SINGING THE THEATRICAL MONOLOGUE: A MUSICIAN’S PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This performance dissertation focuses on vocal literature for soprano composed to the text of a monologue. The composer either excerpted the monologue text from a play or set a monologue written by a playwright for a specific actor. The purpose of the project is to examine vocal works that lend themselves to minimal staging, thereby creating a more theatrical recital presentation that differs from the usual vocal recital. The ensuing paper details three performances in Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center:

the operatic presentation of Dominick Argento’s opera Miss Havisham’s Fire (focusing specifically on the Epilogue), performed by the Maryland Opera Studio in the Kay Theatre, April 21-29, 2012; a recital performed on September 7, 2012 in the Gildenhorn Recital Hall featuring: Banquo’s Buried by Alison Bauld, La dame de Monte-Carlo by Francis Poulenc, Lady Macbeth by Thomas Pasatieri, and Night Flight to San Francisco by Ricky Ian Gordon; a recital performed in the Leah M. Smith Lecture Hall on March 30, 2013, featuring: The Italian Lesson by Lee Hoiby, Queen Margaret: She-Wolf of France by Alison Bauld, and Final Monologue from “Master Class” by Jake Heggie. Each chapter examines the literary and historical aspects of the work as well as basic compositional elements used by the composer when setting the text. Composer comparisons and performance observations conclude this project. The University of Maryland library system contains DVD and audio recordings of all performances.