Read the text below with your own intonation using the Sliding, Scandent and Level Scales where possible. Comment on the emotions you have tried to convey using these scales.
I’m an opera singer who sings mezzo-soprano roles. That means I play a variety of young princes, kitchen boys, peasant girls and queens. Some composers, such as Puccini, don’t give mezzo-sopranos any parts, but I have had a lot of work in operas by Verdi and by contemporary composers. As I cannot afford to turn down good roles, sometimes I have a complicated timetable. Last year I had to commute daily between London, where I was performing in the evening, and Geneva, where I was rehearsing during the day. It’s surprising what you can get used to do! Rehearsing takes up most of an opera singer’s time. By the end of this year I will have given 63 performances and rehearsed almost every day of the year. I always look forward to performing in front of an audience. Often when I get home after a performance I can’t sleep because the music is still in my head. Listen to the conversation about Liza Minnelli. Lay stress-tone marks, practice reading it and learn it by heart. Find reduction and assimilation in the dialogue and analyze all the cases in writing. A Liza Minnelli is just fantastic! Her concert was amazing! B It was, wasn’t it? And she puts so much energy into her songs, doesn’t she? A Yes, she does. Who wrote that song about marriage, and the way it changes the world? B She did. It’s one of the few songs she ever wrote, actually. A So she can write as well as sing, can she? What a talent! Did you like her costumes? B Yes, I did. I thought they were fantastic. I’ve seen most of then before. A Have you? I haven’t. She’s playing again tomorrow, isn’t she? B Yes, I think so. Let’s go again, shall we? A All right. She’s one of the all time greats, Liza Minnelli is.
12. Listen to the following text. Practice reading it imitating its intonation and learn it by heart. Transcribe the sentences in bold. Find cases of reduction and assimilation in them and analyze them. Comment on the use of Descending Stepping Scale.
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