French Diction and Opera Blog — Elsa Queron

Graduate Recital Repertoire

Graduate Recital Repertoire

Repertoire for graduate recitals for all voices

Elsa QueronJuly 16, 2023opera, french, melodie, francais, songs, graduate, recital, music, classical, voice, sing, soprano, mezzo, mezz-soprano, tenor, baritone, bass, baryton, singing, poulenc, berlioz, ravel, milhaud, aboulker, delage, roussel, ropartz, debussy, honegger, satie, boulanger

Suggested Repertoire for Undergraduate Voices

Elsa QueronOctober 20, 2022

When final nasals become open vowels

An additional diction subtlety to add to your palette.

Elsa QueronApril 10, 2022diction, diction coach, diction teacher, French coach, French opera, French diction coach, French, French song, French diction, sing, singer, music, classical, opera, opera singer, classical music, phonetic

Jacques Ibert's La Mort de Don Quichotte : in between two worlds

Jacques Ibert's La Mort de Don Quichotte : in between two worlds

An analysis of a song dear to my heart, about a character's last words, between folly and sanity, reality and fiction, and a topic we often shy away from: mental illness in literary characters and how fiction and reality meet when it comes to dealing with what makes us uncomfortable

Elsa QueronApril 3, 2022cervantes, ibert, opera, melodie, don quichotte, don quixote, baritone, baryton, chansons, mort, French song, french, French opera, sing, singer, singing, Dulcinée

L’Oiseau Bleu, a journey through female mythology

L’Oiseau Bleu, a journey through female mythology

Lovers, mothers, wives or fairies, all facets of one diamond: the concept of the woman as a being of Love, by Paul Fort.

Elsa QueronJanuary 15, 2022beydts, opera, French song, mélodies, française, Paul fort, l'oiseau bleu, bleu, l'oiseau, chanson, maeterlinck, druart, metzinger, cubist painting, female mythology

The sound [y] in French

The sound [y] in French

One of the “Frenchiest” sounds out there, explained.

Using Schwa in French

Using Schwa in French

The benefits of using [œ] resonance for the schwa in French.

The semi-vowel [ɥ]

The semi-vowel [ɥ]

How to produce an even semi-vowel in order not to disturb the rhythm of the language.

Shadow vowels when singing in French.

Shadow vowels when singing in French.

In French too, shadow vowels help singers produce clearer and healthier consonants.

French feature of the week : Georges Thill

French feature of the week : Georges Thill

One of the most famous and respected French singers.

Elsa QueronMay 10, 2020opera, opera singer, French opera, tenor, sing, singing, singer, classical music, Elsa Queron, Manhattan School of Music, New York, French, French coach, French diction, French diction coach, Massenet

The case of "Donc"

The case of "Donc"

The word “Donc” and the “License Poétique”

Elsa QueronMay 10, 2020opera, opera singer, French opera, French coach, French diction, French diction coach, French, Manhattan School of Music, Elsa Queron, singing, music, classical music, New York, sing, Donc

Those French Nasals

Those French Nasals

Typical of the French language, these vowels are among the trickiest sounds to master.

Elsa QueronMay 10, 2020opera, opera singer, French opera, nasals, coach, teacher, French coach, French diction, French diction coach, French, Manhattan School of Music, Elsa Queron, singing, diction

Accent d'insistance

Accent d'insistance

This is a quick introduction to the "accent d'insistance".

While you could translate this quite literally to "insistence accent", it relates better in English as a "leaning accent".

Elsa QueronMay 10, 2020French, French diction coach, opera, opera singer, French opera, accent d'insistance, diction, singer, Elsa Queron, singing, opera signer, teacher, French diction, classical music, Manhattan School of Music, New York, coach, French coach

French feature of the week: Non monsieur mon mari!

French feature of the week: Non monsieur mon mari!

Elsa QueronMarch 7, 2020Poulenc, Denise Duval, Francis Poulenc, Les Mamelles de Tirésias, opera, French, sing, opera singer

Translating the French in our scores… all of it!

Translating the French in our scores… all of it!

Elsa QueronMarch 7, 2020French, translate, translation, score, music, opera, scores, classical, help, markings, Elsa Queron, Elsa, Manhattan School of Music, French diction coach, coach, teacher Comment