Module Five Lesson Three: Mastering Facial Expressions: A Singer's Guide to Audience Engagement

Module Five

Mar 15

Transcription

Introduction to Body Language in Performance

In the previous lesson, you learned what mirror neurons are and how they influence the flow of communication and emotion between you and your audience. In this video, we’ll dive a little deeper into how the body expresses emotion. You’ll also learn how you can practice feeling more comfortable in your body when you’re on stage.

The Importance of Physical Performance in Music

A great performance enhances great music. But what does a great performance look like? There’s no right or wrong way to move. There are infinite varieties of performance styles, from quietly subdued to frantically wild. What matters most is that your physical performance enhances the music. When you’re learning how to sing, it’s helpful to become a better listener.

When you’re learning how to communicate through your body, it’s essential to know how to see. When we watch ourselves and others, we can learn a great deal to improve our performance. But what do we focus on first? Just like when you’re learning how to listen to music, it’s helpful to focus on one thing at a time.

So, that’s what we’re going to do here.

Understanding Facial Expressions

Let’s start with facial expressions. Facial expressions consist of eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, and all the muscles that activate them. Different combinations of muscles create other expressions—anger, happiness, disgust, sadness, fear, and surprise. Add two of these expressions together, and you get micro-expressions. For instance, when you combine fear and surprise, you get the facial expression for shock. These facial expressions are universally recognized in all cultures; even If we don’t understand what someone else is saying or singing, their facial expressions give us an idea of what they’re feeling.

So that’s the basics of facial expressions. Next, let’s watch some performances through the lens of what you’ve just learned.

Analyzing Facial Expressions

First up is one of my favorite opera singers, Cecilia Bartoli. She’s performing a famous aria, Una Voce Poco Fa, from Rossini’s Barber of Seville. In the following scene, Cecilia Bartoli’s character, Rossina, is in a room with her guardian, who’s fast asleep.

She’s just heard a voice serenading her. It’s Lindoro, the young man she’s fallen in love with. She sings of her love for him, how she knows he will be hers, and then proclaims that if anyone interferes, she knows 100 tricks and will use them to get her way. Let’s listen to her vocal performance without seeing her first.

[Cecilia Bartoli Audio]

Now, let’s watch her performance.

[Video of Cecilia Bartoli]

Exaggerated Facial Expressions

So, do Cecilia’s facial expressions enhance or detract from her performance? If you felt they detracted from her singing, you’re not alone. One of my students said, “She scares me!” Another said, “Maybe she’s trying to be funny.”

Maybe, but I kind of doubt it. Cecilia is playing a young ingenue who’s singing about falling in love and winning her lover no matter what. Playing the scene for comedic effect would be kind of a strange choice. So what makes her look scary or funny? Her eyes and eyebrows. Their movements are hyper-exaggerated.

Over the top. The bottom line is they don’t serve the song or the performance. In class discussion, one student came to Cecilia’s defense. She said, “It’s a bit much up close. If she’s on an opera stage, maybe she’s exaggerating her facial expressions so people sitting far away can see her.” She did have a point.

Actors must play to the front and back row of the room. And, before movies and television, close-ups didn’t exist, so facial expressions tended to be exaggerated. In the early days of film, actors who tried to make the leap from stage to screen often failed. Their facial expressions were too much for the audience when projected onto a giant screen.

Could that be the case here?

Comparing Performances: Elina Garnça

Let’s watch another performance of the same aria and compare.

[Video of Elina Garnça]

So what do you think? Do her facial expressions detract from her singing? She’s animated, but her eyebrows and eyes move more subtly than Cecilia’s. We still get the lyrics meaning even from a distance, and the performance feels more authentic because it fits with what the character is singing about.

The Debate:
Eyes Close or Open?

There’s one more thing I’d like to cover before we move on to the rest of the body: whether or not to close your eyes when singing. Some say you should never sing with your eyes closed. Do you agree? Here’s a video of Brazilian singer Ellis Regina singing a famous Carlos Antonio Jobim song called The Ides of March.

[Video of Ellis Regina]

It’s said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. So, why would you close them when you’re singing?

Understanding the Impact of
Closing Your Eyes in Performance

When we’re in a conversation, we sometimes close our eyes when we’re trying to focus, gather our thoughts, or go deep within so we can find the words to describe the feeling. We do this when we’re singing, too.

We have an internal, personal landscape that’s easier to access with our eyes closed. When I watch a performance like Ellis Regina’s, I don’t feel shut out when her eyes are closed. Instead, I feel drawn in, experiencing the feelings she’s sharing. There’s another reason we close our eyes when singing.

Sometimes, listening to the music in and around you is easier when you’re not distracted by visual input. You can focus on the other instruments or the notes you’re about to sing more clearly when you’re not feeling overwhelmed by outside stimulation. When you’re not singing, closing your eyes can refocus your audience’s attention, subtly asking them to shift their awareness to the other musicians.

Closing your eyes in performance gives voice to your internal landscape. It’s another tool in your visual dynamics toolbox that allows you to share what you’re feeling with your audience.