“Their voices don’t get lighter as they get higher or softer nor darker as they get lower or louder. There are different colors used but the balance remains the same. They are connected. They are down. They are in their body and under their tone.”
Do you hear it?
What I can hear through Allen’s performance is how the voice doesn’t flow as clearly as when his concentration is built. It sounds a bit more forced or pressed because he didn’t have as much time or focus to set up or release tension because his mind is still focused on the previous thought.
Can you tell?
To be honest, it’s evident with Connolly when she comes off her voice slightly, but at the same time, the affect is well received and doesn’t deter the listener from the line. Another affect is the straight tone at times, but again, it doesn’t cause the line to lose energy or vitality. It is very difficult with both singers to tell if there are so much vocal difficulties, especially Connolly, she really stays in the performance.
What do perceive they’re doing?
It seems to me that what keeps the line is the constant breath support in which both singers engage. In every breath should exist the relaxation that allows them to continue the phrase. Overall, in Allen’s case, it seems that the disengaging of the energy and breath is the noticeable difficulty.
Incidentally, notice how Allen looses focus and concentration at times.
Doesn’t it throw you out of the performance?
Definitely throws me out of the performance to see his shoulders raise at :35 of the video, and at 1:58 as he goes up for the high notes. Another notable instance is in 1:01 and other places where his eyes are shifting in different directions to the conductor— It does really distract me from the meaning of the phrase because I’m thinking about what may have aided his loss in concentration or what he may have possibly been attempting that didn’t succeed.
How is she by comparison?
Connolly is fantastically engaged in the text. Something she does especially well is to capture the mystical essence with her informative gestures and dynamics. She increases them at the appropriate places in volume and energy but she doesn’t seem to raise her shoulders at any incident.
Sarah Connolly
Sir Thomas Allen
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