The Classical Voice Studio of Diana Farrell

Monday, May 24, 2021 by Diana Farrell | THOUGHTS FROM THE STUDIO

People who know me well know that I have a love of learning and collecting foreign language words that have no single word translation in English. A lot of times these are feelings or situations that are universally experienced and of such value that they require a succinct and referable word for certain languages or cultures. One that I was reminded of this week (and I'm thinking of framing from my little studio wall) is the Greek word, meraki. 

Meraki (n.) /mɛɹ̩ɑki/ To do something with soul, creativity, for love; to put something of yourself into your work.

#Meraki is something I think all creatives begin their artistic exploration with, but many of us lose as we move into a more serious observation of technique and execution. Singing is so much about breathing and using our bodies to express ideas. I constantly beg my students to find their own examples of memory or sensation to consider when working through a new technique or passage. Sometimes it's artistic and sometimes it's simply recalling our bodily response to a moment or experience. That is how to keep your music alive, even when you are focusing on a tough technical excerpt or exercise. We must use our humanity to literally breathe life into what we are doing. Oftentimes it makes the technical undertaking easier to repeat properly and gives us our "why" behind those grueling moments. How have your life experiences informed your creative practice lately? Please share!

📷: As Magda Sorel with Sandra Ross as Mother, PC Jeff Ridenour, designer for 2017's The Consul with Nightingale Opera Theatre

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