomas Hampson
Sherrill Milnes
Samuel Ramey
Bryn Terfel
Some Interesting Non-Classical Performers
Audra MacDonald - A music theater singer with a Juilliard-trained voice. Very exciting interpretations, beautiful singing. I especially like the CD How Glory Goes.
Baltimore Consort - A renaissance /Celtic folk group with a great lead singer, Custer LaRue.
Christine Lavin - A singer/songwriter who sounds very natural and easy to listen to. Her songs are about real life and sometimes very funny. My favorite is Attainable Love.
Ute Lemper - A German theater/jazz singer. Very intense and original as an interpreter. I love Ute Lemper Sings Kurt Weill. Wow! Dark cabaret songs from between the world wars.
Therese Schroeder-Sheker - If you want something really beautiful and relaxing, try Rosa Mystica.
Singers should be familiar with the classic musicals, and especially those that your songs come from.
Amazon has MP3 files for sale as well as CDs.
Books and Websites for Research and Exploring
Most of the books are available from Amazon.com. Click on the title to order.
Libraries Laramie County Community College Library General Books: A Beginning Singer's Guide, Davis Websites: Wow! You ought to start here, if you're looking for anything. Houghton College Vocal Pedagogy page of voice links Just for laughs. Mis-heard song lyrics. Check out the article How to Practice Voice, as well as information on teachers, health and auditions, among other topics. A Singer's Guide to Music History
Dictionaries Books: Cassell's French-English English-French Dictionary, Girard Cassell's German-English English-German Dictionary, Cassell, Betteridge Harper Collins Italian College Dictionary, Clari Websites: Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary Definitions and pronunciations of musical terminology. A dictionary and much more. "Translations" of British terminology. Translations, Singing Diction and IPA Books: Phonetic Readings of Songs and Arias, Coffin, Errole, Singer, Delattre Word-by-Word Translations of Songs and Arias, Part I (German and French), Coffin, Singer, Delattre Word-by-Word Translations of Songs and Arias, Part II, (Italian), Schoep, Harris The Ring of Words, Miller; W. W. Norton and Co. The Fischer-Dieskau Book of Lieder, Stokes, Fischer-Dieskau, Bird Poetic translations only Diction for Singers, Wall, Caldwell, Gavilanes, Allen
The Singer's Manual of English Diction, Marshall The classic. 501 Italian Verbs, Colnari, Luciani 501 French Verbs, Kendris 501 German Verbs, Strutz All three of these are incredibly helpful when working on translations. The title actually reads, 501 French Verbs: Fully Conjugated in All the Tenses. (See also Musicianship - Bernac and Singher include translations.) Websites: They will put together a CD of accompaniments, pronunciations, etc. for the songs you request. A helpful practice tool. Note: Use great care with online translators. While they may help point you in the right direction concerning a word or phrase, they are notoriously inaccurate, especially with historical, dialectical or poetic texts. Composers and Lyricists Books: The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Over 20 volumes of the very best research Don't forget to make use of the books listed in each article's bibliography, too. Look for it in the reference section of the nearest library. The Portable Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians Check the library's reference section for the complete version. Websites: Dr. Estrella's Incredibly Abridged Dictionary of Composers Hint: Go to your favorite search program and type in the composer's name. Musical Theater Websites: Opera Books: New Milton Cross' Complete Stories of the Great Operas, Cross The New Milton Cross' More Stories of the Great Operas, Cross, Kohrs Opera for Dummies, Pogue & Speck Quite good, and very entertaining Websites: Scroll down and find some good links. Books on classical music and opera. News about opera in the Rocky Mountain region, including competitions and performance announcements. Vocal Pedagogy and Technique Books: Choral Pedagogy, Smith and Sataloff The most understandable of the ones listed in this category. The Structure of Singing: System and Art in Vocal Technique, Richard Miller The Functional Unity of the Singing Voice, Barbara M. Doscher Singing: The Mechanism and the Technic, Vennard This is the classic vocal pedagogy book. With all the varying opinions and scientific research in the field of voice, this is still the book that people refer to. Health and Anatomy Books: Keep Your Voice Healthy, Brodnitz My favorite book for understanding the anatomical structures involved in singing, how to take care of your voice and why. An easy read, and well worth it. Sinus Survival, Ivker The Sinus Sourcebook, Rosin The Structure and Movement of Breathing, Conable Websites: Clermont College Biology Webpage - Respiratory System University of Washington School of Medicine - Larynx Sells models and diagrams of the larynx, lungs, etc. National Center for Voice and Speech 200 Most-Prescribed Medications and Their Effects on the Voice The Effects of Medications on Singers Texas Voice Center: Diseases of the Larynx University of Pittsburgh Voice Center Excellent photos of both healthy and sick vocal folds.
Careers Books: The Performing Artist's Handbook, Papolos Complete Singer’s Guide to Becoming a Working Professional, Pickard All about breaking into the pop music scene. Websites: Theme park job listings:
Acting, Performing and Auditioning Books: Power Performance for Singers, Emmons and Thomas Auditioning for the Musical Theatre, Silver On Singing Onstage, Craig The Complete Singer-Actor, Balk Colleges, Universities and Scholarships Websites: Laramie County Community College University of Wyoming Music Department Colorado State University Department of Music, Theatre and Dance University of Northern Colorado Music Department Western Undergraduate Exchange Music Camps Websites: Audition Dates and Performance Opportunities Websites: Wyoming Young Artist Competition Musicianship Books: The Interpretation of French Song, Bernac An Interpretive Guide to Operatic Arias, Singher Mental Preparation, Practice Skills Books: A Soprano on Her Head, Ristad You should read this. The Inner Game of Music, Green Thinking Body, Dancing Mind, Al Huang, Lynch Thought-provoking. It turns a lot of your strongest mental habits inside-out. Includes some interesting exercises to try.
The Performer Prepares, Caldwell This book is great for inspiring you to work better (not harder) and organizing your practice time and mental focus to be more efficient. Audition Success: An Olympic Sports Psychologist Teaches Performing Artists How to Win, Greene Performance Success: Performing Your Best Under Pressure, Greene, Landsman Making Music for the Joy of It, Judy
Music Retailers Websites: Wow! Hundreds of songs on one CD-Rom, which you can then print out on your printer - legally! You won't believe how much music you get for under $20. Closeout sale going on! I recommend them wholeheartedly. This is the site I usually use for classical and theater music. They have digital music you can download. Saves a lot of time!
More downloadable music.
Regional Performing Groups Websites: Carousel Dinner Theatre in Ft. Collins
|
