Opera on the Move in the Nordic Countries during the Long 19th ...

Formed to Perform
master notified the director, specifying the piece and role that he thought
was appropriate. It was the singing master’s responsibility to safeguard his
student’s interests so that they did not make their debut too soon or in an
inappropriate role.
Apart from taking care of the students, the singing master also supervised
the vocal work of the opera personnel, singers as well as actors. He
corrected their vocal mistakes and nurtured their abilities; in short, he was
responsible for the vocal health of everyone singing at the opera. When
roles where distributed among the singers, the singing master guided the
directors in choosing a voice that suited a given role. He also conferred
with the leader of the orchestra on every new opera or play on how the
vocal parts were to be performed. Their collaborative decisions were then
presented to the director for approval. The instruction for Berg shows that
the responsibilities of the singing master were manifold, spanning both the
vocal and moral education of the students, choosing their repertoire, supervising
rehearsals, correcting the bad habits of the older singers and guiding
the directors in vocal matters.
The curriculum
At the beginning of the nineteenth century the students were very young,
between 9 and 15 years of age, but there were exceptions. 9 With such young
pupils the theatre acted in loco parentis and supplied the pupils with clothing,
room and board, as well as education. The curriculum consisted of declamation,
singing, music lessons, acting and dancing. 10 Since Sweden had
no general school requirement at that time, the students were also given a
basic education in reading and writing, mathematics, geography, history and
social subjects. They received some education in French and other foreign
languages. During their music lessons the students were supposed to learn
the rudiments of music theory and how to play the piano. This curriculum
continued through the first half of the nineteenth century with a few minor
changes.
There were three types of pupils: singers, actors and dancers. During
their first years they all received lessons together. Each of the classes had
regular students for whom the school paid boarding fees, and unpaid pupils
were tested before being allowed to enter the school as regular students. In
9 For instance, in 1785 Petter Swartling was accepted at the age of 25. (Luterkort 1998,
p. 19)
10 See the contract for Olof Ulrik Torsslow dated 17 October 1816. (KTA: F6A)
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