CIRQUE DE LA VOIX: VOCAL PERFORMANCES FOR THE 21st CENTURY AUDIENCE

Abstract

This dissertation addresses the growing need to entice people to attend a classical solo vocal recital by incorporating thematic programming, multi-media presentations, collaborations and innovative marketing. It comprises four programs that use the above tactics, creating live performances of classical vocal music that appeal to the attention deficient 21st-century audience. Each program focuses on repertoire appropriate for the male alto voice and includes elements of spoken word, visual imagery and for movement through collaborations with actors, singers, dancers, designers and visual artists. Program one (March 1, 2004), La Voix Humaine: The Life of an Englishwoman in Music, Poetry, & Art, outlines the life of a fictitious Englishwoman through a self-composed narration, spoken by an actress, a Power Point presentation of visual art by 20th-century English artists and musical commentary provided by the collaboration of a vocalist and a pianist. Program two (October 15, 2004), La Voix Thfrmatique: Anima - Music that Moves, is a program of pieces ranging from the 14th- to the 20th-centuries of which half are choreographed by members of the University of Maryland Dance Department. Program three is a lecture recital entitled L 'Haute Voix: Identifying the High Male Voice and Appropriate Repertoire which is presented in collaboration with three singers, a pianist, a harpsichordist and a cellist. Program four, La Voix Dramatique: Opera Roles for the Countertenor Voice, comprises performances of George Frederic Handel's Giulio Cesare in Egitto (1724) in collaboration with the Maryland Opera Studio and the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center (Leon Major, director; Kenneth Merrill, conductor). There are two performances each of the title role, Cesare (April 15 & 17, 2005), and his nemesis, Tolomeo (April 21 & 23,2005). All programs are documented in a digital audio format available on compact disc and are accompanied by program notes also available in digital format. Programs two and four are also documented in digital video format available on digital video disc.