Being an opera singer on a big stage is far from artistic freedom. Opera is a large format, a kind of gesamtkunswerk where my function as a singer becomes a small piece in the context.
Imagine that you are standing on stage with an opera choir at your back and technicians on the side stage who are ready to lift stage walls of 6 tons when you hit high c. The conductor is 15 meters from you and the orchestra sits below the stage. You don't see them. All communication with the orchestra goes through the conductor. You have to turn your head outwards towards the audience in order for your voice to carry through the orchestral sound, even if you are singing to the person standing next to you. You can't just start singing. The conductor must be ready to take the whole orchestra and perhaps an opera chorus with him. We look each other in the eyes and he lifts the stick, I draw in my breath, feel the support muscles take hold and off we go with the composed structure we all have to deal with.
The song stands in the way of the expression. The song gives me little freedom to act spontaneously with real presence in the moment. The song binds the breath and the body technically, which distances me from the emotions. Singing well technically with the right timbre and support can overshadow communication skills.
When I work with actors I feel like it's more like a ping pong game. More unpredictable. You never quite know where the ball will bounce until the shot is made by your opponent. Then you react after the hit as you feel or as it comes naturally to keep the game going. For me, theater is more intense listening and reaction to listening. I don't have to deal with the conductor and own my own time. It is listening to my opponent that makes me say what I have to say in the intention I have to drive the piece forward. In Intention, I try to bring out inner motivations, preferably from my own life experiences, in order to produce a credible register of emotions for the characters on stage.
For me, opera and theatre are two different universes. How can I reconcile them? Can I create my own performance where theater and opera are equated? I have therefore tried to explore borderlands between music and theatre. How does the theater affect the music and how much does the music affect the theatre?
When is it theater and when is it music?
Eir Inderhaug is an opera singer who has made a career on major opera stages. At the same time, she has worked with actors and participated in spoken word theatre. In this PhD project, Eir will create a performance where theater and music are equal. Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra has recorded the music. She also wants to connect artificial intelligence, which she has trained to sing opera.
Artistic Research Spring Forum 2025
2nd presentation
In my research project, I am striving to find my own voice and expression as a performer.
I seek to break free from the artistic straitjacket I feel confined to as a light soprano in the opera field. The focus on technical singing and musical expression in opera often overshadows acting skills and the significance of words. Music binds time and frames words into phrases that limit expressive possibilities.
Opera voices are divided into voice groups that closely tie you to a stereotypical field, binding you to a set of role types. This often limits a singer's expressive range. One of my artistic projects is to find a scenic form of expression where I can equate opera with spoken theater. I want to find a way to convey music and words without constantly being bound by opera's strict conventions.
I explore several aesthetic ways to express myself on stage that open up for multiple artistic genres. For me, a scenic expression is not just about producing the perfect vocal technical sound rooted in the bel canto tradition. Equally important is being a co-creator of performative means such as physical embodiment, text delivery, directorial approaches, scenography, lighting design, etc., and not least how I, as an actor, challenge the traditional opera voice as a singing actor.
In spoken theater, words can be shaped more freely, expressing subtext and the character's intentions without being bound by a musical soundscape.
I experience a different presence and freedom in allowing words and actions to control time.
In this process, I have sought an expression where music and theater meet, and the boundary between them becomes blurred. I have distanced myself from the opera orchestra, harmonies, conductor, opera chorus, and opera singing technique. I search and seek out works where I stand alone with my body and voice. I am beginning to be unsure whether it is music or theater I am engaged in. What makes a work music, and what makes a work theater?
My aim is to create a large-scale stage production that sheds light on the industry's youth-obsessed attitudes, which often erase women as they age. I use recorded music with the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra combined with contemporary music, musicians, and video art. I want to challenge the opera format to blend seamlessly with pure spoken theater.