Musical disembodiment: A phenomenological case study investigating the experiences of operatic career disruption due to physical incapacity

Abstract

The effects of musical career disruption are an increasingly important, yet under-researched, area within music education. This article highlights psychological issues that can negatively affect an operatic career. Existing work has examined the effects of redundancy for opera choristers and confirmed the importance of a flexible approach to identity formation for career longevity. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), this study investigates the effects of career disruption by focussing on the consequences of physical disabilities for one professional opera singer called Joe. Music and musical narratives are utilized as key elements to investigate various aspects of Joe's music identity. Internal conflicts that can result from a perceived lack of autonomy over musical issues and the effects of bodily malfunction on a vocal identity are discussed as being crucial. Findings also highlight the importance for music educators to help young artists develop a balanced relationship with music and a sustainable identity within music.

The experiential salience of music in identity for singing teachers

“…Canham (2022) argues that musicians must be change-ready in a post-portfolio, precarious work environment, able to adapt their identities in response to external factors. We agree with this, and with Oakland and MacDonald (2022) who emphasize that music performers must learn the skills to adapt or modify their sense of self in response to external events that may have an impact on their continuing participation in music making (see also Oakland et al, 2014).…”

“…This was a small-scale IPA study focusing on the experiences of a broadly homogenous cohort of singing teachers; the findings are limited to the first author's interpretations of the interview data. As is typical in IPA research, we offer these interpretations cautiously but credibly and transparently (see Oakland et al, 2013Oakland et al, , 2014. IPA is concerned with the phenomenon being studied as it appears to the individual; the researcher then engages the logos-reason and judgment-to "make sense of that appearing" (Smith et al, 2022, p. 20).…”

“…The relationship between specific identities in music, music in identity, career thinking, and resilience in the face of identity threats has been considered in previous research. In a series of articles, Oakland reported investigations of the impact of redundancy on opera chorus singers, demonstrating that the embodiment of the singing voice plays a key role in singers' sense of self, which, in turn, has implications for how they manage career transition (Oakland et al, 2012(Oakland et al, , 2013(Oakland et al, , 2014. López-Íñiguez et al (2022) explored postgraduate classical music performance students' motivation to engage in music and their career-related meaning-making.…”

“…The literature has focused on the construction of specific roles and identities in music rather than professional musicians' sense of music in identity. For example, studies have considered the identities of school music teachers (e.g., Ballantyne & Grootenboer, 2012;Pellegrino, 2009Pellegrino, , 2015Pellegrino, , 2019Welch, Purves, et al, 2010), instrumental music teachers (e.g., Huovinen & Frostenson Lööv, 2021;Natale-Abramo, 2014;Triantafyllaki, 2010), performer/teachers (Fernández González, 2018), and singers (e.g., Hughes, 2013;Lemon-McMahon, 2019;Oakland et al, 2012Oakland et al, , 2013Oakland et al, , 2014Schei, 2005;Welch, 2017).…”

Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis in music education research: An authentic analysis system for investigating authentic learning and teaching practice

“…What are the experiences of participants coping with operatic career disruption due to physical incapacity? (Oakland, MacDonald, & Flowers, 2014).…”