From Hochzeitskantate BWV 202 / J. S. Bach -- A song cycle on the birth of Jesus / John Lambert -- Der Hirt auf dem Felsen / Franz Schubert -- Cinq melodies populaires grecques / Maurice Ravel -- Siete canciones populares espanolas / Manuel de Falla. / text

Viktor Ullmann's Terezín Lieder: A Performance Guide to Songs for Soprano or High Voice is, as the title states, a detailed guide of nine songs composed while Ullmann was imprisoned in the Terezín Ghetto from 1942-1944. This dissertation also proves that although he was incarcerated in terrible and inhumane conditions, Ullmann, among others, was able to compose music highly artistic in style and value. The songs and sets included in this document are "Wendla im Garten" (1918/1943), Hölderlin Lieder (1943/1944), Lieder der Tröstung (1943), and Drei jiddische Lieder/Březulinka Op. 53 (1944). Included is the history of Terezín before and during World War II, the camp's musical output, and a concise biographical background of Viktor Ullmann's life. A brief biography of each poet or writer (Frank Wedekind, Friedrich Hölderlin, Albert Steffen, David Einhorn, and Zalman Shneour) is given along with a discussion as to why Ullmann chose particular poems and prose. The importance anthroposophy had on his life and his musical output is also explored. The original text of each poem or prose is given with a poetic translation. In addition, the texts presented in Ullmann's scores are provided with a word for word translation and International Phonetic Alphabet pronunciation guide. A style guide to various elements - e.g. melody, harmony, range, accompaniment, etc. - in each song is also provided in hopes of allowing these songs to be more approachable and accessible. Finally, lists of various foundations dedicated to the life and music of Viktor Ullmann and the Holocaust, as well as Ullmann lieder scores and recordings are provided.

This piece is five movements for Wind Ensemble. Each movement includes unaccompanied vocal introductions. I have chosen five poems by Sara Teasdale as the text for these introductions. The large ensemble then expands and comments on the themes introduced by the voice. The five Teasdale poems outline a narrative arc partially inspired by the book The Giver by Lois Lowry, but also hopefully encourage the listener to imagine their own story of how one’s view of things changes as new experiences and knowledge change the perspective.

This thesis aims at investigate the feasibility of classifying the soprano singing voice type using a single layer neural network trained with the FIR-ELM algorithm after that the monaural auditory mixture has been segmented with the Harmonic, Percussive and Residual, HPR, decomposition algorithm, previously introduced by Driedger et al.Two different decomposition structures has been evaluated both based on the same HPR decomposition technique. Firstly one single layer that only take advantage of the result of the more pure harmonic and the more pure percussive components of the signal. Secondly, one multilayer structure that further decompose both the harmonic and the percussive components but also takes into account the components that can not be clearly categorized as neither harmonic or percussive components, these are the residual components. The result of the classification was up to 98.5 $\%$ after using these segmentation techniques, this shows that it is feasibly to classify the singing voice type soprano in an monaural source recorded in a non-professional environment using the FIR-ELM algorithm.

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.

I have researched how one can improve ones learning eventough you might not know what your voice type is yet. It is a personal account on my process where I have develloped tools that I and hopfully others can use in the future.

“I am the wife of Mao Tse-tung” is an aria from the opera “Nixon in China”, written by American composer John Adams in 1987. My interest in contemporary music is driven by the opportunity to engage directly with living composers and the modern relevance of the themes. While searching for a new audition aria, I discovered the role of Chiang Ch’ing, which suits my coloratura soprano voice. This prompted an in-depth study of her historical background, reversing my usual method of learning an aria. This approach allowed for quicker and deeper internalization of the role, demonstrating that understanding a character's context can enhance performance, even without personal empathy. This method improved my connection with the audience and enriched my overall performance. I plan to apply this approach to future roles, whether they are based on historical figures or fictional characters.

This creative project has explored a staging of Eugene Ionesco's The Bald Soprano that incorporated motion-picture film as a technical device. Drawing from the full body of Ionesco's works and their amplification of themes, theatrical techniques and use of language, this study considered The Bald Soprano as an Absurd play. The use of motion-picture film and slides in other theatrical productions was analyzed in order to justify the attempt to marry live actors and film on-stage in lonesco's play. In addition, this study discussed the director's approach to the production of The Bald Soprano: the rehearsal process, the light and set design, the use of film. Finally, it evaluated the attempt in terms of four principles of criticism: unity, communication, truthful projection of the playwright's emphasis and rhythm.The creative project also contains: a copy of the script annotated with the actions of the actors, the stage movements, light and sound effects, photographs of the play; a scenario of the film used and photographs lifted from individual frames of the film.

Johann Gottlieb Naumann ist einer der wenigen Hofkapellmeister am kurfürstlich-sächsischen Hof, der auch aus Dresden stammt. Er wurde am 17. April 1741 in Blasewitz bei Dresden geboren. Nach einer entbehrungsreichen Jugend und frühzeitigen musikalischen Ausbildung in Italien übertrug die hochmusikalische Kurfürsten-Witwe Maria Antonia Walpurgis bereits dem 23jährigen Naumann das verantwortungsvolle Amt als Kirchen-Compositeur in einer desolaten Lage der musikalischen höfischen Kultur. Naumann hat den Text – die Arie des Arpago aus Metastasios »Ciro riconosciuto«, Wien 1736 – nochmals vertont. So sind mehrere Abschriften eines Duettes für zwei Soprane und Basso continuo in Venedig und Padua überliefert. Eine Datierung des Werkes ist ungewiss, es gibt aber zwei indirekte Hinweise auf eine mögliche Entstehungszeit. 1778 erschien die Canzonette »Ecco quel fiero istante« nach Metastasio für zwei Violinen, Sopran und Basso1, neben dem vorliegenden Werk die einzige Canzonette mit Begleitung mehrere Instrumente. Weitere Gesänge auf italienische Texte für Solostimme und ausschließlicher Klavierbegleitung gehen auf das Jahr 1769 zurück. Naumann war mit Johann Adolf Faustinus Weiss, dem Sohn von Silvius Leopold Weiss, befreundet, der seit 1763 bis zu seinem Tod 1814 als Kammerlautenist an der Dresdner Hofkapelle verpflichtet war. Er kann als Interpret infrage kommen.