Day 51: Vienna to Vienna

This afternoon, our Ghosts conductor Eric Melear was joined by his Vienna State Opera colleague Thomas Lausmann (a former Trapper himself) for a discussion on auditioning and working in Europe. (Above: Thomas joins the discussion via Facetime, from the other Vienna:))

The availability of entry-level career experiences in the U.S. has taken a nose dive in the last 6-8 years, and moving to Europe has become an increasingly popular option for emerging professionals. These days, almost every young professional singer hears the “go to Europe” advice from many different quarters. Unfortunately (and not surprisingly), it’s not as easy as it might sound. Thomas and Eric shared some frank observations, offered advice and warnings, and detailed the myriad ways in which looking for work in Europe is dramatically different than in the U.S.

Over the last couple of weeks, WTO alumni have also responded to a request to chronicle their own European audition/work experiences, and we also shared that anecdotal advice. A special shout out to tenor James Kryshak, who chronicled his own auditioning experience in 2012 and shared his expertise on his blog!

Tonight was Orchestra Tech rehearsal for Ghosts – first time that singers, orchestra, sets and props, costumes and lights came together. And tomorrow we share this exciting show with our invited dress rehearsal audience, including several dozen teenage participants of the Washington National Opera Institute for Singers!

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