Emotional Expressivity in the Interpretation of Lyrical Characters. The Role of the Dramatic Training of the Opera Performer
Keywords:
personality, actor's art, character, psychology, emotion, opera, acting, singersAbstract
In the doctoral dissertation Interpretive alternatives of Shakespearean Characters Born of Their Emotional Universe we assumed the benefit of understanding the characters played in their psychological complexity as if they were real people, so that their behaviours and goals are interpreted from the perspective of their personality core. For this I proposed the analysis of emotions according to established psychological theories and with the help of psychological tools. Given the multitude of opera performances inspired by his pieces, we consider that this approach could be useful for students-lyrical performers. In order to bring sufficiently strong arguments in support of this statement, we conducted a review of research on the reception of the expressiveness of vocal lyrical interpretation versus gestural postural expressiveness. The research results confirm the students' concern for lyrical performers for the technique and expressiveness of the voice that sings to the detriment of expressiveness through non-verbal means and, at the same time, the need of directors and audiences for integrated expressiveness. As a result, we consider useful the multidisciplinary development of future lyrical artists, in the sense of concern for the emotional expression gestural-postural in parallel with the vocal one. The training modules could be greatly improved through interdisciplinary collaboration with acting schools, just as student actors could benefit from the experience of transmitting emotion through song. In this way, the terms “actor” and “singer” will come mutual closer, for the benefit of the performing arts and the spectators.
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