Technique and Emotion. Which comes first?

Being an opera singer or "actress" means that we have to be able to identify with so many different emotions. I believe that God created each individual unique, and as an artist we have been given the ability to empathize deeply. We feel others' joy, confusion, yearing, pain and any other emotion that we are presented with. The fact that we sing or create to express that emotion shows just how deeply we feel. We must have an outlet for these cries in our soul, and so, we create. Yet every artist's portrayal of a character will be different. Every production will be its own beautiful thing. And every artist will be faced with the question of when is emotion too much and when does technique take over. How do we walk that fine line between showing emotion but still being technically sound? The more I grow as a singer, the more I am convinced that technique has to be in place before any sort of emotion can be expressed convincingly. I don't say this lightly because we have to know our characters; we have to know what we are saying. But if we don't have the tools to make others feel and conncect with those characters, we are doing a great disservice to our art form. In fact, we are doing a great disservice to ourself. I used to think I could just act like the character and people would see that acting and be moved by it. While that was a great idea, it's only a part of what goes into being a true artist. Technique. Technique. Technique. The thing is, we have to make OTHERS feel. We have to let THEM identify with our character that we've taken so much time and effort to discover and create. If we let ourselves get so caught up in the emotion that we don't sing and act properly, even if we feel like we are being true to the character, we have failed. So, we must take the time to perfect our craft. Our technique must become a part of us so that it can be called upon at a moment's notice. It should be second nature to us, but solid none the less.

One thing that has become even clearer to me is that we have to be true to ourselves as well. Just because we sing two very different characters does not mean that we use two different "voices" or "types" of singing. We are still ourselves and while the intent of a delivery may change, the means by which we get to the end of the phrase have to remain the same. Our support and focus should not shift just because one character sings a "B" excited and full of life and the other sings the "B" full of anger and remorse. So, be true to you. Use YOUR voice and sing with your technique. When we have our technique down cold, or at least know exactly what we need to do to get it back on track, then we can be the character. We will have built the tools needed to allow others to identify with us and our deep need to sing each character. The character comes out even more clearly when the technique backs us up. And then the singing gets fun! It is truly fun to know what you want to say, what you have to say and then to be able to just open your mouth and have those emotions and feelings come out with perfect delivery and clarity. We must do the work because the work is what makes the end product so exciting, so passionate and so fulfilling!