Audition Post-Mortem
November 18, 2007 - Well, my friends, yesterday and Friday I spent a combined 14.5 hours listening to singers who wished to be considered for our 2008-09 season. While we (I was joined by JoAnn Kulesza - conductor for Albert Herring, as well as Ron Gretz and Braxton Peters from Annapolis Opera) heard some very fine new singers, there were some trends that were so prevalent and so worrisome that I feel compelled to blog about them in the hopes that maybe some singers will read this post and mend their ways. I won't be so ungallant as to name names, but I am categorizing the issues for clarity's sake.
1) No-Shows - To those singers who simply did not show up for their audition times and also did not have the courtesy or professionalism to call or email to cancel, please be advised that your names will be kept on file as people who will not be granted an audition in the future. This may seem harsh to you, but the fact that you didn't have the common decency to inform us that you would not be showing up already tells me what kind of artist you are, thereby making an audition superfluous.
2) Last-minute Cancellations - To those of you who cancelled less than 24 hours before your appointed time (and in some cases, less than 1 hour before), while I appreciate the fact that you did inform us that you would not be coming, a little more notice would have allowed us to contact one of the singers on the waiting list to see if they would be interested in taking your time. Rather difficult to do with virtually no advance warning.
3) Baffling choice of audition rep - Opera Vivente posted that we were casting for the following shows: Don Giovanni, Albert Herring, and The Coronation of Poppea. It is therefore astonishing to me that many, many singers showed up for their audition with no arias from any of these shows, and indeed, in some cases, no arias even by these composers. Your ability to sing "Quando m'en vo" in no way shows me whether you can sing Donna Anna or Miss Wordsworth or Drusilla. This trend became even more baffling when we encountered singers who had actually done some of the roles that they were auditioning for and yet still didn't bring any of the arias from that role. If you've done Nancy in Albert Herring, and you'd like us to consider you for Nancy in our production, why on earth wouldn't you bring "What would Missus Herring say"? It simple doesn't make sense. If there is someone out there advising singers to not bring arias from the roles for which they are auditioning, please cease and desist. If you want to sing Donna Elvira, you better darn sight be prepared to sing either "Mi tradi" or "Ah, fuggi traditor" at the audition.
4) Out of tune singing - This is something that I've been noticing with increasing alarm over the past few years. However, what was originally an isolated problem has grown to epidemic proportions. When a singer singing in tune is actually attention getting rather than being a given then it is time to say something. More often than not this comes from singers trying to sing repertoire that demands more than their voice can give. Please, please audition for roles that are appropriate for your voice.
Okay, I'll step down off the soapbox now. My hope is that singers will read this and at least take what I've said under advisement. The next post will be about something of more general interest, but this needed to be said.
See you at the opera! - John Bowen
1) No-Shows - To those singers who simply did not show up for their audition times and also did not have the courtesy or professionalism to call or email to cancel, please be advised that your names will be kept on file as people who will not be granted an audition in the future. This may seem harsh to you, but the fact that you didn't have the common decency to inform us that you would not be showing up already tells me what kind of artist you are, thereby making an audition superfluous.
2) Last-minute Cancellations - To those of you who cancelled less than 24 hours before your appointed time (and in some cases, less than 1 hour before), while I appreciate the fact that you did inform us that you would not be coming, a little more notice would have allowed us to contact one of the singers on the waiting list to see if they would be interested in taking your time. Rather difficult to do with virtually no advance warning.
3) Baffling choice of audition rep - Opera Vivente posted that we were casting for the following shows: Don Giovanni, Albert Herring, and The Coronation of Poppea. It is therefore astonishing to me that many, many singers showed up for their audition with no arias from any of these shows, and indeed, in some cases, no arias even by these composers. Your ability to sing "Quando m'en vo" in no way shows me whether you can sing Donna Anna or Miss Wordsworth or Drusilla. This trend became even more baffling when we encountered singers who had actually done some of the roles that they were auditioning for and yet still didn't bring any of the arias from that role. If you've done Nancy in Albert Herring, and you'd like us to consider you for Nancy in our production, why on earth wouldn't you bring "What would Missus Herring say"? It simple doesn't make sense. If there is someone out there advising singers to not bring arias from the roles for which they are auditioning, please cease and desist. If you want to sing Donna Elvira, you better darn sight be prepared to sing either "Mi tradi" or "Ah, fuggi traditor" at the audition.
4) Out of tune singing - This is something that I've been noticing with increasing alarm over the past few years. However, what was originally an isolated problem has grown to epidemic proportions. When a singer singing in tune is actually attention getting rather than being a given then it is time to say something. More often than not this comes from singers trying to sing repertoire that demands more than their voice can give. Please, please audition for roles that are appropriate for your voice.
Okay, I'll step down off the soapbox now. My hope is that singers will read this and at least take what I've said under advisement. The next post will be about something of more general interest, but this needed to be said.
See you at the opera! - John Bowen
Labels: arias, auditions, cancellations, no-shows, repertoire, roles, singers, tune
posted by Opera Vivente at
10:11 AM
4 Comments:
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on your audition!
I have just a comment about your statements about singers not offering arias from your upcoming season:
I am auditioning for companies of your size on the West Coast. Most of these companies are specific in their audition notices about what they want to hear (Specific arias, or from the same composer/from show prefered, sing what you sing best, p43-51,p67-69, etc.). This helps both the singers and the companies.
May I respectfully submit that #3 is part of the reason that companies ask upfront what the singer wishes to present in an audition OR they request specific audition repertoire in their application materials. It gives the company an opportunity to decline an audition request, saves the company time and money but also saves time, money and effort on behalf of the singers. In my experience, singers are by-and-large not interested in wasting your, or their time.
John,
As a singer who participated in your auditions, I ask that you consider our perspective on repertoire.
First of all, many companies will indeed reply with the cliche "Sing what you sing best" when pushed for details about what they would like to hear, especially if they are casting for multiple shows. While we certainly don't need to be spoon-fed, a simple line such as "Please bring something from your role(s) of interest" would indeed help us to ascertain your preferences. Your posting merely asked for two arias, one in English.
Second, please keep in mind that you are hearing singers in the height of audition season. Some of us may have 3-4 other auditions this week. While we are all eager to please and would love to tailor our repertoire to each audition, it just simply isn't possible to have 20 different arias polished and prepared at all times. While I may have sung Nancy, for example, several years ago, if "What would Missus Herring say" is not part of my general audition repertoire, I may not have the time or the money to coach it back into a polished state for your auditions, especially at this time of year. In that case I think it does make more sense to bring something that is well-prepared even if it is not from the show.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. It is indeed rare and useful to get comments from the other side of the table.
I just want to comment on the out of tune phenomenon. Too many companies seem to reward singers from the "louder is better" school. When singers take notice of this reality, they end up pushing to increase their volume, and eventually go flat. I have been disappointed to see that at numerous professional opera performances bad singing has been rewarded, singers with huge wobbles or intonation issues seem to get cast for the size of their voices and seemingly nothing else.
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