Wie sehr geniesst du deine Proben?

Gestern hat eine sehr begabte Wagner-Sopranistin mit mir gearbeitet und wir haben gemeinsam den Sommer-Selbstlernplan erstellt.

Rate mal: Mein Ratschlag lautet: Du kannst das schaffen! Du bist fast da! Viel Spass auf diesem Weg. Das Leben eines Opernsängers besteht darin, die Stunden allein in einem Übungsraum zu studieren, egal ob er gerade eine Verlobung hat oder nicht. Geniesse das Abenteuer-Wunderland der Musik! Also, was kannst du heute tun?

Ich wünsche dir einen herrlichen Studientag!

Vera Wenkert

Singing Wagnerian Repertoire

This week I worked with a young dramatic soprano who is preparing her first Sieglinde for stage rehearsals. It is an extraordinarily beautiful role and music. I have sung it so often on stage and I just love and adore the music and the role. The love duet is just very moving and needs a lot of colour and body and tone. In all Wagnerian singing are a lot of technical demands! As a Wagnerian singer you usually have the weight and heaviness in the middle of your voice but due to the emotions of the respective characters the singer has to sing a wide range of tessitura. Singing the very top notes can be a challenge when you have sung dramatic and weighty in the middle range. For example, when I sang Siegfried Brünnhilde on stage, the best approach for me was to take it more lyrical. Siegfried Brünnhilde’s tessitura is high. It is different with Götterdämmerung Brünnhilde. The role is lower and more dramatic and reflects the whole development in the Ring Cycle…
In Wagnerian Singing it is essential that the singer has an excellent breathing concept and that he or she has a chrystal- clear concept of the role in mind.
One challenge is the diction in Wagnerian music:
Of course, one has to understand every word but it has to be DICTION IN A HEALTHY SINGING PROCESS AND VOCAL PRODUCTION.
I stressed this with capital letters because when professional singers come to me to get their part ready to perform I have nearby always to correct their diction approach. The voice still needs to travel on the airflow and the consonants should not stop the airflow. I remember, when I worked my Elsa, Senta, Sieglinde, Brünnhilde etc. with Richard Trimborn, one of the old school and competent coaches from Munich State Opera house, he was emphasizing all the time, that you have to sing R. Wagner’s music with naturalness and beauty and there exist a lot of dynamics. PIANO!
Richard Trimborn was just a very competent rock in the music world of R. Strauss and R. Wagner.
Thank you Richard that I can pass your precious music advices to the singers in my studio.
Fazit: Sing Wagnerian music with a wide range of dynamics.
With love for the art and for every artist
Vera

Singers‘ Wisdom

Weekly Nugget: Singers‘ Wisdom So many voice students and singers have asked me to write a book about Methode StimmKunst©. I am delighted and super proud that now the e-book „Methode StimmKunst© – Advice from Vera Wenkert“ is available: Join me on http://WWW.STIMMKUNST.CH/COMMUNITY/ and download the free e-book until May 14th 2018. This book is the precious seed of my future printed book. I have decided to give the e-book as a gift to you, beautiful singer, for 2 reasons: First of all: Support is crucial for success in an artist’s life. So, take it as an enchanted help! Second: My life path and music path have taught me to truly see my value and I like to put value into the world and to help artists to blossom and to find their way to grow. I cordially invite you to join the StimmKunst community.
With all my love?for the art Vera

Celebrate your success

Super proud of the Singers final concert of my Masterclass“SING AS A RADIANT SINGER“
I am touched that participants of the Masterclass shined in a concert in a variety of melodies and I feel so blessed that beginners of a vocal study process, semi-professionals and the professional singers were eager and determined to sing, share and shine in a concert together. BRAVI TUTTI for your dedication towards your goals: making music and sing from your hearts: I wish Anna Maske, Charlotte Whittle, Bader Hamwi, Geraldine Gamenisch, Lisa Dunk, Michael König, Nina Hreus,Olivia Betschart, Carole Simons, Louise Martyn, Dearbhla Collins, and all the young singers out there a wonderful path to fulfilling your dreams. Today I suggest take some time to celebrate yourself. A big thank you goes to Martin
With appreciation
Vera

Tips to help you to improve your practice routine

Make sure that you continuously working with your mindset
everything you want to accomplish in life starts with your mindset.
Believe that you can do it and surround yourself with the right people, who influence you to stay motivated and focused on your learning or working process.
Practice discipline and working on becoming consistent: You want to take an effort on practising your voice and music every day until you have solved a problem or achieved a different level…. etc.
You are working towards your goals!!
Set specific and measurable goals, so that you can see how you are doing as you make progress towards your goals
Last tip for today : Create a plan what you can do to accomplish your goals.
Have joy to start today

Mindset Discipline Goal Setting

These are topics we singers have to work on constantly . Autumn is an awesome time to do it because auditions coming up, the Theaterseason has just started etc..
Today I want to lead you to ask yourself a couple of questions that will empower you to find your individual way towards reaching your singing goals:
1st: Is your audition repertoire vocally and musically ready to present with shine?
2nd: What do you really want to achieve with your singing?
3rd: Are you doing the things you can do to achieve the most out of the opportunity you have?

Take responsibility

A teacher in a singers life is a guide to learn the craft of singing, of making music, of stage craft etc., but the singer has to do the work. To be an artist means also to take responsibility for your development. This means study, study, just simply do the work and stop finding excuses. If you want to have a career in music, you have to become like a searcher for the phrasing in the music, the building of the character and the owner of a healthy vocal technique. Good and responsible teachers can help you with knowledge and empathie, but in the end, you’re either the kind of person who can take the responsibility and work ambitious towards your dream or you’re not.
Until today after having sung 30 dramatic roles on operastages I am thankful and respectful towards all my teachers on my career path. I mention only a few here: a heartful ThankYou to David Jones and to my Music Mentor since beginning of my studies Friedrich.
So embrace your individual power.
So dive into the music studies and be active
Have a wonderful sunday
Vera

Cantabile

The experience of the Masterclass last week which I have given in Dublin has shown me that today’s young singers are eager to find on one hand the efficiency in their singing on the other hand they are looking for ways to build up a daily routine requiring discipline,training and building up stanima. On top of all this I recommend seriously that a young singer should search for a teacher and coach who has a deep contribution to the music and operatic scene, with knowledge, patience and understanding for the growing process of a young singer and can nurture them.
One of the main concerns of young singers is not only to train the voice but also the musicianship.For example , find the right style for every composer you sing, this means work with the music and explore it, if you do what the composer has written, the style comes through. It is easy and hard at the same time just to do this. But Coraggio !!!!
Wishing you a wonderful working day Vera