Posted on 01/07/2004 5:08:09 PM PST by blam
Revealed: why you can't understand what an opera soprano is singing
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
(Filed: 08/01/2004)
Physicists have discovered the reason why even operas sung in English are hard to follow. A study has found that in order for sopranos to be heard above the sound of a large symphony orchestra, they tune into resonances in their vocal tract to amplify the sound at the high end of their range.
Although this enables them to make a sound that can fill the Albert Hall, it sacrifices intelligibility because the vowels sung by sopranos in full voice all sound the same.
The discovery, reported today in Nature, was made by Dr John Smith, Elodie Joliveau and Prof Joe Wolfe at the University of New South Wales, Australia. "For sopranos, the price of being heard is a loss in comprehensibility," said Dr Smith.
The physicists studied nine sopranos with an average classical training of nine years and followed up the suspicion that the singers used a resonance effect to boost high notes. "The evidence for this is that they tend to open the mouth and smile more as they sing successively higher notes," Dr Smith said.
The vocal tract (including tongue and mouth) has several resonances that boost or amplify sounds produced in the larynx and the team measured the frequencies of resonances as the sopranos sang ascending scales. In the top half of their range (but not the bottom half), the singers did indeed tune one of the resonances to match the pitch they were singing, producing more sound for the same effort.
But the vowels end up sounding nearly the same, which makes words more difficult to understand, while consonants are affected to different degrees. "The tuning of resonances from their normal values means that different sounds such as la, lore, loo, ler and lee sound very much alike in the high register," said Dr Smith.
"What we've shown is that trained sopranos boost the sound from their vocal chords by 'tuning' or adjusting the shape of their vocal tract so it matches the pitch they are singing," said Prof Wolfe.
"The effect is a little like the amplifying effect you get by singing in the bathroom," he said, adding that even if this did not occur, "the vowels would be hard to distinguish because there just isn't enough frequency information at that high pitch." He added: "It's possibly one reason why local opera houses use surtitles even when the words to an opera are in English."
The effect has been remarked on before, notably by the 19th century French composer Berlioz, whose book about orchestration even warns opera composers to take it into account.
Those here, who are HOBBIT/THE LORD OF THE RINGS fanatics have a permanent thread. G&S fans should have one too. :-)
There is SO MUCH to be learned & Understood about the "Human Condition" from an understanding of the "Language" of "Classical Music."
Doc
PATIENCE, and PRINCESS IDA, the MOST relevant to modern day foibles, though, in truth, PATIENCE was the more so, in the '60s-'70s.
Most people are only familiar with THE MIKADO, PIRATES, and PINAFORE and that's a shame ! :-(
As for patter songs, there are many far better, than the one you mention, which really isn't one. :-)
You got me! OK, I have Trial By Jury and a few songs from some of the others.
Gilbert's wit and wondrous way with words, makes his librettos worthwhile and relevant, for just about every situation.
We usually have G&S playing, when we do long road trips, as well as during our Sunday teas.
Did you see " TOPSY TURVEY " ?
About 15 years ago, PBS ran ALL of them, excluding the reproduction of THESPIS,which my parents' troop was responsible for resurrecting and reconstructing, including COX and BOX ( which is Sullivan without Gilbert )via the BBC.They aren't : great ", but better than nothing. The PBS stores used to carry them and some libraries stock them.
Being a nosyparker I found: "Kukla, Fran and Ollie was the first color show on NBC to go coast to coast in a television special of The Mikado with Arthur Fiedler conducting the Boston Pops. It was awarded a Peabody as the outstanding childrens program of 1949. "
Even a low brow like me knows the Boston Pops ain't too shabby.
" TOPSY TURVEY " is shown, a lot, on cabel.
RUDDIGORE, though seldom performed now, for various reasons, not the least of which is the staging, is very very good. " When the night wind howls, in the chimney cowls,and the bat in the moonlight flies.... " and the pictures coming to life, and the send up of Methodists ( I'm a Methodist. LOL )are some of my very favorite things about that operetta. And Mad Margaret being so ditsy Opheliaesque, in the beginning is fantastic. :-)
Do you like Yomen and Patience too ?
But the Kukalapolitan Players didn't do the entire Makado and my parents' troop DID, also in 1949.Besides, that's like apples and oranges, since Madame Oglesby was Katashaw, IIRC,and my mother and the rest of the cast weren't a puppets. :-)
One of the great, for me, side affects of my parents doing that show, was that I got to meet, talk with, and have dinner, at home,their makeup man,Dick Smith, who later went on to win an acedemy award for his makeup work, in " LITTLE BIGMAN ".
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