Sweating Small Stuff… Seeing Forests for Trees… Wholes Being Greater than Sums of Parts …

As we prepare for our California auditions, I thought this would be a great opportunity for a guest post. Joshua Winograde, Artistic Planning Manager for LA Opera, is a great friend and colleague of the WTOC, and he spent several chunks of his career so far with us – as a Filene Young Artist, as the originator of the title role in Volpone, and as the administrative engine behind the development of the Wolf Trap Opera Studio.

I keep telling Josh he should have his own blog, but he seems to prefer sending guest posts for mine… Hmmmm

Sweating Small Stuff… Seeing Forests for Trees… Wholes Being Greater than Sums of Parts …

There are endless adages encouraging people to see the larger point, even at the expense of detail. They are wise sayings, and apply to many situations. But believing in these morsels of wisdom too much can be a downward spiral for singers. I’d like to propose that seeing too much of the bigger picture (or at least DWELLING on it) can be bad.

You know when you learn a word for the first time, and then over the course of the following week you hear it seemingly in every newscast, radio show, and conversation you have? Well, over the last two weeks I have come across 3 situations that involve the exact same theme: “DO

SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF” (AKA “PAY ATTENTION TO THE TREES”, AKA “THE PARTS ARE GREAT, TOO”). So I saw it as a sign to get this information out there …

I offer this important disclaimer first: Nothing applies to everything or everyone across the board. So don’t take this too literally …just some food for thought.

(By the way, all details have been adjusted ever so slightly without altering the point. So don’t bother trying to guess who these are about … you won’t, and you’ll end up spending 10 fruitless hours on google :) )

Situation #1

A young and very talented conductor friend of mine was lamenting recently about his career not being quite as important (yet) as he had hoped it would be by his age. He used the wondrous, spectacular, unreal, phenomenal Gustavo Dudamel as an example of what he hoped he would have accomplished by HIS 30th birthday. The large picture was this: “Dudamel is my age, why am I not famous? What can he do that I could not, if given the same opportunity? Why don’t I have MY own orchestra? Why are LA’s streets not covered with posters of ME?”

First I want to just point out that my friend is NOT an egomaniac. He is just concerned that the WHOLE seems to be LESS than the sum of his parts. So I asked him the following questions: “Well, what about the time you guested with the XXXXX Symphony last year?” “Oh,” he said, “that was kind of a bomb. The orchestra hated the piece and I had a cold so I wasn’t very pleasant or charismatic or inspiring.” My response? “When was the last time Dudamel was UN-inspiring, do you think, even with a cold and a horrible composition?” The answer, of course, is NEVER.

My advice was simple. Don’t worry about the big picture. Just be excellent. Don’t think about Dudamel’s explosive career. Just conduct well. Don’t worry about whether there might be a chance for you to catch up with someone your own age who is doing much better than you. JUST. BE. EXCELLENT. The next time you conduct, do it well. Someone will hear it and will tell someone else how amazing you were, but DON’T think about that. The next time you are in front of an orchestra, just be excellent. They’ll love you because you were excellent, and you’ll get another job from it, or an agent, or a poster on the street. But you’ll have gotten those things because you were excellent, not because of a larger, abstract agenda to be famous, likable, charismatic, etc. And I am sorry to say that, very often but not always, if you didn’t get good things as a result of your performances, it’s because they weren’t excellent. Got it?

Situation #2

One of today’s most famous directors just told me this story about his first big break. He had been the assistant director for many years of another SUPER famous director, and was given the opportunity to finally direct his own show. It happened to star several of the most famous singers in the world, and he was FREAKED. “How do I make sure they like me? How are they going to react to some young, unknown punk telling them what to do? How will they take me

seriously? What if I bomb?” This young director took his concerns to his mentor (the SUPER famous one), who replied with this: “Start by fixing their mistakes.”

It was a revelation to this young AD (who by the way had a HUGE success). In other words, don’t worry about their perception of your expertise. Just fix mistakes. Don’t get hysterical about whether this will get good reviews. Just direct well. You can’t control whether they have already formed an unjust opinion of you since learning their director was an unknown punk. JUST. BE. EXCELLENT.

The famous singers will tell all their famous friends about how great you were. People will ask you for the DVD to see your work. You will be hired again by the same company. But it will be because you directed excellently, not because you somehow strategized to become loved, or successful, or to get good reviews.

Situation #3

I saw a video of a cello master class taught by the most successful cellist in recent history. The student he was working with was getting flustered by his critiques, not because the teacher was impatient or unclear, but because the young cellist student said she “couldn’t quite get a complete picture of the appropriate Bach style” he was asking for. His response: “Start by playing beautifully. And in tune.” There was dead silence for about 10 LONG seconds before they just continued. It was as if the statement was so simple that no one could understand it.

By this point in my ramblings, you get it …

So in summary, how does this apply to singers? Are you anxious about your career? Do you want us to like you? Are you unclear about which managers to approach? Are you confused about which YAPs might want you? Do you want desperately to understand bel canto style? Mozart recits? Handel ornamentation? Do you want to make a good impression and be re-engaged by the company you are working at currently? Do you want to get on the good side of someone important? Blah blah blah … forest for the … whole is greater … too big picture … waste of time … yuck.

Start by singing excellently. The next time I hear you, be excellent. Sing beautifully. And in tune. Pronounce your words excellently. Is your top short? Fix it. Do people tell you that you go flat sometimes? Fix it. Make it excellent. Are your runs sloppy? Fix them. Are your recits unnatural and “un-Italian”? Make them idiomatic. The next time you sing, and the time after that, too, just do a REALLY good job. Trust me, if you are excellent, we’ll like you. You’ll get re-engaged. You’ll get a job like Dudamel’s. Your Bach style will be wonderful.

YES … I can hear the screams from here. “Do a good job? That is so abstract and more complicated than you think! This makes no sense! If I COULD just be excellent I wouldn’t need to keep studying! You can’t just WILL yourself to sing in tune, JOSH!!! Coloratura is hard!”

And you are absolutely right if you thought any of these things to yourself. I have completely over-simplified the process and I myself can hardly believe some of the idealistic and intangible things I’ve said. But if you REALLY don’t think anything I have said applies to the coming audition season and to the rest of your career, then please allow me to tie this up cleverly in a sweet little bow: maybe you just can’t see the forest for the trees.

Posted in Uncategorized at November 4th, 2009. 2 Comments.

Expert Friday: Tips from Texas

On our final expert Friday, some combined advice from Kathleen Kelly and Laura Canning of the Houston Grand Opera Studio:

Don’t Second-Guess!

We like hearing you sing; we know auditioning is hard and we want you to do well. Don’t try to second guess what I want you to sing, or wear, or say. Just be true to yourself. Every panel wants something different- every MEMBER of every panel wants something different!

Your Aria List

Make sure you choose your starting piece carefully. Don’t choose something long just because you think you’re only going get to sing one aria – that can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Know how to get from your first piece to every other item on your list. Don’t presume you know what the panel are going to ask for second. Do provide contrast, as otherwise why would we choose a second aria? If on the day you don’t feel up to your stretch piece, take it off your list.

Pianists

Send music / repertoire info in advance if it’s not standard, especially if you’re planning to start with that aria. Take 20 seconds to talk to your pianist before you start. Make sure you sing at your tempo, not his or hers. Don’t take your own pianist unless you’re sure they’re better than the one provided!

Venues

Don’t presume there is somewhere to warm up / change at the venue without checking. If you’re running late, phone!

Have an Opinion

Have an opinion; have many opinions, and bring them to the table. Nothing is deadlier than music managed rather than lived, performance designed not to offend. Avoid asking for permission in the moment of performance. Sometimes I feel like auditioners are painting themselves white, like apartments that could be rented by anyone. Believe that we truly want to know who you are.

In the service of the above – work religiously and scrupulously to inform yourself of everything, from how Italian vowels sound, to where the orchestra can and can’t allow you to take time, to the areas in which your own voice and body are most and least capable. That work will last the rest of your life, so it won’t be finished when you audition – but we can tell if you are doing it or not.

And finally, I just ran across this terrific audition advice blog from Bill Florescu of Florentine Opera Company: The Opera Audition.

Posted in Uncategorized at October 30th, 2009. No Comments.

Expert Friday: Chicago

It’s a good thing it’s Expert Friday, because I have been rendered completely inarticulate by the last 50 hours of application processing. Can’t even hold a simple phone conversation. Have no English.

David Holloway is the Director of the Apprentice Singers Program for Santa Fe Opera and Head of the Voice Department at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. He offers this description of how the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Programs helps its singers prepare for auditions:

I work with the Santa Fe Opera apprentices on the MainStage Auditions that they all do every summer for representatives of opera companies and managements, helping them find their unique “voice” that will hopefully give each of them an edge, but at the same time, help make the entire group look “special.” This past August so many people told me afterward how wonderful the singers did in their auditions and talked about how much that auditions situation has improved over the last few years. But that improvement hasn’t happened without a large measure of intention on our parts.

The coaches play an important role, of course, and we asked stage director Kristine McIntyre to work with each of them individually, helping them express the character of the person who sings the aria. We didn’t want them “staged,” but just to express the essence of that unique situation in the opera in their 5 minutes on stage. In some cases it involved minimal movement, in most cases it could be handled within that magic circle near the crook of the piano. Most of the time we are not trying to create stage animals, but rather, performers who seem to be able to find that still, small center, be themselves, stay simple, and show the intention of a character.

We also do mock auditions the week before these auditions where they can show what they have been practicing, and we ask them to dress as if they were doing it so that we can get a sense of what they will do. We took long enough after each audition to speak briefly with the singers, mostly acknowledging anything positive we saw, and in a few cases suggesting what we thought they might do even better. In a few cases we suggested that a change in aria might be in order. Our intention is to help them differentiate themselves one from another. At the same time, we encourage them to support their colleagues in any way they can, to help them deal with their own nervousness and anxiety.

I recently had a brief discussion with Gianna Rolandi, Director of the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. On the topic of audition attire and appearance, she noted that hair obscuring a singer’s face is a huge liability. We also agree that forcing a too-familiar and hyper-friendly approach to the panel is a bad idea. It comes of nervousness, I know, but it’s probably best to adopt a relaxed professional demeanor. And Gianna reminds us that it’s not a great idea to shake hands with the panel before or after the audition. (Especially during flu and cold season!)

And finally, for thoughts on auditions from Chicago Opera Theater’s General Director Brian Dickie, check out this entry on his terrific blog.

Week 5 will start on Tuesday, for I’ll be spending Columbus Day at home cranking through the New York audition site applications that are coming in today. Have a great weekend!

Posted in Uncategorized at October 9th, 2009. No Comments.

Expert Friday: Enjoy Yourself!

A few choice words of audition advice from Darren Keith Woods, General Director, Fort Worth Opera & Artistic Director, Seagle Music Colony. (And, it just so happens, an alumnus of the WTOC!)

The main piece of advice I would give to a young singer is to sing what they sing best and do not play to the repertoire. Learning an aria for an audition that you haven’t lived with for awhile can be treacherous. You will never sing it as well as something you have coached and worked out – musically and dramatically.

I also like the artist to give me a sense of the dramatic arch of the aria. Don’t just stand and sing – this is not a concert we are hiring you for, we need to see what you bring to the aria dramatically so that we can adequately judge the artist’s ability to put a character across on stage.

Lastly – enjoy yourself. Opera is an amazing, wonderful thing and we are all fortunate to make our livings this way. Perform, enjoy and show us your gifts! That’s all we want.

Enjoy your weekend! If you’re applying for an audition spot in LA, Chicago, Cincinnati, or Houston, the deadline is midnight tonight!

Posted in Uncategorized at October 2nd, 2009. No Comments.

Expert Friday: East & West Coast

Part of a weekly series, in which my colleagues responsed to an email request for anything (or 2 or 3 things…) in the way of advice they would like to give to auditionees.

First, Don Marrazzo, Director of Casting & Artistic Operations at Glimmerglass Opera.

I have always felt that audition “do’s and don’ts” can be somewhat tricky, as one person’s ‘do’ is very often another person’s ‘don’t’ and vice versa. Even when listening to auditions with my Glimmerglass colleagues, while we often agree as to how we feel about a singer, there are also definitely times when we strongly disagree!

While there are several universal truths with regard to audition ‘do’s’ (do make sure that your music is legible for your audition pianist), as well as audition ‘don’ts’ (don’t be late for your audition) any adjudicator’s response to the entirety of a singer’s audition (their singing, stage deportment, attire, personal interaction with the audition panelists, etc) will be every bit as subjective as how an adjudicator may feel about someone’s voice and artistry.

I really want singers to be themselves in an audition. I would much rather be given an honest impression of the person standing in front of me singing, than get an ‘ironed out’ version of that individual because they are trying to employ someone else’s list of audition ‘do’s,’ which might be, in actuality, audition ‘don’ts’ for me. An individual’s idiosyncrasies fascinate me the most, as they often help determine whether or not the singer in question might be a fit for our program – not only vocally and artistically, but personally as well.

Rather than focus too much on audition ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts,’ it would be wonderful for young singers to focus on what is perhaps the most important audition ‘do.’ Do give a committed, intelligent, well-sung audition which makes the listener sit up, take notice, and offer you a contract!

Today’s double-header also brings comments from Joshua Winograde, Artistic Planning Manager at LA Opera. Josh is also a Wolf Trap alum, and he spent the summers of 2007 and 2008 with us as an administrator, developing the Wolf Trap Opera Studio. His observations come largely out of the over 400 auditions he just heard this past summer, and they focus on the topic of this past Monday’s post: versatility.

Versatility is overrated.

Before you freak out, let me explain.

I would like to create two hypothetical, admittedly extreme audition packages, although I must say these are more common than you would think.
Singer #1 offers Pinkerton, Boheme, Cavaradossi Act 1, Cavaradossi Act 3, and Forse la soglia attinse (Ballo)
Singer #2 offers Chi il bel sogno, Mein Herr Marquis, Piangero’ la sorte mia, Manon’s gavotte, and I Want Magic.
Singer #1’s package is obviously of a very narrow focus. All in the same language, only two composers represented, two arias from the same opera, etc. This singer could be possibly the most successful audition of the day, however, if he shows that he knows EXACTLY what his marketability is, what his voice is good for, how his temperament and vocalism are ideal for his rep, etc. However, in the event that he sees himself differently than we do, this will be a major problem. If he is a light lyric tenor or character tenor stuck in the mindset that Verdi and Puccini are the only “real” opera composers, and the only exciting tenor roles are the impassioned romantic lead, he could set himself up for failure.

Singer #2’s package is extremely diverse. 5 composers, 4 languages, 4 centuries (technically 3, but Previn is still composing, of course), some fast, some slow, some high, some low, and very diverse character types. First of all, anyone that could make it through the whole role of Magda (not just the song) has no business singing some of these other roles. Chances are, however, that the singer has never really looked at the rest of Rondine or they would realize it is a BEAST of a sing. That possibility is not something you want us to speculate on. Also, if you look at the professional singers who are making these roles successful at major companies around the world today, they generally don’t overlap on lots of rep. If the singer in question really can represent themselves flawlessly across this broad board, that is a major accomplishment. But more likely than not, it simply reads as trying too hard to show us you can do ANYTHING. Versatility, in this case, verges on schizophrenic.

So the questions I pose are:
How can versatility be demonstrated (if that is in fact something you wish to demonstrate) while staying more true to what you do best, or in what genres you would be most convincing? Especially at the YAP level, you may be told very specifically how many languages, centuries, and styles to represent. But I would suspect the average singer can be more successful choosing repertoire that fits the application’s requirements while still appearing more authentic and appropriate. For example, if you really ARE a Magda, you are probably a more convincing Rosalinde than Adele. If the character of Adele fits your youthful, bubbly personality, you are probably NOT a convincing Blanche DuBois. Cleopatra is cast all over the map these days, so this one COULD fit, I guess. Still, she is a young girl, right? If you give off a serious Blanche DuBois vibe both in terms of personality and vocalism, and are required to sing Handel, consider an aria from Alcina, who is equally, um, nuts, and also of nebulous age.
Some advice: follow the careers of historic singers and current singers whose voices resemble yours. Also consider the historic and local trends… Liu in Europe is cast much heavier than here, for instance, and tweety-bird Gildas are common today although in the past they were cast with very much the same singers as, say, Violetta. And remember, when you are Angela Gheorghiu, you can start singing Traviata and Carmen and Rondine wherever you want. But if you aren’t, consider that her repertoire is more allowably varied while backed with major star power than yours will be in the early stages of a career. Ask your coaches and teachers to recommend some singers to you if you can’t think of any. See what they sang when they were 25, 35, 45 … also, where did they sing them? Did those roles become signatures, or were they disasters? Do YOU like them in those roles? Obviously every voice and singer is different, so don’t be too literal with this. I do suspect, however, this search will provide food for thought about expanding or contracting your own versatility.

Something to chew on over the weekend. And…

DEADLINES!

One week from today (October 2) for LA, Chicago, Cincinnati & Houston.

Two weeks from today (October 9) for New York, Philadelphia, & Vienna.

Don’t wait until the last minute! I sure hope our internet servers can handle it, but I don’t want to find out…

Posted in Uncategorized at September 25th, 2009. No Comments.