By voice type, the number of times an aria appears on the lists submitted by singers who are auditioning. Each singer must submit 4 choices. This list does not reflect the actual arias offered as first choices within the auditions. SOPRANO41% of the audition pool The Big Winner (30 times)Ach ich fühl’s Runner-Up (21 times)Deh
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Inside Wolf Trap Opera Casting
A guest post from Joshua Winograde ossia A Semi-Outsider Perspective on an Amazing System ossia Why You Might Want To Take It All Slightly Less PersonallyCHAPTER ONE: What You Maybe Didn’t Know About Wolf Trap Wolf Trap Opera Company gave me my first job … three times. First, when I was a grad student transitioning
Read More2008 Tour: New York
We’re saying goodbye to 42nd Street this afternoon. Going back home for a day to do some laundry and repack for Cincinnati. Next week will bring the complete aria list for this year’s tour, as well as random reflections from the 200+ auditions we’ve heard so far. (Papagenos, how do you handle miming those panpipes
Read MoreOpera in Times Square
Still happily ensconced on 42nd Street, in what otherwise must surely be an opera-free zone. The studios at the New 42 are clean, humane and civilized, and there’s a nice deli next door. Occasionally the sprung floors begin to bounce because the workshop of Shrek: The Musical on the floor above us is doing improv,
Read MoreStudio Day 3 – New York
Monday was spent listening to candidates for our studio, hearing singers who are doing undergrad study or just beginning a graduate degree. This is tough stuff. Not because these kids aren’t talented, but because it takes an entirely different kind of listening and discernment. My hat is off to those folks in university and conservatory
Read More2008 Tour: Chicago
Our Chicago parting shot is the always-stunning Palmer House lobby. This is a stream of consciousness post written while sitting at the Chicago airport, wishing for some variety of comfort food. But alas, there is no macaroni and cheese at O’Hare. The further we get into the tour, the more there is to say and
Read MoreSeattle to Chicago
No opera today, just traveling. Thanks to Rahree and her Audition Tour 2008 iPod playlist, Woody Guthrie’s Seattle to Chicago took us back to the familiar side of the Mississippi. Getting ready for the unbroken 8-day stretch of auditions that lies ahead. Todays agenda: to Empty Out the Inside of My Head. The blog is
Read More2008 Tour: Seattle
Aria Trends We’ve only been in three cities so far, but there’s been a surprisingly lack of trends in first aria offered. Only 4 arias have been offered by more than one singer, and they are not the ones you’d expect (even though they are all soprano arias): Fire Aria, I Want Magic, Norina’s Aria,
Read MoreHearing Voices
We’re in Seattle, where we checked into the charming Mayflower Park. The staff must’ve had a pumpkin-carving contest, and one of the big winners greeted us at the reception desk. Cannibal Pumpkin!! A few weeks ago I heard a bit of an NPR story called “Vocal Impressions in which listeners responded to the challenge of
Read More2008 Tour: Los Angeles
Today’s singing was heard in a lovely small rehearsal studio at the LA Opera Costume Shop facility. Pretty easy to listen in, with lots of natural light, and a helpful sign (not by us, but we approve) on the wall outside: Where Do These People Come From? The first in a series of regular postings
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