Lessons in temperament at the Accademia Teatro alla Scala
Two of our young soloists, Boris Stepanov and Alexander Shakhov, have recently returned from a week’s training at the Accademia Teatro alla Scala, where they were instructed in the finest secrets of their art by legendary teachers Renato Bruson and Luciana d’Intino. The singers’ impressions of their time at this Mecca of world opera were, at times, at variance with each other.
«We are really happy to have had the chance to experience first-hand the traditions of the Italian school of opera, and to work with such great musicians. Over the course of the week, Luciana d’Intino worked with us on our vocal technique and gave us many useful tips. The veteran of Italian opera, Renato Bruson, one of the world’s greatest living practitioners of bel canto, instructed us on aspects of style and articulation,» said Alexander Shakhov. «Both teachers encouraged us to focus not only on technique, but on temperament, mood and character. These are things which cannot be taught; a good teacher can, however, set the student along the right path.»
«It was interesting to see Bruson’s somewhat intriguing approach to music over the course of our lessons on musical interpretation,» said Boris Stepanov. «Many of the things which, it would seem, are written in the music itself — certain marks of articulation or nuances — he reinterprets in his own way and makes alterations to the score. If, for example, a phrase is marked portamento or fermata, he might say something like ‘no, that doesn’t really work here, let’s try without taking a breath, get rid of the pause,’ even though the pause is clearly written into the score».
«Our lessons with Bruson were followed by classes with the deputy to the famous concert master and pianist Vincenzo Scalera,» Shakhov continued. «He urged us to reach our own conclusions on Bruson’s recommendations. He insisted that ‘you can’t impose the same ideas and technical approaches on all students in a blanket manner’.»
«I definitely have the feeling that we’ve learnt a lot from this journey. We’ve discovered new ways of interpreting and making sense of our musical material which are close to the Italian style of musical performance. During Neil Shicoff’s master classes we hear many very similar things as regards vocal technique,» noted Stepanov. "We still have to show this theory in practice. The lessons have undoubtedly left their mark, but the benefits will not simply accrue overnight. This will take time. The way it usually works is that several months, or even years later, you remember what you heard in these master classes and you realize that now is the time.
Boris Stepanov will give his first performance as Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia during the New Year holidays, on 31 December and 4 January. You can hear Alexander Shakhov at special vocal evenings at the Hermitage Theatre and in the role of Doctor Malatesta from Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. The concert performance of the opera will take place at the Mikhailovsky Theatre at the end of February.
