In this research I challenged myself in order to achieve a better understanding of singing coloratura and searched for different techniques that would help me on the way. I found that for me there are five key elements that I explored further : energy, connection and clarity of sound, avoiding the tension, column of air and patience.

In the West, operas in Czech, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Russian are the best known in collegiate and professional classical music settings. Given the changes in social climate in recent decades, however, attention is being given to the study and performance of under-represented minorities. There have been operas composed in the West on Asian topics, but one does not yet hear operas in Asian languages programmed as part of a regular season in major opera houses in the United States. The challenge for Western singers is threefold: access to the music, reading and pronouncing the language, and understanding the nuance of the rich Chinese culture in the libretto. This study presents the following five arias: "We Have to Be Apart," from The Dawns Here Are Quiet (这里的黎明静悄悄) by Tang Jianping; "The Daughter of Yimeng" and "Milk, Tears and Blood," from The Mountain of Yimeng (沂蒙山) by Luan Kai; "Forgetting Everything While Turning," from Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again (再别康桥) by Zhou Xue Shi; and "Lullaby," from the opera The Orphan of Zhao (赵氏孤儿) by Lei Lei. It includes a brief biographical introduction to the composer and librettist for each opera, a synopsis of the plot, a description of the character singing the aria, transcriptions and romanizations of the text, IPA, word-by-word and poetic translations, translations of all musical directions in the score written only in Chinese, explanations of the cultural context, and vocal recommendations for performance. The purpose of the current dissertation is to study five arias for mezzo-soprano from Chinese operas with a view to making them accessible to Western singers.

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In this study, background information, International Phonetic Alphabet pronunciations, poetic translations, and musical analyses of the ten songs that comprise Gabriel Fauré’s La Chanson d’Ève, Op. 95 are provided. Included is the relationship between his original poetry and Fauré’s resultant song cycle. Additionally, a portion is dedicated to an overview of the registers of the mezzo-soprano voice, and it specifically addresses who is best suited to perform La Chanson d’Ève. This document looks at the vocal challenges presented for the mezzo-soprano voice within each song, particularly the subject of vowel modification as it relates to the IPA pronunciation guide. Finally, by gathering all the pertinent information on Fauré’s La Chanson d’Ève into one document, this performance guide creates a succinct tool for singers and teachers in the vocal studio.

abstract: In My Dreams is a song cycle for mezzo-soprano, narrator, and piano, based on the poetry of survivors of childhood sex trafficking. It was created to raise awareness of trafficking through music and poetry through the expression of individual dreams and voices. In My Dreams recounts the devastating loss of childhood and celebrates empowering words of survival. The poetry was collected in poetry workshops held in Calcutta and Delhi India in January 2009. After the poems were selected, translated, and edited, composer Dr. Gerard Yun set them to music. This document outlines the process of creating and performing this unique humanitarian cycle. It also includes the full score, poetry, and composer's notes. Topics discussed include: experiences in finding and collecting poetry; collaboration with the composer, Dr. Gerard Yun; form and structure of the cycle; how each piece was molded to give voice to its inspired poem. Every song is analyzed from both a musical and performance perspective to give an account of the challenges and triumphs of the work and the process of undertaking it, as well as a better understanding of the background leading to its composition. / Dissertation/Thesis / Prologue / My Special Place / In My Dreams / Sometimes in the Night / I Thought I Wore the Watch Last Night / It's 2pm / I Can Hear Them / Create Another Earth for Me / In My Dreams II / Postlude / D.M.A. Music 2010

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