Diane Speirs, conductor of HMS Pianfore for DragonDiva Operatic Theatre is a good friend and colleague. I knew she would be a wonderful addition to the DragonDiva family. I have always been in the musical driver's seat for DragonDiva's productions, and I thought it would hard for me to "hand over the reigns". With Diane holding the baton, it's been an easy thing for me to step aside. I had a few minutes to sit down with this wonderful musician today before rehearsal and ask a few questions.
Tell me about yourself as a conductor?
It developed organically for me. I grew up singing in church where I learned a lot about music. Conducting is mostly about having an opinion and being able to express that opinion in a way that makes sense for the singers. My conducting developed through my singing, and working from the piano. I conducted an RCMP recruit choir in Regina, which was my first time just standing and conducting rather than playing the piano and leading.
How does your singing influence your conducting?
I breathe with the singers, and understand what works and what does not work for the singers. I also take a nurturing approach rather than a dictatorial or hard approach. You get so much more out of your singers if they feel supported and encouraged and valued because singing is such a personal activity. Studying singing made me very aware of the connection between a singer and their instrument, which is their body. When you are critiqued as a singer, it is a part of you that is being critiqued.
Is this your first time conducting an entire opera?
Yes.
What was your previous experience with Gilbert and Sullivan? Has your opinion of G&S changed over the course of this show?
I’ve sung Mabel in Pirates of Penzance, but never had the opportunity to sink my teeth into the whole piece. I have found that there is more to this music than appears on the surface, even more than I realized.
What have you learned or discovered through this work?
It feels like an extension of the coaching and teaching that I have done over the past several years. At some point, there are things that you ask for that you may not get, and you have to know what to insist on. It has been a nice surprise when I have set high expectations and they have been met. At other times, you have to decide that you can live without something.
I am aware that I physically sense what is going on with the singer… if there is tension in the jaw, I feel it and it makes me more aware of my own body and my own singing. My work with Alexander Technique is useful in terms of relating to what the singers are doing physically.
It's also interesting preparing a piece with a sense of objectivity – outside of myself. You have to figure out what we need to do to get to where we need to be. It’s added a new layer to my own preparation of music.
I like the challenge of figuring out how to communicate with the singers to get what I want. We’re at the shifting place, where we’ve reached a certain level, and now it’s time to support the singers and see what they can bring to the piece. In some cases, I am letting some desires go and letting the singers give me what they are capable of giving for the place they are in right now.
Double casting is also fascinating - to see the differences between the two singers in each role.
How has the fact that you and Jeanine are both opera singers influenced the director/conductor relationship?
I appreciate the work that Jeanine does with the singers, she is very aware of the musical needs of the show. The relationship is very organic, we can venture sometimes into each others areas of responsibility with comfort and respect for each other, and it comes from a place of support.
Have you discovered anything that you don’t like about conducting?
No, I’ve enjoyed the whole process. It’s kind of sad not to have orchestra.
(NOTE: We at DragonDiva agree... it's sad. If anyone happens to want to fund an orchestra, we accept!)
I was very good at music theory. When I look at a piece of music, it makes complete sense to me. But, I hardly ever harmonically analyze my scores, I conduct music the way I feel it in my gut... I suspect that is true for you too, because you are also an intuitive musician. Is that true?
I do conduct the way the music feels. I also start with the text and do a lot of reading to gain some context for the piece. I play through the piano score to get a sense of the flow of the piece before I ever open the orchestral score.
Do you think you would approach a more “serious" opera any differently than you have this piece?
No. What would be different? Because of the style of the piece, we’ve strayed a little vocally from traditional opera singing style in some cases, but that’s typical of character singing even in "serious" opera. It’s a joy to see this piece sung by trained opera singers.
I would also start with the text in foreign language opera. The language gives them an immediate connection to what they are singing about. Hearing a singer in a foreign language and then hearing them sing in English, it can be a vastly different experience. There’s often an internal translation process going on when singing in foreign languages. When I was managing the education program for Vancouver Opera, I heard this in auditions all the time. I remember we would often ask auditioning singers to sing something in English.
I don’t talk about vocal technique much in rehearsal, because if I can get the singer to understand the journey, a lot of vocal technique issues resolve themselves. I tend to talk to them more about the emotional intent behind the music, and not so much about technique.
What surprised you about this experience?
The very real, very serious moments that appear in this piece. The relationship between conductor and singer – it can be a mutual creating experience rather than a leading/following situation.
(NOTE: I wanted to stand and applaud at this statement. I couldn't agree more!)
Would you work with DragonDiva again sometime?
Yes! Of course.
Come see the lovely and talented Diane Speirs leading our fantastic production of HMS Pinafore - opening next Friday!
John Arsenault, Music Director/Production Manager
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