Lifelong study of Shakespeare appears to indicate to me and perhaps to others who may have been aware of it but have not published their intuitions that Shakespeare possessed a seeming pedal point, basso sostenuto continuo obbligato, melodic underpinning to his works.
Had he been born a century later he could have benefitted from the musical notation then available, way beyond the Gregorian chant monody. He might well have been a music composer and his own lyricist!
In 1980 I began composition of my single-protagonist opera 'Shakespeare.'
I have been revising it since its completion in 1984, reworking it to include Shakespeare's commentary, implicit or explicit, that would elicit nods of agreement from contemporary audiences and enrich the thrust of the opera for modern sophisticated audiences.
It will be obtainable on the Valhalla Records label in home video and CD formats.
Shakespeare reviews in his mind, chronologically, his life span's work output at the close of his life.
Highlights of his histories, comedies, tragedies and sonnets comprise the body of the opera within a framework that encompasses his contempraries and the issues of his day.
The video and CD will be obtainable in stores and online on my re-constructed
www.wagneropera.com,
www.wagner-opera.org and www. festspielhausboonton.org
If there is anything to learn from the past, it is that many DO NOT LEARN, but seek to gain fabulous lifestyles, without the requisite work ethic and assiduous continued application of knowledge and workout techniques.
To sing with flair, with complete control of the vocal instrument, and with a deep understanding of the communicative potential that singing CAN provide, one should investigate one's own potential, be it professional or merely as an added talent.
One can achieve quick, demonstrable results from the very first lesson if one studies with a teacher who 'has been there.' A dramatically-long singing career augurs the rightness of one's vocal technique.
I have sung professionally since age 17 and have commercial CDs on the Valhalla Records label of live solo concerts in the main hall of Carnegie Hall, sold at the Metropolitan Opera House, Barnes & Noble, Borders, HMV, Sam Goodys and Tower Records and from HB Recordings Direct.
For late-hour shoppers my CDs are also on sale at Colony Records at 49th Street and Broadway, New York, until 1 AM everyday.
To comprehend what one can do with a good vocal technique, listen to track 4, my 'Siegmund heiss' ich!,' from Wagner's 'Die Walkuere,' on my 'Wagner's Epic Heroes' CD [Valhalla Records VRCD-1595].
All the best for the upcoming holiday season!
Kenneth Bennett Lane, Wagnerian romantischer heldentenor, composer of the single-protagonist opera 'Shakespeare,' and teacher of singing at Carnegie Hall and at The Festspielhaus of Boonton.
Current Manhattan [NYC] Bell Atlantic (Verizon) Yellow Pages Classified Telephone directory, under MUSIC: Instruction:Vocal pg 1064 '2000' Musical America International Directory of the Performing Arts, pg 404 To Chat: (973) 335-0111 & (973) 541-1678 'The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it!' John Ruskin
