Breadcrumb

From Intuition to Method: Exploring the Expressiveness of the Voice when Singing

Research project
Active research
Project owner
Academy of Music and Drama

Short description

Ulrika Tenstam Juvas

In my professional role as an opera singer and vocal coach, the focus is on expression - what is conveyed and what moves. Over the course of my career, I have seen vocal technique become increasingly dominant, sometimes at the expense of expression.

Technique and expression should be symbiotic. Technique should support expression, and expression should give meaning to technique. By expression I mean the nuances conveyed by the timbre of the voice through empathy. But what is empathy and can it be methodically trained?

In my role as an opera singer and vocal coach, I already work with empathy, but intuitively, both in the rehearsal process and in teaching. Now I want to explore whether it is possible to develop a method that systematises the work without losing artistic freedom.

Opera singer Ulrika Tenstam in the role of Ulrica in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera at Folkoperan 2012.
Opera singer Ulrika Tenstam in the role of Ulrica in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera at Folkoperan 2012.
Photo: Mats Bäcker