Valentina Carlile, with a career alongside international and local stars, teaches artists and their coaches how to take care of their voice to perform their best at the festival. Here are tips to avoid mistakes.
The curtain is about to rise on the 30 artists competing in the 74th Sanremo Festival. From the old glories of Italian music to the newcomers, from the veterans of the event to the debutants, there is a common thread that unites the singers waiting to perform: the 'Ariston panic', the fear that a high note may waver, that a low tone may die in the throat, that the breath may not hold. Avoiding mistakes is not just a matter of skill, but also the result of a long teamwork involving many voice professionals. One of them is Valentina Carlile, a leading name in phoniatric osteopathy, who in her career has collaborated on tours with national and international stars. Under her hands, pop stars, as well as 'voices' of opera. This year, the expert has helped prepare some Sanremo competitors and explains to Adnkronos Salute how she accompanies them "from the rehearsal room to the stage".
"The oldest, truest, most beautiful musical organ, the only origin to which our music owes its being, is the human voice." Born in Sesto San Giovanni in 1974, studied in Milan, Carlile chose this quote by Richard Wagner as a business card to present on the Internet the activity that has absorbed her since 2002, when she put herself "at the service of those who work with the voice". Just like an instrument, it needs to be 'tuned' and maintained because in front of the public - especially in front of that of the Ariston - improvisation is not an option. "We start working in December - she says - right after Christmas. As soon as the official presentation of the song title competing in Sanremo is done", the singers' osteopath "begins to receive requests from vocal coaches and phoniatric referrals for assistance in preparing the artists".
What exactly happens? "The artist - Carlile describes - is welcomed in the studio with a report of his or her difficulties or weak points in the performance, which can vary from back pains, note jumps or breaks in the transition from one note to another, to mandibular tensions or tuning disorders at the level of acoustic feedback. Almost always accompanying the singer are the manager or the vocal coach with the data from the phoniatric visit. We then start to make an evaluation with tests, palpation, and if necessary, also structural monitoring of the entire 'voice engine', from the chest (starting from the diaphragm and its anchorages), to the actual vocal tract with its associated structures, and begin to set up a treatment plan".
In the months separating the singer from the Ariston steps, the therapeutic program drawn up by the osteopath proceeds "hand in hand with the voice work to allow the artist maximum comfort and the highest performance yield - the expert continues - and sessions are planned in accordance with the pre-festival commitments". A delicate interlocking between "interviews, rehearsals in the hall, theater rehearsals, and a thousand other appointments".
Link to the full interview: https://www.adnkronos.com/spettacoli/sanremo-2024-parla-losteopata-dei-cantanti-cosi-gli-accompagno-dalle-prove-al-palco_2VzxQiR2J8Y6da0KvjSGIv#
Valentina Carlile - Osteopata esperta in Osteopatia applicata a disturbi di Voce e Linguaggio dal 2002. Per informazioni e prenotazioni visita la pagina Contatti
Comments