Does Gould have anything to say on stage directions in opera or musical scores?
I would assume stage directions should use either System Text or Staff Text; I can think of arguments in favor of either. But depending on which one you choose, there are implications for parts extraction. Or maybe there is a third way that I haven't thought of.
Comments
I don't see anything. If you feel the instructions would be relevant to all players in the ensemble, then system text makes sense to me, otherwise staff text. Or if it's more extensive, a text frame.
Personal preference, I suppose. System Text allows the directions to appear on all parts so all members of the cast can read where the others will be and what is going on. If there are a lot of directions, however, it could get confusing so Staff Text would be better and it might be best placed on the top ïnstrument/voice on the conductor's score. If you plan to mix-and-match with some Staff and some System directions then might be a good idea to colour them differently, or use a diferent font, on the conductor's score.
In reply to Personal preference, I… by underquark
I think we may be breaking new ground. Old-school full orchestral scores tended to put the stage directions either above or below the staff of the character they were associated with. However, for parts extraction, I'm not aware of extracted parts solely for vocal lines because the vocalists use the piano reduction for rehearsals. When I've done something similar for personal use (from a score I've transcribed to MuseScore), sometimes it works best to do a simple vocal-line part extraction. However, if musical cues from the instruments are necessary, I might do vocal+1st violin or something similar. Therefore, I guess the solution that is closest to normal practice would be to add the piano reduction to the full score, hide it in the conductors score, and create a piano+vocal part extraction for the singers. Quite a bit of extra work, but it's the only way that I see that accommodates all parties.
Now, if there was an automated way to create a piano reduction from the orchestra parts that would be something to shout about!