from Timothee Chalametimage of Bob Dylan c Complete obscurity to Angelina Joliethe role of a famous opera singer in Mariait seems that many actors may turn to musicians for their increasingly popular music biopics. Yet their secret is simple: vocal training.
But what does this process actually look like? Us Weekly reader Dorothy from Philadelphia had the same query, asking us: “I always hear about stars working with vocal coaches. How intense is that?’
Well, Dorothy, it depends on how you define intense. us lead to the best expert in the field, Eric Vetro — whose A-list of clients includes Chalamet, Jolie, Ariana Grande, Jeremy Allen White, Austin Butler and Sabrina Carpenter — to investigate.
“Quite often we’re asked to accomplish a lot in a very short time,” Vetro, whose BBC Maestro Course went live in October, reveals exclusively at the latest issue of Us Weeklyalready on newsstands. “I always try to keep our sessions calm and light with a relaxed attitude because you can never do your best work if you’re stressed!”
From Jeremy Allen White’s upcoming Bruce Springsteen film to Timothée Chalamet showing off his Bob Dylan-like vocals in A Complete Unknown, music biopics seem to be everywhere. Yet, these movements are not a new phenomenon. Films centered around the lives of musical icons have captivated audiences for decades, since the 1980s. Coal Miner’s Daughter, for (…)
Vetro adds, “I try to diffuse the intensity of the situation or the time constraints with humor while working hard to get everything done.”
Depending on the role and the actor’s singing experience, vocal training sessions can vary greatly. For Grande’s role in Wickedfor example, Vetro worked with her almost every weekday for several months, but he says Grande’s already “spectacular” voice helped curate a more operatic sound for her character, Glinda.
For Jolie, on the other hand, although she brought immense talent as an actress, she had virtually no singing experience coming into her role as Maria Callasone of the most famous and influential opera singers of all time.
“(She) even avoided singing ‘Happy Birthday’ in a band at first, (which) made it feel like a chore,” Vettro says of Jolie’s trip, adding that they worked together for more than two hours at a time, several times a day a week for seven months. “She’s a force of nature in the best way and throws herself into whatever she wants to achieve, so I had no doubt at all that she would be able to pull it off. She had also developed a great love of opera and a deep respect for Maria Callas, so I think that helped fuel her dedication to getting it right.
Another actor who came in with minimal singing experience was White, who is currently filming Save me from nothingbiopic focusing on Bruce Springsteen. Vetro says the process begins with vocal lessons to learn proper technique before moving on to capturing the essence of the singer the actor portrays.
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“This includes finding out which singers influenced them when they were starting out, what part of the world they are from (which not only affects their pronunciation but also their tone of voice), how young they were when they started singing, what instruments they play, etc.,” shares Vetro. “All these experiences in their origins are the elements that make an artist unique.”
Although some of the exercises included in vocal lessons may seem ‘silly’ or ‘childish’, this is normal for an acting course.
“Most actors have done acting exercises that feel equally silly or embarrassing, so they understand the value of letting go of their inhibitions to achieve the desired result,” says Vetro. us. “Remember, all actors and music artists are extremely creative people and therefore quite open to trying things that may seem awkward or absurd at first!”
Like any class, Vetro’s vocal lessons include, of course, homework, which consists of a schedule of which songs to practice when, recordings of vocal exercises, and even writing assignments “to help them connect with the lyrics and the emotion of the songs on a deep level.”
So, Dorothy, to answer your question, vocal training is definitely intense, but according to Vetro, it’s all worth it in the end.
“It’s a very exciting process to hear the improvement and see their confidence grow each week as they get closer to their goal,” he says. us.
