Śpiewak jako aktor – kilka refleksji o specyfice aktorstwa operowego ………. 447

THE SINGER AS AN ACTOR: SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE UNIQUE NATURE OF OPERA ACTING

The article is an essay devoted to the specificity of opera acting. The author points out the differences between the skills of a dramatic actor and the skills of a singer in opera practiced until the end of the 19th century. Two models of performance have developed in classical opera: Italian bel canto, emphasizing the technical proficiency and capabilities of the human voice (coloratura), and German musical drama, in which spoken parts appear next to arias, and the text and music are equally important. Regardless of these differences, the text intended for singing is always subordinated to the music, which determines time, rhythm and sound. For this reason, an opera libretto cannot be treated as a literary text, but as content, the full form and expression of which is given only by the music and the expression of the singer’s voice. The strong conventionality of the opera and the need for correct vocal articulation impose radical limitations on the singer’s acting skills: a certain unnaturalness of gesture, a static figure. We usually judge opera acting as less subtle than dramatic one, but we must remember that it cannot be different, because an opera singer is not only an actor, but also (or perhaps above all) a solo musical instrument.