Barber of Seville is a prime example of an opera that lives or dies by “recitativo.” Recitativo, or “recits” for those in the know, is a monologue or dialogue that is sung, usually over a harpsichord or continuo. It is used to further the plot and explain the action and it usually gives a bunch of facts and information- fast and furious- to the audience. Since it is simply dialogue there is very little repetition of lines, as you might find in an ensemble which is accompanied by a full orchestra. When done with "zhuzh", they basically liven up the whole proceeding of an opera.
Note: I use many of the same rules that I apply to recits to the ensembles.
At this point in the process, I don’t look at notes or rhythms of the music at all. Instead, I just say the words out loud, over and over, and just get used to saying them.
The goal of this step is two-fold: I found fairly early on in my career that if I wasn’t able to speak the words with the correct diction and with the right inflection and intent, it was impossible for me to learn the notes and rhythms with any integrity.
The other goal is to is to figure out the ways that you can riff on the meanings of the recits. I can find that if I speak the sentence over and over, I can wring out different implications of the line depending on how the scene plays out. For example:
My cat DIED and I am despondent.
My CAT died and I’m despondent.
My cat died and I’m DESPONDENT.
Silly, but remarkably effective. It’s a great way for me to keep the lines fresh as I sing them and during big ensembles where you sing the same stuff over and over again, it helps take your mind off the occasionally brutal vocal lines.
Yes, I’m that guy standing in the back of the train muttering to himself. Don’t worry, I'm mostly harmless.
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