The Singing Intonation and the Physical Actions of an Opera Artist: an Interdisciplinary Analysis

From the position of interdisciplinary studies, the article researches the interconnection between singing intonation tied with physical action and the opera performer's corporeal-physical goals in his or her role and part. Within the framework of the systematic theory of the actor's creativity and method of physical actions developed by Konstantin Stanislaysky the unity of scenic action and the singer's perception is described. The practitioners and theoreticians of the 20th century stage arts indicate at the perception of the "material" characteristic features of the artistic voice and the "physical" meanings of intonations researched by contemporary stage direction in work with actors. It becomes established that a significant amount of progress in the understanding of the art of intonating in 20th century theater has been achieved by the actor and stage director Antonin Artaud. The author of the article turns to the outstanding research work about musical intonation written by Boris Asafiev, who seriously approaches the theory of musical perception, which becomes impossible without such"physical" elements of creativity as the performer's "perceptions" appearing in the process of living in an imaginary reality, "thinking by means of music" and "actions by means of singing." The article demonstrates several techniques of stage direction and means of forming intonation, the definition of the voice's "texture," as the "corporeal vibrations of the spirit" of the role and the part. The author emphasizes that academic research of the issue of singing intonation becomes possible only from the perspective of systematic theory, where the self-organization of complex living system undergoes a contemporary scientific and humanitarian analysis.