Lucky is the singer who is assigned a morning audition spot. Really! The committee is rested, ears and minds are fresh, and the day is full of possibility! Truth is that few artists love singing in the a.m. (according to one of my favorite baritones, “There is no art before noon”). Singers really aren’t a lazy breed, it’s just that their previous workdays typically extended way into the evening, and 10am can feel pretty unwelcoming to tired vocal cords. So this morning, our first candidate shared with us the perfect recipe for a “Morning Sing” – venti skim chai latte, no water, 10 pumps. (Not that I really understand any of that…)
Aria choices were fairly standard today. And that’s not a bad thing. Yes, we’re always happy to hear something different, and we love to see artists immersing themselves in new music. But a certain amount of standard aria rep is indispensable for auditions. Hearing the same several dozen arias over and over again isn’t always inspirational, but it’s a time-tested way to discern a lot about a voice in a short period of time. Think of it as the compulsories in a gymnastics floor routine. Each aria has its profile – lowest notes, highest notes, difficult phrases, linguistic challenges, important articulations and dynamics – the singer must dispatch all of those “compulsory” requirements and make music at the same time. For two seemingly distracted people typing on laptops.
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