This week, I’ve been warming up with posts about simple, childish things like rare arias and versatility. Now we get to the really adult stuff. Fach Such a difficult subject for so many singers. Kind of ranks right up there with sex and money in its untouchability. A very personal, complicated decision – really best
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The Forest before the Trees
Some food for thought this weekend before we get into the nitty-gritty. A few seasons ago on the blog I tried to quantify what we listen for in auditions. I ended up with a list modeled on one in Joanna Merlin’s book “Auditioning.” (It’s intended for actors, but its wisdom easily extends to the singing
Read MoreYou Never Really Enjoy It; You Just Get Better at It
I was watching TV the other night and saw an ad for an upcoming fall series. One of the characters was talking about coming to terms with something distasteful. (How’s that for specificity? I can’t remember the show or the subject material…) Anyway, she said, “You never really enjoy it; you just get better at
Read MoreOperascape, and Over & Out
The perfect positive storm for the end of our season – Puccini’s Boheme, Operascape production, NSO, Wolf Trap Opera, and some of the best weather of the summer. Resulted in standing ovation from just under 6,000 folks – a huge number of them new opera-goers (just under 4,000 in the house, and almost 2,000 on
Read MoreSystems Failure
As we leave New York, we seem to be suffering from multiple systems failure. I’m not referring to the BSOD that plagued my laptop earlier this week – that was remedied in surprisingly efficient fashion, thanks to terrific IT support from Wolf Trap and a few handy screwdrivers from the tech staff at Carroll Music.
Read MoreStudio Auditions – Aria List
REVISED AS OF 12/5/08I should know better than to try to churn out data while I’m on the road, saddled by a technology curse. Please find below a corrected list of WTOS aria offerings. KPW At 3pm, my laptop turned into a doorstop. I’m trying not to curse it, but 9 hours later I think
Read MoreDays 8-10: Back in the East
The two days back in home territory at Wolf Trap flew by. As we heard 12 hours of auditions, furiously did laundry, repacked, and ran off to catch the train, my wise husband asked what kind of idiot made up this masochistic audition schedule. Uh… At least this time, it was the train. So civilized
Read MoreCincinnati to Chicago: A Comedy of Errors
In which a petite puppet-master in the reflects on her trio of travelers…and the ease in which they’re moving through their annual pilgrimage. As her thoughts circle, the wind changes directions…as do the fates of her travelers…) Prologue The alarms go off at 7:00 a.m. In three hotel rooms in Cincinnati, the weary travelers groan
Read MoreDay 4: San Francisco
We were in War Memorial’s chorus rehearsal room for yesterday’s auditions. First time in a long time we’ve actually held them in the opera house, and it was great to be there. Good friends rehearsing for Boheme down the hall and a matinee of Elixir down on the stage. Next year we’ll have to think
Read MoreDay 3: Los Angeles
A gentle Santa Ana wind is blowing through LA. I even got out this morning to run my pitiful mile… trying to do it in each city… so far I’m 2 for 2:) We’re only in town for 26 hours, and it was a busy day, with both Studio Artist and Filene Young Artist auditions.
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