The Great American Songbook
Song Interpretation and Presentation
This class introduces participants to the techniques and many nuances required for interpreting the repertoire of the Great American Songbook which incorporated the songs of the American musical theater. Our program's overall design is to provide exposure to the many layers of understanding a lyric, the various musical styles, and character analysis necessary for the successful interpretation by the performer.
This course will require the participants to bring their acting skills to musical performance—the presentation and articulation of a song, bring it to life, and create a character. Also, to be a storyteller.
An accompanist will be provided for each session. You are to attend prepared to sing with your music, preferably memorized, and with sheet music in a binder and marked for use by the accompanist.
Age:18+
Instructor: Stephen Scovasso
Stephen Scovasso is a musicologist, conductor, director and author. His operatic productions have included Carmen, Tosca, La Bohème, Don Giovanni, Gianni Schicchi, Cosi fan Tutte as well as operettas such as The Merry Widow and Die Fledermaus.
In American Musical Theater productions have included Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods and Bernstein’s Candide. In the dramatic theater, Stephen has directed Garcia Lorca’s La Casa de Bernarda Alba, and Oscar Wilde’s Salome.
He founded the SAS Performing Arts Company and studios and, in the time of COVID-19,has become a leader in virtual theater presentations he has produced and directed with a total of 5 full length virtual streams including Dracula: The Radio Play, Dickens's A Christmas Carol, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream as well as many virtual individual and holiday concerts. Many of these can be seen on the SAS Performing Arts Youtube channel.
During his years at Arizona State University, he taught classes on Opera, American Musical Theater, and created a course on Stephen Sondheim.
Mr. Scovasso has also published a treatise on Puccini's Il Trittico and the end of Italian Opera
Instructor: Deborah Surdi
Deborah Surdi, soprano, is an experienced singer, voice teacher and coach, as well as an executive and consultant in the music and concert presenting business. As a singer, she performed for many years in both local and regional opera companies in the Tri-State area. Her roles include Mimi, Musetta, Fiordiligi, Tosca, Rosalinda and Cio-Cio San, to name a few. She has also performed in Cabarets and American Musical Theater shows and worked with the late Barbara Cook on song presentation and style.
For the bulk of her working career she held various positions at RCA Records/BMG Classics and Sony Classical, with her last position as Vice President of Artists and Repertoire. Former Executive Director of The Opera Orchestra of New York, Deborah is currently working in executive capacities with the Martina Arroyo Foundation and The Queens Symphony Orchestra.