Post by jo on Mar 19, 2023 22:05:10 GMT -5
From English actor Derek Jacobi --
How thrilling it was to hear the English actors speak with such grace and power ( James Mason, Richard Burton, Lawrence Olivier, etc)
In live theatre -- especially on Broadway, it seems that new actors are more keen to develop their singing voices only and fans even treat it as the acme of theatrical performance. I wonder how many of new Broadway talent did their theatre training in dramatic theatre instead of musical theatre. Some Broadway fans also praise mastery of an accent instead of how impressive vocal strength and nuances are. I remember how disappointed I was when I saw Denzel Washington try his theatrical skill in a Shakespeare play set to modern setting ( Julius Caesar) and he chose to play Brutus ( who will forever be associated in my mind with the vocal elegance of James Mason). At intermission, my seatmates whom I did not know exclaimed : "Why is he speaking like that??!")
Hugh Jackman trained in dramatic theatre and has used his vocal skills to good use in movies as well. Angry or somber, emotional or deadpan, comedic or dramatic, deep or higher-pitched, he has used his vocal talent with skill and feeling!
Would he ever find the opportunity to test his school-acquired vocal skills to speak the language of Shakespeare...and with feeling?
Jo
The acclaimed actor – who is to receive a lifetime achievement award at this year’s Olivier Awards – says the demise of repertory theatre is putting paid to the vocal prowess
Sat 18 Mar 2023 15.00 GMT
The demise of repertory theatre, where young actors once learned their craft in a resident company, has taken its toll on vocal technique with words “becoming less important” in live performance, according to one of the nation’s most acclaimed stars of stage and screen.
Sir Derek Jacobi told the Observer that “the use of voice, the magic of voice, has all but disappeared [in the theatre]”.
He called for actors and directors “to bring back a sense of vocal expertise, to make the words more important than the sight”. He said: “One of the magic things in the theatre – the uniqueness of the theatre – is the sound. The voice that can fill an auditorium from the front row to the back of the gods is thrilling.”
He added: “It’s the use of voice to express feeling and to lift the words off the page and inhabit them and give them a soul and a sense of feeling and a life.”
Sat 18 Mar 2023 15.00 GMT
The demise of repertory theatre, where young actors once learned their craft in a resident company, has taken its toll on vocal technique with words “becoming less important” in live performance, according to one of the nation’s most acclaimed stars of stage and screen.
Sir Derek Jacobi told the Observer that “the use of voice, the magic of voice, has all but disappeared [in the theatre]”.
He called for actors and directors “to bring back a sense of vocal expertise, to make the words more important than the sight”. He said: “One of the magic things in the theatre – the uniqueness of the theatre – is the sound. The voice that can fill an auditorium from the front row to the back of the gods is thrilling.”
He added: “It’s the use of voice to express feeling and to lift the words off the page and inhabit them and give them a soul and a sense of feeling and a life.”
How thrilling it was to hear the English actors speak with such grace and power ( James Mason, Richard Burton, Lawrence Olivier, etc)
In live theatre -- especially on Broadway, it seems that new actors are more keen to develop their singing voices only and fans even treat it as the acme of theatrical performance. I wonder how many of new Broadway talent did their theatre training in dramatic theatre instead of musical theatre. Some Broadway fans also praise mastery of an accent instead of how impressive vocal strength and nuances are. I remember how disappointed I was when I saw Denzel Washington try his theatrical skill in a Shakespeare play set to modern setting ( Julius Caesar) and he chose to play Brutus ( who will forever be associated in my mind with the vocal elegance of James Mason). At intermission, my seatmates whom I did not know exclaimed : "Why is he speaking like that??!")
Hugh Jackman trained in dramatic theatre and has used his vocal skills to good use in movies as well. Angry or somber, emotional or deadpan, comedic or dramatic, deep or higher-pitched, he has used his vocal talent with skill and feeling!
Would he ever find the opportunity to test his school-acquired vocal skills to speak the language of Shakespeare...and with feeling?
Jo