Michele Galvagno

How to engrave an Opera (in Sibelius)

What would be an opera without solo singers? Well, it would just be a massive symphony, though also this statement could be discussed at length. There are special conventions on how to prepare singers’ staves, and they are like nothing I had ever encountered before. This is because there is an extra component that a symphony doesn’t have: the stage!

How to engrave an Opera (in Sibelius) – Ep. 3

Episode 3 – First Steps (cont’d) Instruments set-up (Part 2) Percussion In an ideal world, you will know beforehand how many instruments and players your opera will need, but let’s be realistic: when will that happen? Let’s once more play safe by respecting one single rule: the timpanist is not a percussionist! That is, giveContinue reading “How to engrave an Opera (in Sibelius) – Ep. 3”

How to engrave an Opera (in Sibelius) – Ep. 2

Episode 2 – First Steps Choose paper, margins, and staff size The first thing to do when engraving a big symphonic work such as an opera is to choose the two main parameters that will accompany you for the rest of your journey. At full power, an opera orchestra may have around 30 to 40Continue reading “How to engrave an Opera (in Sibelius) – Ep. 2”

How to engrave an Opera (in Sibelius) – EP. 1

Episode 1 – Preparation Introduction Hello there, and welcome to this new blog series dedicated to engraving best practices, this time specifically dedicated to how to engrave an opera. I have recently completed working on the first opera of my career as a music engraver —by Australian composer Lee Bradshaw—and I would like to shareContinue reading “How to engrave an Opera (in Sibelius) – EP. 1”

Sibelius Tutorials – Episode 1 D

How to create trills with accidentals PART 4 – BONUS MATERIAL: trills with different intervals In the first part of this tutorial, I showed you an alternative way of notating trills that has been getting very popular in the last few decades. It consists of only showing an ordinary trill line and, in smaller size,Continue reading “Sibelius Tutorials – Episode 1 D”