Why write this blog? I’d like to believe that my primary motive is altruistic. There are things we experience on “this side” of the business that we rarely have a chance to share. Access to this basic information (especially about auditioning/casting/producing) can mean a great deal to emerging artists.
Other motives? Purely selfish. I like to write, and I rarely get the chance. And I harbor a huge personal desire to demystify as much of this classical music business as possible. I’m not an “insider,” and for the first part of my career, I felt the burden keenly. I got my first job in the opera business at age 29, and I always seemed to be surrounded by colleagues who were singing along with the Met broadcasts before they knew how to read. For years I played “catch up,” and am still easily intimidated. Only recently have I realized that I have an important opportunity to act as a conduit between this too-frequently-arcane business of classical music and the rest of the world. Because I’ve never been able to take it for granted, I’m inspired and equipped to help others figure out why and how Mozart and Verdi and Stravinsky can enrich their lives. It’s not really as noble as it sounds, but it’s more important than we can imagine.
Check back here frequently, and feel free to send me comments/questions at wtoc@wolftrap.org. Thanks for reading!
Kim
“No good opera plot can be sensible. People do not sing when they are feeling sensible.” W. H. Auden
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