Shakespeare in Song

The performance I attend was the Shakespeare in Song performance by the UTD Chamber Singers. It was on March 27^th, 2010 at the Jonsson Performance Hall at 8pm. Most of the pieces were part of original Shakespearian plays sung in the style of madrigals.

Music

The music featured a polyphonic texture. At each point during the piece only one voice part would be singing the melody line. The tempo of each piece would vary depending upon the speeches that preceded the pieces. The concert was broken into speech parts and music pieces that would coincide with the plot lines of the Shakespearian plays. Accompaniment was there to support the singers in order to keep them on pitch. All the pieces were split into respective soprano, alto, tenor, and bass parts. Most pieces were conjunct in nature, by using only small steps in between each note sung. Some pieces would be interrupted by speech parts which would create a feeling of urgency in the music. The tone of most of the pieces was minor in feeling and felt like they conveyed an emotion of sadness.

Performers

To match the theme of the pieces sung, the performers dressed in traditional Renaissance attire. Each scene/act would start with a speech that was transcribed from the original play. In response to the speech, the performers standing on the risers would sing along with the performers that were speaking off the right of the stage. The chorus itself would remain still on the risers, unless otherwise noted by the director, who informed performers and the chorus where to move. Interaction was restricted by speech, in which the speakers did not move around or about the stage, manipulating the space, they stood in their respectful corners, with a stand in front of them and read off the script. Tonal infliction in their speeches would illustrate whatever emotion they are to portray to the audience. Individual performers who were from the advanced voice classes had solos and stood apart from the chorus considering they are not part of the chamber production. Their solos would be separate acts and scenes taken from Shakespeare.

Audience

The Audience for the most part seemed genuinely uninterested in the performance. I say this because there were many glowing blue lights as the result of people texting on their phones. The audience was small and dispersed throughout the auditorium. Most of the audience collected in the back and it was apparent that most of the attendees were there for some sort of class requirement. It was a free open event, however most of the audience consisted of students with a few of the performers parents collecting at the front of the auditorium. After intermission, most of the audience disappeared and only a few saw the performance to its completion.

Time and Space

Because this was the final performance, most of the people who wanted to see it had already seen it. Also because it was on campus it was more accessible to UTD students as opposed to outsiders. However because it was on a Saturday evening, only people who truly wanted to attend the concert would go as opposed to others who would most likely have other plans. He familiar location of the Jonsson performance hall made the concert easy to find however it was a small auditorium. The lighting was not that dim, so most of the performers could see the audience and there was interaction between some of the performers and the audience.

In conclusion, the Shakespeare in Song Performance at the Jonsson Performance Hall by the UTD Chamber Singers, turned out to be a performance of madrigal music for a small audience that consisted of mostly students.

Works Cited

Shakespeare in Song. Dir. Director Kathryn Evans. Perf. UTD Chamber Singers. University of Texas at Dallas, Jonsson Performance Hall, Richardson, 27 Mar. 2010.