Please read the essay by Cosmo Buono on Chopin’s Prélude in A major first. 

The friendship between Vincenzo Bellini and Frédéric Chopin is both well-known and legendary. The two composers were great fans of each other’s work, but the operatic compositions of Bellini proved to be of great and special significance for Chopin throughout a good portion of his life, thus providing the basis of a great deal of insight for pianists interested in interpreting Chopin’s works as fully as possible.

Bellini met Chopin during the former’s stay in Paris. They both took part in musical evenings organized by Lina Freppa, an Italian singer and the hostess of many musical salons. Chopin would often perform for them, and even dedicated his Mazurkas, Op. 17 to her.

It is certainly understandable then that Chopin was greatly influenced by vocal music, which becomes a very important aspect of understanding his oeuvre as fully as possible.

Here is The Lightbulb Moment.  For Chopin, in many instances the musical line must be treated as both a melodic line and a vocal one: in order to create the greatest and most substantive interpretation it can help a great deal if one imagines a singer performing the melody as if it had been set with words. One then can decide what those words are, as a means of expanding the mood of the work still further.  

In the case of the Prélude in A major, just as one example, one can start by deciding, in just one word, what the mood of the piece is.  What does the melody bring to mind?  What emotions does it inspire?  If there were words attached to the melody, what would they be? If this music were playing as part of a movie, what would be happening on the screen?

Once these ideas are in place, it will be much easier to know how one wants to approach the work. At the same time, with much of Chopin one can greatly enhance interpretation by simultaneously considering the melody as a vocal line, in order to expand the realm of thoughts surrounding performance.

Try this, and watch your playing blossom.