The Relationship Acting Method
Acting for Opera
Opera is theatre.
Opera singers are not on stage just to sing. They are there to be someone, to inhabit a character.
There is a big difference between a singer focused only on the notes and a singer with a deep knowledge of the stage, their body, the words they are saying.
Chiara and Valerio’s work with Opera singers
“Stage presence” is not a gift. It is an art that can be learned.
Chiara and Valerio work to help each of their students find the key to their power on the stage. They work on the powerful and important relationship to their body and between their actions and the emotions that guide them. Through this work, the singers gain an understanding of the text on the page and the opera on the whole becomes more meaningful.
Becoming better actors will make you become not only better singers, but greater artists.
In order to help opera singers achieve their full potential, together with Marco Piana Chiara and Valerio co-founded the Montreal-based International School of Theatre “G. Grasso” in 2016. It is a school of performance, lyrical singing and Italian language offering workshops, advanced classes and professional training.
“Chiara and Valerio’s course at the scuola Giovanni Grasso in Montreal was a revealing and relevant experience in my opera singer journey. The exercises have definitely taken me out of my comfort zone and brought to think of my characters in a more complete way.”
“With the guidance of the wonderful Chiara and Valerio, I learned a lot about the meaning of dexterity in theatre and about how it is possible to portray so much emotion and meaning through physicality and intent. Chiara’s Italian diction classes improved my knowledge of proper pronunciation tremendously!! I come from a well-informed background in acting and still managed to gain a lot of new exciting knowledge I can’t wait to incorporate into my own work.“
“I have had the privilege to work with Chiara and Valerio twice this year. I have sung close to 20 operatic roles and worked with many stage directors in the past. Based on this, I feel confident to say that I consider that Chiara and Valerio’s approach to character building, staging and acting is remarkable, deeply gratifying, and rare to find. With them, the actor discovers the power and freedom that arrives from internalizing and channeling the emotions, text and music. Hence, even the sligthest action has a profound motivation. Nothing feels gratuitous or out of place. This renders the acting fluid, organic and at the same time with depth and meaning. I really enjoy working with them and completely agree with their vision of what performing means and requires.”
