Have you ever watched a politician make a speech that sounded like it should have moved you, but it just left you cold? Or a sports player who is technically brilliant but really doesn’t “do” it for you?
I see this all the time in opera – excellent singers who are great at hitting all the right notes, just not so great at making me care whether or not they die at the end of the show. (Which in opera, let’s face it, happens all the time.)
My very first singing teacher once said, “I don’t want to watch a safe singer. I want to see a singer on the edge, being vunerable, like walking a tightrope. That is what really moves me. ”
It’s thrilling when we see someone take a risk and push themselves beyond what we assume is possible. When we hold our breath and bite our lip because there is no way…ever…that they can pull that off!
The thrill is in the risk – it’s the stretch that comes from pushing yourself beyond what you think you’re capable of. When you take a chance and stick two fingers up at what everyone else assumes you can do. This is leading. This is what moves us.
There’s no risk involved when we watch someone who is practised in a cosy kind of “just turn it on” perfection. We can admire it, even aspire to it, but it’s hard to passionately love it when it seems so damn easy. So safe.
There’s nothing wrong with being carefully excellent at what you do. But if you really want to move people, stop playing it safe.
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Great post. Its also about the appearance of drama or effort in what you are doing. If you can make it look more difficult than it is, then to the untrained eye – it is! That way you can create massive empathy in your audience, but without totally busting a gut – which as you know is vitally important if you are doing 3 performances of a major operatic role in a given week, and you need to make your voice last!
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