If you want to know what the popular YAP audition rep is this fall, this is the place to be. Sopranos, you’re first in line.
My completely unscientific conclusions?
Well, I have no idea why so many of you feel compelled to sing Pamina’s breathtakingly-beautiful-and-supernaturally-difficult aria. And I’m alternately pleasantly surprised and relieved (I won’t tell you which reaction applies to which aria…) to see a few things only offered by one(!) person: The Trees on the Mountains, Saper vorreste, Monica’s Waltz, and O mio babbino caro (what?!?). And finally, it’s great to see newer American arias creeping up the list (from Fantastic Mr. Fox, Three Decembers, Death of Klinghoffer, Our Town, A Wedding and more).
Here’s the jumping off point for all the lists: https://opera.wolftrap.org/aria-frequency-lists/.
Lists for mezzo, countertenor, tenor, baritone, and bass-baritone/bass to follow over the next couple of weeks as I can get to them.
Right now, it feels like summertime in New York, and since breakfast, lunch, and dinner consisted of responsible yogurt and various greens, I’m giving in to the siren call across the street.
Interesting post… the Soprano list clearly shows that Lyric is the most sung Fach. It would be even more interesting to know if these singers were singing the proper rep for their age/development/fach… perhaps the next edition?
The “appropriate rep” question is tough to answer in the aggregate. Of course, when you hear this many auditions, there is a smattering of singers who don’t seem to be singing the rep that best suits their strengths. We have instincts about this; sometimes they prove to be true, and other times we’re wrong. The reason I equivocate is that a 10-minute slice of life isn’t usually enough for us to discern all we need to know. Sometimes the singer really is in transition to a more suitable rep but the new stuff isn’t ready for public consumption. Sometimes the teachers/mentors are really advising a more functional set of arias, but the singer is clinging to a different comfort zone. I’ll think about whether there’s a “next edition” in this trail that could be helpful :)