My Voice Class Term Paper

Photo courtesy of Soprano Central. http://sopranos.freeservers.com/cgi-bin/i/kiri.20.jpg

The Dame from New Zealand

A Journey Through the Music of Kiri Te Kanawa

The Dame from New Zealand

Kiri Te Kanawa started her career as a mezzo-soprano, then became a soprano later on down the road. When she became a soprano she played the lead character in many operas. She was also involved with musicals, folk songs, and Christmas Carols. This paper will introduce Kiri Te Kanawa’s career, and reveal some of the CDs she has brought out.

Kiri Te Kanawa was born in Gisborne, New Zealand She was the daughter of Tom and Nell Te Kanawa (Fingleton 15). The Te Kanawa’s were so poor that they did not have the time or the resources to take care of her, so they put her up for adoption. After she was adopted by her new parents, she was named Kiri to go with her surname. Te Kanawa’s new mother’s name was Nell. One of the things Nell noticed about Kiri was that whenever she played the piano, Kiri would sing to the music. Nell then realized that Kiri had talent in her singing voice, and wanted to enroll her in St. Mary’s College where Sister Mary Leo taught. She was the headmistress of this school. The lessons Kiri Te Kanawa received from Sister Mary Leo led to Te Kanawa’s first performance at this college. It was Johann Straus’ Casanova, where she sang in the Nun’s Chorus, and this was one of the CDs she was on. This was the time during her career when she started to be looked on as a mezzo-soprano. Sister Mary Leo recognized this. While Kiri Te Kanawa was considered a mezzo-soprano, she played the lead character of Carmen in Bizet’s Carmen. She also sang in other operas during her mezzo-soprano days, such as: Idomeneo, and Parsifal. The second turning point in Kiri Te Kanawa’s career was the time when she played the character of Countess Almaviva in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro (Sims 1328). This role required the voice of a soprano. This was the time in Te Kanawa’s career when she acquired the status of a soprano. After this, she was able to play the lead character in many other operas. One of them was Verdi’s La Traviata where she played the lead character of Violetta. One time in Johann Straus’ Die Fledermaus, she appeared as one of Prince Orlofsky’s guests and sang Sempre Libera as a solo from La Traviata (Fingleton 25). However, the role that Te Kanawa was most famous for was playing Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Another famous role that Te Kanawa played was Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello (Verdi). She expresses her passionate voice in this opera. One of the most famous parts that Kiri Te Kanawa was recognized for was The Willow Song, which was liked a lot by pianist David Harper, who also accompanied Te Kanawa with Sister Mary Leo.

The first solo recital for Kiri Te Kanawa was the Gala recital in her home of New Zealand at the Royal Opera house (Heather). During this recital she sang songs from poems in different languages. One of the songs was Daphne, which told the story of Apollo and Daphne. As a result of this concert, she started to become very popular in other opera houses all over the world.
Kiri Te Kanawa sang in many other forms besides opera. One of them was musicals, and she played the head character in them, such as in My Fair Lady, West Side Story, and The Sound of Music (Fingleton 25). These musicals are on CD too. Another thing Te Kanawa sang besides opera were folk songs. Chants D’ Auvergne is an example of this, and one of the songs was Quand z'eyro petitoune, which is French for When I was a Little Girl (Lobos). In addition, Kiri Te Kanawa also sang Christmas songs, and one of the CDs was Christmas With Kiri (Davis). Some of the Carols this CD contains is Winter Wonderland, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, White Christmas, and many others. Another example of Christmas CDs was Our Christmas Songs for You where she teamed up with Roberto Alagna and Thomas Hampson (Tunick). This CD does have some songs with all three of these singers singing, and some as Kiri Te Kanawa solos such as I’ll be Home For Christmas, Silent Night, and others.

There are many other sopranos that have taken their singing beyond opera, but I believe Kiri Te Kanawa has the best voice for this trend. The beauty of her voice can be enjoyed in opera, musicals, and folk songs. It can also be loved in Christmas carols. I find Maria Callas to be my favorite singer when it comes to opera, but I find Kiri Te Kanawa to be my favorite for the things she sang other than opera.

Works Cited

Fingleton David, Kiri Te Kanawa, A Bibliography. New York: Library of Congress Cataloging, 1983.
Kiri Te Kanawa Royal Gala Concert at the Royal Opera House, Convent Garden. Videocassette. Dir. David Heather. Kultur International Films LTD, 1980.
Otello. DVD-ROM. Dir. Georg Solti. Royal Opera House Convent Garden: Convent Garden Pioneer, 2001.
Wikipedia, Kiri Te Kanawa. 29 Aug 2004. 25 Sep 2004.
Soprano Central, Kiri Te Kanawa. N/A. 23 Sep 2004.
Lobos, Villa. Chants D’ Auvergne. London, CD ROM. Kingsway Hall, London, 1982
Tunick, Jonathan. Our Christmas Songs For You. EMI, CD-ROM. London; 1996
Davis, Carl. Christmas With Kiri. London, CD-ROM. CTS Studios, Wembley; 1985
Sims, Michael. Kiri Te Kanawa, International Dictionary of Opera. Volume 2. Detroit, MI, St. James Press 1993.

One of my Voluntary Oral Presentations

Thomas Daly

Music 109

11/3/03

Introduction

The presentation I am going to give is on Puccini’s opera Turandot. Puccini lived from 1858 to 1924. Turandot was his last opera. I will be talking about how Turandot was a unique opera, and a little about the story behind it.

Transition: Lets start with how Turandot was a unique opera.

Body

I. Turandot was a unique opera because two composers wrote it.

A. Puccini was able to get through writing acts one and two, but after he finished the first scene of act III, he died.

B. Turandot originally ended without the answer to The Unknown Prince’s riddle being answered.

C. A conductor by the name of Toscanini couldn’t accept this, so he hires an Italian composer named Franco Alfano to finish Turandot.

D. Alfano used his own style for scene two of act III, but the results were having Turandot end with The Unknown Princes riddle being answered.

E. Toscanini accepted this, and this is how Turandot was a unique opera.

Transition: Now lets look at the story behind Turandot.

II. In Turandot, Princess Turandot passes a law that in order for a prince to earn her love, he had to solve three riddles.

A. If he was successful, that was the prize.

B. However, if he failed, the executioner men beheaded him.

C. At the opening of this opera, this was a test that no prince has survived.

D. The piece I am going to play is Turandot’s entrance aria, which is known as in questa reggia.

E. In this aria, she is singing about what happened in the palace a thousand years ago.

F. Ladies and gentlemen, here is in questa reggia. (Show slide, play piece.)

Conclusion

Even though Puccini is no longer alive, his music lives on. His music and operas continue to thrill audiences all around the world. No matter what he died of, this is something that can never be taken away. Thank you.

Bibliography

Works Cited

Giacomo Puccini. “Turandot”
EMI Classics. CD-ROM. Tullio Serafin
Tullio Serafin: 1958
Liceu Barcelona. N/A
<> 3 Nov 2003
Berger William. The NPR Curious Listener’s Guide to Opera, 2002, New York, New York, The Berkeley Publishing Group, 2002.
Maehder, Jurgen, “Alfano Franco”, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Volume One. New York, NY, Macmillan Press, 1992
Budden, Julian, “Turandot”, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Volume Four. New York, NY, Macmillan Press, 1992

My First Oral Presentation about Opera

Thomas Daly
Oral Communication 101
9/4/02

Introduction

I. Like a play, opera is a form of drama.
A. However, the drama is not always spoken.
B. Often it is told through music.
C. Italian opera has the drama in the music.
D. Compared to German and French opera, Italian opera is compassionate and emotional through music.
E. Lucia di Lammermoor is an example of drama told through music. (Gaetano Donizetti)
F. The two scenes that I will discuss are the Fountain and The Mad Scenes.

(Transition: Lets start with what I like about The Fountain Scene.)

Body

I. The thing that I like about The Fountain Scene is that there are two female voice ranges. (Gaetano Donizetti)
A. They are soprano and mezzo-soprano.
B. A mezzo-soprano is a female voice that falls between soprano and
contralto.
C. A soprano is a high female voice and a contralto is a low female voice.
D. When Lucia's voice goes high in this scene, she is happy.
E. On the other hand, when Alisa's voice goes high, she is trying to make a point to Lucia.

(Transition: Now that I told you what I like about this scene, lets talk about it.)

II. In The Fountain Scene, Lucia is waiting for Edgardo.

A. Alisa (Lucia's companion) tries to look out for Lucia=s best interests by trying to talk her out of loving Edgardo.
B. Despite Alisa's efforts, it does not make Lucia change her mind.
C. When Edgardo arrives, he tells Lucia that he has business to attend to in France.
D. Before Edgardo Leaves, him and Lucia exchange rings, and Edgardo promises Lucia that he will write to her.

III. Inside Lammermoor castle, Normanno and Enrico come up with an idea to forge a letter from Edgardo, saying that he has his mind on another woman.

A. They figure that this will trick Lucia into marrying Arturo.
B. Lucia is convinced by the forged letter and goes ahead and marries Arturo.
C. Lucia later realizes that she has been tricked with the forged letter, goes mad, and kills Arturo.
D. This starts the part of Lucia di Lammermoor known as The Mad Scene. (Gaetano Donizetti)

(Transition: So lets look at what I like about The Mad Scene.)

IV. The thing that I like about The Mad Scene is that it features a solo soprano voice.

A. When the soprano's voice goes high, she is letting out a burst of anger.
B. When it drops, she is calming herself.

(Transition: Now that I described what I like about this scene, lets look at it.)

V. In The Mad Scene, Lucia enters the anteroom with the dagger she used to kill Arturo in her hand.

A. She drops the dagger, then relives her relationship with Edgardo, and pretends to be married to him right in front of the residents of Lammermoor.
B. After Lucia relives all these memories, she thinks she is heaven, and dies.

VI. Now that I have described part of this opera, I would like to play you a piece from The Mad Scene.

A. Ladies and Gentlemen, here is part of The Mad Scene from Lucia di Lammermoor. (Play piece)

Conclusion

(Transition: So after hearing a sample from Lucia di Lammermoor, I hope you can understand how beautiful Italian opera can be.)

I. The two scenes that I discussed were The Fountain and the Mad Scenes.
A. However, there is a great deal more in this opera than what I have discussed.
B. You might either want to purchase it on CD, on video, or look on the internet to find out more about it.
C. Thank you, and enjoy the beauty of Italian Opera. (Offer handouts)


Bibliography

Works Cited

The Metropolitan Opera. "Lucia di Lammermoor." 1 Jul 2002.
2 Aug 2002
Baltimore Opera. "Lucia di Lammermoor." N/A
1 Sep 2002
Kennedy, X.J., and Gioia Dana. (1999) Literature. An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. New York, NY: Longman, 1998
Kerman Joseph, Tomlinson Gary. (2000) Listen.
Boston, MA: Bedford St. Martins, 2000
Lucia di Lammermoor. Dir.Richard Bonynge. Hollywood CA:
Bel Canto Paramount Home Video, 1982.
"Ashbrook, William." Lucia di Lammermoor, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera,
Volume Three. New York, NY, Mcmillian Press 1992.
Donizetti, Gaetano. ALucia di Lammermoor.@
EMI Classics. CD-ROM. Stadtische Oper,
Berlin: Semder Freies Berlin; 1995.

Manon Lescaut Critique

Manon Lescaut Critique

Manon Lescaut was a very enjoyable opera from start to finish. This critique will show what I thought about it.

What I didn't like

I found nothing to not like about this opera. After listening to it on CD for over five years, watching it on video got me to fully understand the story behind it.

What I did like

The major thing that I liked about this opera was that it featured the soprano Kiri Te Kanawa. This was the first time I ever saw her sing in an opera, and enjoy her passionate voice. I saw Kiri Te Kanawa on other occasions, but this one was nothing compared to those occasions. This made me look forward to seeing her in other operas in the future.

Another thing that I liked about this opera was that it got me to hear parts of the opera that I have not heard on my CD yet. As soon as I get a chance, I will listen to these parts either whilie I am on my computer, or in my car.

Special Aspects

The only special aspect was that this opera featured another singer that I heard about named Placido Domingo. I found this to be a real pleasure to hear from a famous tenor as well as a famous soprano. I am hoping to hear or see something featuring things like this again.

The Story Behind Manon Lescaut

The Story Behind Manon Lescaut

Manon Lescaut was Puccini's first huge success. This essay will describe the story behind this opera.

Act I

The first act takes place in a village. Des Grieux reads poetry to an audience of people hoping to impress a woman to fall in love with him. This does not work for him. However, a coach arrives carring Manon and Lescaut. Des Grieux introduces himself and askes Manon her name. She replies telling him that her name is Manon Lescaut. Her brother calls her to the inn, and Manon tells Des Grieux that she will see him again at night. When Manon sees Des Grieux, she tells him that when she leaves, she will be forced to join a convent, which is a life that she does not want. Des Grieux offers to take her away from this life. After their conversation, a student suggests that Manon run off to Paris with him. That's exactly what she does. When her father comes looking for Manon, Lescaut tells him that she ran off with a student to Paris. After hearing about this, they both start after them.

Act II

The second act takes place in a luxurious room in Paris, where Manon is living a life of luxury. She has left Des Grieux, and wants to rejoin him. When Des Grieux arrives, he is upset about Manon leaving him for this life, and he refuses to reunite with Manon. Manon then pleads very hard to get Des Grieux to reunite with her. Des Grieux eventually gives in and they are both reunited. After this happens, Lescaut arrives to warn Manon that her father sent soldiers out to arrest her for running away from joining the convent. Manon tries to gather her treasures together, but Des Grieux and Lescaut try to convince Manon that she must leave now. After Manon gathers her jewels, she goes for the door, but it is too late. She gets arrested.

Act III

The third act takes place outside a harbor where Manon is being held prisoner. She is to be banished to America. Des Grieux arrives to attempt to break Manon out of her holding cell to be with her. The attempt fails because the guards arrive to escort the women from the prison to the ship that will take them to America. Des Grieux tries to comfort Manon, but is overpowered by the guards. He offers his services as a cabin boy on the ship just to be with Manon. The captain agrees to his terms, and Des Grieux goes to America with all the women incuding Manon.

Act IV

The fourth act takes place in a desert outside of New Orleans. Manon is dying from heat exhaustion , but Des Grieux is still able to move along. Des Grieux offers to find water and shelter for the both of them, but Manon wants to be with him no matter what. Manon eventually gives in and lets Des Grieux look around for shelter or water. While Des Grieux is out looking, Manon thinks he left her, but Des Grieux returns to tell Manon that there is no water or shelter in sight. As a result Manon dies from heat exhaustion in Des Grieux's arms and the opera ends.

My second step toward my opera journey

Thomas Daly

Music 121

3/26/02

The Beethoven Festival

The major thing that I liked about the concert, was that it helped me get over two straight days and nights worth of stress.

When I sat down in my seat, I noticed the size of the orchestra compared to the last concert I went to (UNLV Wind Orchestra Concert III), this orchestra was smaller, and there were over thirty singers in the chorus. During the first piece called Mass in C Major, op. 86, (Beethoven) I started to feel the excessive stress start to depart from me. This was due to the beauty of the orchestra music and the way the choristers sang. After the first part of the Mass entitled the Gloria, I felt that my stress level was reduced by about seventy percent.

The second part of the mass the Credo reduced my stress level even more. When it was over, I was almost at zero stress. The third part of the mass the Sanctus, made me take a few deep breaths, then all that stress was finally out of me. This made me realize why it’s called entertainment.

Another thing that I liked about the concert was that it had a touch of poetry. It was read prior to the piece called, Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage Op. 112.(Beethoven) This is something that I had never seen before this concert. After the narrator read the story, the chorus repeated it in Italian.

The thing that I didn’t like about the concert was that at the end of the Gloria, there was an elderly lady in the audience shouting bravo as a form of applause, and the conductor tried to tell her to be quiet. This held up the concert for about five minutes.

As far as special aspects, I noticed that the timpani player put his hands over the drums at times after he struck them. I figured that the purpose of this was to limit the duration of the tones so it would not unnecessarily interfere with any of the other players or singers. There were two pieces that had no choristers. The first one was Overture to the Creatures of Prometheus Op. 43.(Beethoven) The chorus was present during the piece, but there was no singing whatsoever. Another special aspect of the concert was that the entire chorus left the stage for the piece called Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor Op.37. (Beethoven) During this entire piece, I figured I would look at this concert as being two concerts for the price of one. Part orchestra and chorus, and part orchestra alone.

After the concert I figured that if I ever wanted to find a cure to excessive stress, I would go to an orchestra and chorus concert whether my music instructor assigns it or not. In addition, if these same singers and players have a Christmas concert, I would not hesitate to see it.

Works Cited

A Beethoven Festival Concert, perf, Mass in C Major, Op 86. dir, Dr. Douglas R. Peterson, Artemus Ham concert Hall. Las Vegas NV. 24 Mar. 2002.

A Beethoven Festival Concert, perf, Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus Op. 43. dir, Dr. Douglas R. Peterson, Artemus Ham concert Hall. Las Vegas NV. 24 Mar. 2002.

A Beethoven Festival Concert, perf, Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage Op. 112. dir, Dr. Douglas R. Peterson, Artemus Ham concert Hall. Las Vegas NV. 24 Mar. 2002.

A Beethoven Festival Concert, perf, Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor Op. 37. dir, Dr. Douglas R. Peterson, Artemus Ham concert Hall. Las Vegas NV. 24 Mar. 2002.

My First step toward starting my opera journey

Thomas Daly

Music 121

2/2/02

UNLV Wind Orchestra Concert III

The concert that I went to was the UNLV Wind Orchestra Concert number III. The only thing that I didn’t like about it was my worrisome attitude before the concert even started. What that means is I thought the outcome would not be to my liking being I was currently attached to modern music. Fortunately, it didn’t turn out the way I predicted. It was highly enjoyable from the start to the end, and it made me realize certain things.

The major things that I liked about the concert is that it made me look on music as being like two sides of a coin. One side good, and the other not as good. Ever since I was in fifth grade, I was drawn over to the not as good side. The thing that turned me to this side was having to listen to all that rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and other styles. As a result it got me addicted to it for over twenty years, and I thought that I would never turn back to the other side of music. Thanks to the concert, I was finally able to turn myself back to the good side of music which is made of classical music and easy listening. This concert made me realize that there is a classical music lover in every one of us, and it is up to only one person to get that out; that person is ourselves. The concert also tempted me into purchasing some classical music at the music store.

The next best thing that I liked about the concert was the piece titled Intermezzo from Guglielmo Ratcliff. (Pietro Mascagni) This was the most heartwarming experience I have ever had. I was overwhelmed in a positive manner by the piece. I found it to be one of the most beautiful pieces of music that I ever heard. This piece had a few beautiful touches of the harp too. When the piece ended I started to realize that classical music can have heartwarming qualities as well as modern music.

The piece titled Sinfonia Nobilissima gave me an answer to one of my questions. (Robert Jager) That question is, “Do pieces that start off with a real fast tempo, then calm down to a slow one exist?” It gave me an answer of yes, and I know that I will probably hear many other pieces like that in the future.

The last piece titled Symphony Number 2 Romantic Movement III, gave me an answer to another one of my questions. (Howard Hanson) “Do pieces that start off as loud, then move into a soft manner exist?” This question too gave me an answer of yes, and that there are probably a ton of other pieces like it out there.

As far as special aspects go, at the end of the concert one of the players from the woodwind section shook hands with the conductor. That’s the one I liked the best. A highly possible purpose of that was that particular woodwind player had a great deal of pleasure in working with him. The second aspect of this concert was that my instructor from my music appreciation class was one of the players in the horn section. I probably didn’t actually see him, but I found it to be a great pleasure to actually hear him play.

I found this concert to be one of the best experiences of my life, and I am looking forward to the next concert that I will attend.

Works Cited

UNLV Wind Orchestra, perf, , Intermezzo from Guglielmo Ratcliff. dir, Teppi Suzuki, Artemus Ham concert Hall. Las Vegas NV. 31 Jan. 2002.

UNLV Wind Orchestra, perf, Sinfonia Nobilissima. dir, Teppi Suzuki, Artemus Ham concert Hall. Las Vegas NV. 31 Jan. 2002.

UNLV Wind Orchestra, perf, Symphony Number 2 Romantic Movement III. dir, Teppi Suzuki, Artemus Ham concert Hall. Las Vegas NV. 31 Jan. 2002.