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which there are different roles, status, and foci. For directors, then, intersubjectivity (Trevarthen 2002) needs to be highly developed and attuned to the performers’ understanding, feelings, fears, and emotional robustness in order to maximize communicative efficacy, especially when one considers that opera singers operate within a global community in which castings (often determined simply by vocal quality) can be multinational. The rehearsal period, therefore, is reliant on mutually clear forms of shared attention within a social environment that requires an uninterrupted flow of (often complex) communication.
My research begins with the hypothesis that modelling, or demonstration, is an operating mode of communication that might be more favoured by directors, proportional to other forms of communication. For the study, I wanted to explore whether directors use this tool to enhance performance; whether some directors use it frequently, whilst others may rely on it only rarely. I am also interested in whether different production needs might impact on the style of a director’s communication.
In seeking ways to break down the interactive processes, to reveal the types and frequency of interaction involved, I initiated the research by studying filmed operatic master classes. I created a taxonomy (which I named a ‘Lanigraph’) using specially devised protocols that categorised the diverse communication behaviours. These were then incorporated into a designed sheet that would permit me to record the number of communications of each type in use during a specified time period. The entries were collected by numerical occurrence, each mark corresponding to an observed communication under a particular category. The protocols were then piloted with an opera company, modified as needed, and subsequently used to study an operatic director throughout a series of rehearsals, from commencement to the final dress rehearsal before the company’s opening performance. When collected, these raw data were then processed (in Microsoft Excel), generating the statistical analyses that allow various main outcomes to be extracted: for example, transformation into overall and weekly percentages, showing how these progress over the rehearsal span; directorial percentage of communication compared against other company members; the raw number and types of