This interdisciplinary practice-based thesis interrogates the term ‘operatic’ with particular reference to movement. It thereby aims to extract operatic movement from the practice of opera singers and investigate ways to transfer ‘operaticness’ into the bodies of non-singing performers. The research uses Butoh as a model for a non-foundational movement practice (termed herein ‘Body Opera’) and embodiment techniques derived from Butoh, to achieve this transfer of kinaesthetic information. The research was undertaken in part through interviews with opera singers and close observation of opera singers in rehearsal and performance. This process also included the making of sketches of singers in movement, which are included in the thesis and which are regarded as kinaesthetic responses to what was observed. Combining the sketches with embodiment techniques that unlock the movement they contain, the gap between the spectatorial position and the performance maker position is bridged and movement-based practice is created and presented as a component of the thesis, in dialogue with the written component. Furthermore, the spectatorial and researcher positionality are recognised as that of an ‘opera queen’ and this position participates in facilitating the transfer of operaticness from singers to non-singing performers. Operatic movement is identified as that which occurs as a result of the physical restrictions of singing operatically and through the negotiation of those restrictions with the need to convey plot and character, giving rise to non-naturalistic or artificial way of moving. This emphasis on artificiality is theorised as an operatic sensibility akin to queerness. The thesis examines opera through the lens of postmodernism and in particular through a queer theoretical framework. The research analogously applies Butler’s poststructuralist theories concerning performative gender construction to opera and in doing so suggests a reading of opera as potentially queer, gender fluid, subversive and non-normative. This position challenges notions of opera as elitist and pro-establishment. The thesis posits that the operatic is an emergent property that occurs at the intersection of creative practices in opera and which is embodied by singers in performance. The thesis also posits that kinaesthetic empathy provides an explanation for how the operatic is communicated between singers and further suggests that the opera queen is similarly subject to a form of kinaesthetic empathy when listening to opera. The thesis makes a contribution to knowledge through revealing ways in which spectatorial and performance maker positions may be bridged, as well as through suggesting practical ways in which non-singing performers might approach the task of moving operatically. The research therefore contributes to movement practice, but also to opera studies by interrogating the subject of opera from a kinaesthetic perspective that centralises the body and experience of singers in order to understand the art form.

Joseph Campbell tells us that if you look closely at all cultures you find the story of “The Hero's Journey”, the vehicle for my thesis project, a devised theatre piece titled A Thousand Faces: Everyday Heroes. Though the subject of A Thousand Faces is the exploration of “The Hero's Journey” the foundation of the work is the application of the pedagogical principles of Ritual Poetic Drama Within the African Continuum (RPDWAC) as outlined in the practices of my mentor Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates, Assistant Professor of Performance at Virginia Commonwealth University Theatre (VCU). I apply RPDWAC pedagogical principles to Archetypes for the Actor/Singer (AFAS), a training methodology developed by Frankie Armstrong and another of my mentors, Professor of Voice and Speech and Head of Performance at VCU Theatre, Janet B. Rodgers. This paper outlines the process and performance of a class that combined these methodologies.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-09-25T12:23:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Claudeci_PDF.pdf: 1959106 bytes, checksum: b90c920d5007c594cff6116bbfecf661 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-06-05 / Inês Caetano de Oliveira (Marinês) initiated her career as a forró singer in the year of 1957 and gained space in the national market as the Queen of Xaxado , image that links her to the Northeast Brazilian culture. On this research we consider the lyrics of the songs in her repertoire as literature, from an extended concept, attributed by the Cultural Studies, which cover several diverse cultural productions, as chained forms of meaning. In this manner we formulated the following researche question: How is the Northeast of Brazil represented in the lyrics in the songs of the singer Marinês? Due to this, our objectives were: To do a research on the phonographic production of the singer between the years of 1957 to 2007; analyze how the Northeast population and the Northeast are represented in the lyrics of theses songs; analyze the contribution and the trajectory of the singer to the Northeast popular culture. For the composition of the corpus to be analyzed in this project, we selected 22 songs that were recorded the most by the artist in the 50 years of her career, that appear at least twice in different albums and addresses the Northeast as a theme. This choice had as base a digital database elaborated for the development of this research, that identifies the titles of the song and the names of their composers, how many times they were recorded by the singer, in which album and year of the production. We did the analyses of the lyrics based on the themes that were recurrent topics about the region: Northeast identity, drought, rain, cultural practices, the relationship with other living beings and nature. During the research, we verified that the lyrics of her songs demonstrate important aspects for the production of knowledge about the region and the Northeast culture: religion, traditional customs and a sense of being . We conclude stating that the songs in Marinês repertoire configure a construction of regional identity, based in tradition, through representations valued positively, revealing the pride in being from the northeast. / Inês Caetano de Oliveira (Marinês) iniciou sua carreira como cantora de forró no ano de 1957 e ganhou espaço no mercado nacional como a Rainha do Xaxado , imagem que marca o seu vínculo com a cultura nordestina. Neste trabalho, consideramos as letras das canções de seu repertório como literatura, dentro de uma concepção ampliada, tributária dos Estudos Culturais, que abarca produções culturais diversas, enquanto formas correntes de significação. Formulamos, assim, a seguinte questão de pesquisa: Como o Nordeste é representado nas letras das músicas da cantora Marinês? Por sua vez, nossos objetivos foram: fazer um levantamento da produção fonográfica da cantora entre os anos de 1957 e 2007; analisar como a região Nordeste e os nordestinos são representados nas letras das canções; analisar a contribuição e trajetória da cantora para a cultura popular nordestina. Para a composição do corpus a ser analisado no trabalho, selecionamos 22 músicas, dentre as mais gravadas pela artista no período dos 50 anos de sua carreira, que aparecem no mínimo duas vezes em discos diferentes e abordam o Nordeste como tema. Essa escolha teve como base um banco de dados digitalizado, elaborado para o desenvolvimento desta pesquisa, que identifica os títulos das músicas e os nomes de seus compositores, quantas vezes foram gravadas pela cantora, em qual disco e o ano de sua produção. Realizamos as análises das letras a partir dos temas recorrentes nos discursos sobre a região: identidade nordestina, estiagem, chuva, práticas culturais, relações entre os seres vivos e a natureza. No decorrer da pesquisa, verificamos que as letras das suas músicas mostram aspectos de importância para a produção de conhecimento sobre a região e a cultura nordestina: religião, costumes, tradições e o sentimento de lugar . Concluímos mostrando que as canções do repertório de Marinês configuram uma construção de identidade regional com base na tradição, através de representações valoradas positivamente, revelando o orgulho em ser nordestino.

In the paper we study the possibility to represent the index formula for spectral boundary value problems as a sum of two terms, the first one being homotopy invariant of the principal symbol, while the second depends on the conormal symbol of the problem only. The answer is given in analytical, as well as in topological terms.

An elliptic theory is constructed for operators acting in subspaces defined via even pseudodifferential projections. Index formulas are obtained for operators on compact manifolds without boundary and for general boundary value problems. A connection with Gilkey's theory of η-invariants is established.

An elliptic theory is constructed for operators acting in subspaces defined via even pseudodifferential projections. Index formulas are obtained for operators on compact manifolds without boundary and for general boundary value problems. A connection with Gilkey's theory of η-invariants is established.

The paper deals with the calculation of the fractional part of the η-invariant for elliptic self-adjoint operators in topological terms. The method used to obtain the corresponding formula is based on the index theorem for elliptic operators in subspaces obtained in [1], [2]. It also utilizes K-theory with coefficients Zsub(n). In particular, it is shown that the group K(T*M,Zsub(n)) is realized by elliptic operators (symbols) acting in appropriate subspaces.

We study the homotopy classification of elliptic operators on manifolds with singularities and establish necessary and sufficient conditions under which the classification splits into terms corresponding to the principal symbol and the conormal symbol.

The topological significance of the spectral Atiyah-Patodi-Singer η-invariant is investigated. We show that twice the fractional part of the invariant is computed by the linking pairing in K-theory with the orientation bundle of the manifold. The Pontrjagin duality implies the nondegeneracy of the linking form. An example of a nontrivial fractional part for an even-order operator is presented.

This study investigated three francophone adolescent girls� experiences with singing. A qualitative, narrative research approach (Bogdan & Biklen, 2003; Murray, 2003) was used to increase understanding about the benefits of singing, with a particular interest in exploring singing as a potentially positive means for adolescent minority-culture girls to successfully negotiate multiple aspects of identity, that is, adolescence, gender, and culture. Semi-structured interviews provided an opportunity for the participants to share their experiences, and describe what it is like for them to sing. Data were analyzed with The Listening Guide (Gilligan, Spencer, Weinberg, & Bertsch, 2003), a relational analysis responsive to the narrative and authentic voices of participants, and used to generate �I� poems and identify themes. Three ways of singing were identified � private informal, social informal, public formal � as well as three themes, evoked with the metaphors of: Rhythm (singing and experiences of identity), Harmony (singing and relationships), and Melody (singing, wellbeing, and strength). Findings confirm and extend the small but growing research literature on the psychology of singing, and have implications for those interested in working with youth using a strength-based perspective focused on positive youth development (Larson, 2000).