LAYLA VINSON
Staff Writer
Twenty years after his first summer at Chautauqua as a student of the Voice Program, renowned tenor Dominic Armstrong will continue to share his repertoire as a part of the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory master class series at 10 a.m. today in McKnight Hall. As associate professor of voice at the University of South Carolina with degrees from Truman State University, The Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music, Armstrong is a firm advocate of continued learning.
“Isn’t that what Chautauqua was all about in the first place?” Armstrong asked.
Being a member of the Chautauqua community for so long, both as an educator and a student, Armstrong said he finds great enjoyment in reacquainting himself with those he’s connected with over the years. In his experience, despite the short length of the season, the condensed and intensive nature of the pedagogical program fosters an environment conducive to development.
“You’d feel like you were in a time capsule,” Armstrong recalled. “And then you got back to school and would be like, ‘What? Look at how much has changed.’”
Now a Metropolitan Opera National Council Grand Finalist and winner of the George London Foundation Competition, the tenor has been deemed as having “impeccable control” and “blistering intensity” from sources including Opera News and Seen and Heard International.
Armstrong said this same “intensity” is what he brings to his work with students, encouraging them to create individual characterizations while also sharing with them his particular forte by “really clarifying” what and how they enunciate in performance. This, he said, ensures maximum clarity “so that the technical aspect of their singing actually shines through much more.”
While emphasizing techniques surrounding breath, vowel and space as the few all-encompassing points of focus applicable to all singers, Armstrong urges each artist to discover their own version of these general methods best suited to their unique repertoire. But navigating specifics of the operatic craft can sometimes prove difficult for students still trying to find their footing.
“I think that the reason that people like what I do much of the time is because I connect myself to the text so much, and I try to come at it with as much vulnerability as possible,” Armstrong said. “It’s hard to do that when you’re a learning singer, only because you’re trying to figure out ‘How do I make the sounds that I need to make?’ on top of these other things.”
Tackling other core concepts such as acting, diction and linguistic challenges, Armstrong stressed the ever-growing requirements for many opera singers who must learn to formulate a “mini-business” as they find themselves treading the uncharted waters of freelance work.
Continuously impressed by the dedication and talent within the Conservatory, Armstrong urged audiences to seek out any of the master classes taking place this season to observe the developing young artists.
“They’re getting even better throughout (this) process, which is wonderful,” Armstrong said. “Finding more of their own truth.”
