EXTERNALIZING SUPPORT

APRIL 2011

After the opening night of Rigoletto on our annual visit to Los Angeles, in the mid ‘70s, there was a knock at my dressing room door and my dresser went to open it, as I continued removing my make-up. He returned a moment later to say, “Burt Lancaster would like to see you.” “Yeah, yeah ... who is it?” “I’m telling you it’s the BURT LANCASTER and he’d like to see you!” Hastily swabbing my face with some Kleenex and grabbing for my robe I said, “Please ask him in.” I turned ... and he stepped forward with his had outstretched saying, “My Fredricks, I’m Burt Lancaster.” gracefully taking nothing for granted. “Yessir, recognized you right off.” I said with a smile.

He told me how much he had enjoyed my performance in the title role and saying, “I would very much like you to join us tomorrow night at my cottage in the Colony (that’s Malibu Colony) and I’ll make my special Spaghetti Carbonara for you.” As he spoke, a lovely lady whom I presumed was his date slipped in the door. Jackie Bone and I acknowledged each other with a smile and a nod ... she having been my girlfriend some sixteen years before, when I was trying out my vocal-wings at The Horn in Santa Monica. Neither of us made any sign of recognition.

The next night, my wife Judith and I drove up the coast to Malibu and the guard let us through the gate with directions to Burt’s bungalow. Burt insisted upon doing everything himself, cooking a fabulous meal while serving a perfect Chianti Classico, even insisting upon doing all of the dishes himself, while the three of us made small talk in the living room.

When he had finished, he walked over to me as I sat on the couch and dropped to his knees, sitting on his feet ... and very relaxed he was. “Richard ... I would give up anything I have ever done in my life to have sung the Rigoletto you sang last night.” After a few breathless beats I responded with, “Oh my gawd, Burt, I’m overwhelmed by such praise, especially coming from you. But, if you had been an opera singer ... who would have done KILLERS, ELMER GANTRY, BIRD MAN, FLAME AND THE ARROW, TRAPEZE , ROSE TATTOO...” I was prepared to go on for several more minutes when he stopped me with, “You don’t understand ... my greatest love has always been opera.” I asked why he had never gone in that direction and his response was, “I didn’t have the voice for it.” “How did you know?” I asked. “I did a show, once.” “Knickerbocker Holiday!” I stated. “You saw it?” I allowed that I had and he challenged, “Then you know for yourself.” I thought for a second and said, “Well, I know that you were singing with 15/20 percent of your voice!” “Do you really believe that?’ he asked. “I know it!” I said. He looked at me quizzically, murmuring, “We’ll have to talk about that later.

And, later, after we had been sharing various show biz bits and fluffs-while he had demonstrated positively that he was an opera buff--he was relating a story about his filming of an eight part series about MOSES. There he was, standing on a sand dune in the middle of the desert shouting out his lines in a 45 knot gale. The sound-man was having real trouble getting him, even with his “shotgun mike!” “Burt, ya just gotta be louder; I can’t get ya.” So–while standing on his couch–Burt let fly with, “Come men... bring the camels over here.” or some such. I quickly said, “Hey Burt ... try connecting the vowels with that same volume on this note ... and I sang a full out operatic line with those words. All he did was imitate me ... beautifully, I must add. Then I extended my two arms, clasping my hands in front of my chest and said, “Pretend you are lifting twenty pounds with your arms when you get to the vowel “O” in the word “over” and sing that note a third higher, demonstrating again for him what I wanted him to do, in my full operatic sound, lifting my arms on the “O.” He mimicked me perfectly and out came this big operatic sound. The expression on his face told it all: “That’s it, isn’t it!” “Yep ... big as a house and ya sound just like me!” He said, “Richard ... I’ve had thirteen teachers and I have never been able to make anything close to that sound. Why weren’t any of them able to make me do what you just did?” “Two reasons,” I said. The first is they haven’t any real concept that the voice is a wind instrument and you have to know how to supply flexible breath-pressure on demand to make a voice work, especially with a  big voice like you have. While doing the MOSES, you geared up your energy with the dialogue and opened your throat to make the volume ... and all I did was have you imitate my sound.” “What was the other reason?” he asked. “You’re Burt Lancaster ... you’re a very intimidating fella!” “But you weren’t intimidated!” I took a beat and said, “But you liked my Rigoletto!”

I use may arms to essentially energize, choreograph, lift and grow my phrases, when I am working before the mirror. I use my hands as I state way back in August 2007 to externally direct the hand to my to pop the belly button out to allow the air to come in ... and raise the arm crisply to start the “impulse air” moving the tone, keeping the arms fluid as I sing ... raising the arm for every high note and pointing to my BB to lift and grow through the last note of every phrase so that I can “pop and rest” to position the BB to begin the whole process again for every phrase ... all night long! When you body is flexible and mobile, your chest lifts with every high note ... that automatically makes the BB come in to supply and extra shot of breath-pressure for the high notes ... Thimpk about it!