We’re home at The Barns, and I continue to fall down on the blogging job. :(
The fatigue is increasingly overwhelming as we push toward the audition tour finish line tomorrow at 6pm! Of course, the finish line is just another term for the starting gate for the repertoire and casting process. Wish us luck as we put together the 2015 season.
A Look Back
Our Houston week came and went, and it was lovely. In addition to a strong bunch of auditions, we heard a terrific Return of Ulysses at Rice University Shepherd School of Music (featuring four former Wolf Trap Studio Artists) and a wonderful Otello (below) at Houston Grand Opera.
No matter where we go around the country, we see former Trappers onstage. This Otello was a particularly special night, with a cast that featured six WTO alumni: Simon O’Neill, Ailyn Pérez, Norman Reinhardt, Morris Robinson, Victoria Livengood and Kevin Ray.
Aria Frequency Lists…
I’m running late on these, but they are on their way. (For new readers: These lists show the frequency with which arias are offered by the singers who sang during this audition tour. Go here for previous iterations.) I haven’t seen all of the data yet, but I sense that it will contain a few surprises. Anecdotally at least, there are quite a few mainstream arias that seem to be markedly absent this year. We’ll get them out as soon as we can!
Some Parting Advice
Nothing cosmic. It’s actually painfully obvious but bears repeating:
Audition every time you have a chance. Get good at this quirky little dance. Exercise the audition muscle enough so that you can do your absolutely best work in front of us. When you see hundreds of people come through the door over a period of a few weeks, you notice a marked difference between those singers who are ill at ease with auditioning and those who have made their peace with it.
It comes easily to a very small subset of people. The rest of us mere mortals have to practice.
I got to a point a few years ago where I just started coughing up the $25-$35 to have my own pianist with me.
The pianists provided by Wolftrap are usually awesome, but when you know you want to start with something more obscure (American rep or even Monteverdi) having someone you KNOW behind you is invaluable. Pay for the peace of mind, you won’t regret it.
I also recommend emailing the audition coordinators and asking who their pianist will be.
If you sing things with figured bass, bring a couple of editions. Some editions of scores are more realized than others, and the nice
Person behind the piano will be thankful you have them a choice.
If the piece is so obscure that NO realized versions exist, have a coach help you enter it into Finale or Sibelius – time consuming of course, but you’ll be glad to have it!