You know the one….the catchy Johnny One Note tune from the classic 1937 broadway show, Babes in Arms. Johnny could only sing one note but he sang that note extremely well. Alas it is probably not as big of a hit in 2022 but it’s a fun tune nevertheless.
My opera version would sound like this:
Poor Johnny one note sang with legato, bel canto all over the place…..Poor Johnny one note, banished the diphthongs; his coach had a smile on his face; for singing one note was his ace!
Well, it’s a given that we singers need to be able to sing many notes well. But coaching p1 from Desdesmona’s Ave Maria aria from Otello made me rethink this novel one note showtune.
Perhaps Johnny got a raw deal; singing one note may not be as easy as you might think.
On page one of Verdi’s Ave Maria, the traditional Catholic prayer has been set, you guessed it, with over 50 repeated Ebs. Needless to say singing this page needs more than just the ability to sing Eb in a nicely blended chest mix (which for my dramatic soprano throat is actually the easy part.)
So today I had a scintillating singing session with my fabulous musical coach whose nickname is ironically “Gianni.”
Below I present the Gianni cliff notes version of needed stylistic nuances for this particular opera aria…
- Deliver the native intention and subtext of the foreign text sans my midwest flat palate.
- Sing piano and dolce with chiaroscuro without losing core and color.
- Keep the phrase energized but don’t rush.
- Don’t aspirate T but sing an articulate T.
- Internalize the rhythmic framework but don’t sing too metrically.
- Fill in the rests but keep the rhythmic framework.
- Breathing is allowed if it’s musical.
Thank you to my fine tuning muses like Giovanni Longo who keep this soprano trucker honest.
akintsucrooner 