AUDITIONS REDUX!
Opera auditions are
dinosaurs - remnants of an out-of-touch 20th century-based business practice that
worked when there were a smaller number of singers who sang a smaller amount of
repertoire, especially when compared to our present day opera world.
The world in which today's
singers navigate is basically unrecognizable from the previous generation's
world. We've all recognized that the opera world has changed - the repertoire,
the physicality, the social media demands, etc. - but few recognize that
the way in which singers get jobs has changed, or that the way
auditions happen should be, and could be, changed for the better.
The traditional young
artist audition: A singer applies to get one audition through a series of online
hoops - both bureaucratic and financial, then hopefully gets a live audition at
a venue not of their choosing, often with strangers in a room sitting silently
(and, hopefully, attentively) behind a table. A typical amount of time, ten
minutes, is allotted per singer which gives them maybe time for a quick hello
and introduction, then two medium-length arias, and a perfunctory "thank
you". Weeks later (oftentimes, though, never) an email arrives with either
a PFO (known in the business as a "please fuck off"), or an offer of
employment. To find employment as a singer, they must apply to dozens and
dozens of companies and programs, while facing almost the exact amount of
rejection as their number of applications. An actual casting or job offer is a
rarity for most.
Currently, even the ten-minute
slot style of auditioning seems to be falling by the wayside, being replaced
with one aria only auditions. As well, the financial demands on singers trying
to get a job is causing many to question the business practices and models of
opera companies and young artist programs. Some of us are openly wondering on
social media if the less privileged stand any chance of "making it"
when singers of greater socio-economic backgrounds have it much, much easier;
from application fees, to pianist fees, to high lesson costs, to travel and
accommodations, to paying for audition workshops and consultation fees, etc.
Many singers are dropping thousands of dollars each fall for the chance to walk
into a room where it is not clear how they will be measured or
judged. Most of the time, it is not clear if they will get the chance to sing
more than one aria.
We should be rethinking
this whole process entirely!
I'll leave the business
discussion for another time, however, last week I embarked on a deliberate
change in how to conduct an audition, using Opera McGill students auditioning
for our fall production as an experiment, along with my co-conspirator, Stephen
Hargreaves (Opera McGill's principal coach and conductor for the production.)
We called them
"Working Sessions" instead of auditions. We set aside 15 minute
slots. Right away, you see the first challenge: TIME. Normally, one can hear
six or more singers an hour, so over the course of a 10am to 6pm day - with a
lunch break and a few washroom breaks - the maximum number of singers one can
hear in a seven-hour day is about 40 singers (if you give them each ten minutes.)
Moving to 15 minute slots, the number becomes far less - about 24 singers.
Instead of one day of auditioning, Stephen and I did two days.
But Time wasn't the only
thing that had to expand. Our Listening had to expand.
Let me explain.
First an honest confession:
those of us behind the table have been known, from time to time, to tune out
after a singer starts in on an aria and we judge their voice, or technique, or
acting, or something, to not be to our taste. It's easy - all of us
who audition as part of our job know this - it's easy to jump to a judgement
after a few bars. Singing and performing opera is a subjective experience.
There are voices you immediately love, some you are intrigued by, some - though
rarely in an audition situation - grow on you, other voices just grate on your nerves
and you want them to stop singing "Monica, Monica dance the waltz..."
However, all of us have
worked, rehearsed, coached, taught, and seen performances by singers with
voices we might not initially "like", or think are suited to their
role. This happens all the time in opera. I've just returned from a gig in
Virginia where my initial thought about a cast member's voice was negative, but
then during the rehearsal process, I grew to love their performance.
Love takes time. Loving something happens over time. Why do we expect to love
voices in five minutes? Is the traditional audition style simply looking for
"love at first hearing"? When you rehearse with someone over weeks,
you get to know them, hear different things in their voices, see them act, talk
with them at the break. Many singers with great voices are much less
interesting, and sometimes problematic, after getting to know them as artists
during the rehearsal process. Treating singers like Olympic divers - judging
them on their technical difficulties and subsequent splashes upon entry -
during one aria, truly obscures their talent, their full artistry, and who they
might be as people.
Revelation: Our working
sessions changed how I responded to every singer. Instead of jumping to a
casting conclusion, instead of dismissing a singer because they weren't ready,
instead of haphazardly listening in order to pass the time, instead of pouring
over a resume to look for details I might already know and details that might
not have any pertinence to being cast, I actually listened like I do in
a coaching; I also watched like I do in a rehearsal. These working
sessions were like an exercise in operatic mindfulness. I was fully attentive,
even though we were going to hear more than one selection and some students
were obviously not ready to be cast in an opera like La Clemenza di Tito. Instead of sitting their judging about who to
cast, I was sitting there really listening.
Why the change in
attention?
Because I knew, as did Stephen,
that we were going to ENGAGE with the singers, at least for a brief time,
afterwards. As a coach, you are listening attentively while the singer sings -
for details in diction, style, musicianship, vocal technique, etc - because you
know that the minute they are done singing, it's your turn to start in and work
some part of their artistry you deem should be the focus of the coaching. These
auditions were a lot like that. I found myself thinking, "what can I say
to help them?" and "how can we make this easier for them?".
It was exciting and exhilarating, and in no way difficult or more taxing
on our energies.
In fact, the opposite.
Sometimes, we listened to
one aria and then decided to work on it from some aspect - usually musical,
sometimes dramatic or physical – for the rest of the session. The singers
relaxed and, almost to a fault, sang better the second time through. If we
heard two selections, we would choose one of those to work on. Sometimes we
stayed behind the table, often we moved to the piano. Sometimes I played, many
times Stephen played (from his full score of Clemenza, as one does.) The students got 5 to 10 minutes of
double-teamed coachings from the two of us. We were giving back something to
each student who sang. They walked out, from all reports, feeling that they'd
had a much more positive experience.
It was terrific to hear or
see an issue during their audition, but then actually talk to the singer and
see if they could do something about it. (Traditional auditions are like
diagnostic sessions with a physician but not getting any diagnosis communicated
to the patient!) Often, our singers were able to successfully change their
musical ideas regarding tempi or address a physical tension issue. It was also
interesting to see if we could get their musical and vocal imagination flowing
better because they were feeling less judged. Often, the arena of judgment that
surrounds auditioning easily kills imagination and stifles creative flow.
I ended each session with
the same question: "What are your goals for next year?"
The answers were thoughtful
and ran along a similar theme: To be more consistent in their performances and
auditions. To learn more repertoire. To put into practice what they are
learning privately in a public forum like an Opera McGill production.
More singers should be
ready for that question. What are your goals for next year?
In my humble opinion, more
companies should move to working session auditions, particularly Young Artist
Program auditions where, as they are so proud to say, they are searching for
the best talent. Can one do that in a traditional audition? Probably the answer
is yes. I found remarkable talent during my years running the YAP at
Glimmerglass, and I think I've had a great run in casting both here at McGill
and elsewhere where I've been actively casting singers. The people running
opera programs represent the best of the experts in our field, so they too find
great talent. But I know, without a doubt, that we have missed great singers.
I think it's time for the
professionals out there to acknowledge that times have changed, rep has
changed, and the singers in front of them are different with different
expectations about how they want to be treated. Work with them, if only for a
few minutes, allow them to relax and sing better. Ask them a question about
themselves, see them think and breathe while they answer.
Most of us in opera love
being in a room where opera is present – either the rehearsal room or the
theatre. We love opera because our singers, pianists, orchestras, and
production teams all collaborate, communicate, and connect in ways that are
magical. Yet we still audition singers like it is 1955, expecting them to dress
for business in a way that no one dresses like anymore – outside of Wall
Street, banks, or high powered law firms. We make them get letters of
recommendation from people saying that they are good enough to merit an
audition while offering bits and pieces of information that may, or may not, be
true or current or pertinent outside of the world of the writer. Theatre people
laugh out loud at these letters – no actor must ask their former acting teacher
for a letter saying they are a good actor in order to gain an audition with a
theatre company. It is an antiquated remnant form the Victorian age where Privilege
Persons kept their doors closed to those who did not have the right letter of
introduction from the right person.
I could go on and on about
why our current situation of auditioning is not what it should be. But I will
leave you with one comment from a student as they were leaving: Thank you, I
enjoyed that tremendously!
And I replied: So did I!
Imagine if all singers
walked out of auditions saying the same thing, and those behind the table
mirrored the sentiment!
