Remember......

The next time you are getting ready to audition, and you are nervous, and you are asking yourself why you are putting yourself out there to be judged, picked apart, and potentially humiliated, remember:

• you are singing because at some point back in high school or before, there was something inside of you that had to come out, and your vocal chords let you do that.
• the first time you heard an opera or an opera singer live, and how you felt transported and changed by the experience.
• the person at a free concert or a retirement home who came up to you and told you that hearing that much beloved aria or song again made their day (or perhaps week or month).
• that success in this business is all about the journey, not the destination. Every recital, supporting role, church gig, chorus part, leading role, etc. is a moment in time that you have been given to share the very special gift that is singing. Whether it's the Met or an outdoor free park concert, it is a special privilege to share what we do.

If you can keep at least a couple of those bullet points in your head before you go out there to be picked apart by someone like me, perhaps it will make it just a touch easier.......

A busy January

It has been a busy January of hearing auditions in a variety of circumstances:
Auditions for my own company in New York City (40)
District Met Auditions in Buffalo (56)
Shreveport Opera Singer of the Year Competition (36)

It is one of the real pleasures of my job to hear young singers, and I heard some wonderful voices this month.

Hearing these auditions has produced a lot of food for thought, but before I post any of those thoughts, I just want to say that I am reminded each time I hear an audition, how much perseverance and drive it takes to pursue this career! But if previous generations hadn't produced young artists who went after their dream, we wouldn't have the Pavarottis, Sills, Merrills, Flemings, and others.

It is heartening to know that it is still happening.

Driving home a previous point - and a new one!!

I've just heard a number of auditions (somewhere around 100 total), and the first thing I would say, is that I heard some wonderful singing and performances.
The other thing I would say is that for me a piece that is still often missing is inhabiting the character that is being portrayed. This doesn't mean a completely staged out performance, but what it does mean is: singing with intent, and knowing what you want to do with your body throughout the audition.
As I mentioned to one singer this means spending as much time physically rehearsing your entrance into the room, your exit out of the room, and everything else in between.

My new point is, rehearse pronouncing the names of your arias and the operas they come from!
I heard some mistakes on that front, and that is part of the impression you are making.

Carve out the pie

No, this isn't a holiday greeting, though of course, I do send those as well!
I'm talking about strategically putting together your rep for your auditions, that gives an AD or GD an easy way to "sample" your repertoire. I want to preface this by saying that your first criteria must always remain singing what suits you best and what you feel most comfortable singing. But assuming you have multiple choices in that regard, it might be good to think strategically about how to "help" your listener out.
I will give some examples of what I mean.
Stephano's aria from Romeo et Juliette is great because it's strophic, and if time is an issue, I can ask for the second verse, and you will be able to show everything in one that you could in two.
Figaro's fourth act aria from Figaro is great, because even if I don't have time to hear you sing the aria, the recit is fantastic, has a wide emotional range, and allows me to hear you handle that very important part of that rep.
Beppe's aria from Pagliacci is great because even if you are moving toward character tenor territory it allows me to hear that your singing chops are there as well.

These are just three examples of pieces that are either short or are segmentable that gives an interested listener the opportunity to quickly choose something, even if your first selection is longer, and the company's time is limited.

Another way of saying this is that presenting five arias for audition is a strategic process, not just a case of finding five arias in three or four languages and hoping for the best.

Mapping it out!

I mentioned in my previous post that no matter where you end up in terms of presenting your audition repertoire, you need to stage it out in preparation for your auditions.
A simple test you can give yourself to prove this: Think about the comfort level you have in presenting arias in audition that come from operas where you have either performed the complete role, or scenes from that opera that contain that aria. I think you will agree that when you sing those arias, you feel more physically connected than you do with arias where you have not done this.
The way to create the same effect for those arias that you have not performed on stage, is to stage them completely, either with a coach/director, or perhaps in a swap with a colleague where you do the same for them. After staging the aria, you will find that you will keep elements of the staging for the "audition version" of it, but perhaps more importantly, you will have locked in mental intent, which will allow your body energy to be connected to your voice.
In addition to allowing you to feel more comfortable in the audition, you will also undoubtedly sing better because of this connection.

What do I do?

Working with our Studio Artists this week has produced some interesting questions around knowing "how much to do" in an audition dramatically.
The question, arises of course, from the notion that some artistic/general directors like a very acted out, active audition, while others prefer a more low key, purely vocally based presentation.
This is a somewhat tough question to answer, but as I've said in a different context, your best chance for being hired lies in you being true to who you are as a performer, as opposed to chasing down what a particular director might like.
Regardless of how much actually histrionics you do in an audition, you must absolutely have the dramatic arc of your aria mapped out, so that there is a dramatic through line that matches the vocal through line.
I believe this begins by doing a full blown staging while preparing the aria for audition.
I will expand on this in my next post.

Erie Mills

Last weekend, we were lucky enough to have Erie Mills, renowned soprano, and now renowned master teacher, with us for a masterclass with our Studio Artists. She had wonderful insights on so many aspects of singing and presentation, and she was able to walk the thin line of focusing on the singers, while also engaging the audience. Her energy, insight, and enthusiasm was infectious. Often in masterclasses, you get either one or the other!
What was really great was to have some high school singers, who are just starting out, there to hear Ms. Mills' insights. Gosh, I wish I had had an opportunity like that when I was starting out!

If you get an opportunity to either work with Erie, or hear one of her masterclasses, do not miss it!