The Art of Auditioning

There really is an art to auditioning. With more talent than jobs out there ("a pretty voice is a dime-a-dozen"), refining every aspect to the process of getting a role on the operatic stage is becoming more and more important. Sure, luck can play a big role in getting that big break, but eliminating certain sure-fire "audition don'ts" can make the difference. Beverly Sills admitted that she auditioned in vain for New York City Opera so many times she became exasperated, explaining they had already heard all of her soprano audition repertoire, so she might as well sing the mezzo-soprano repertoire. She finally gave them the "personality" they wanted by letting her hair down and wearing a low-cut dress. As we all know, she ultimately became General Director of the City Opera after serving as prima donna on stage for a number of years.

I had the honor of sitting in on a round of auditions for a small opera company in NYC recently. I have been in on musical theater auditions many times before, but opera auditions are different. By sitting in on this audition, I was able to gain some much needed perspective on the art of auditioning for a classical singer. What to do and what not to do became all too clear by the 10th auditionee.

Remembering what everyone sounded like is an impossible feat -- at least in this blogger's mind. I retained a few stand-outs whose voices I could call upon in my memory, but only in small snippets. For the most part, much of the lasting impressions the singers made on me came from their dress, how they dealt with the accompanist, general air about them, and some of the information I could glean from their resumes.

~Less is More~
Dress.
As as an opera-singing actor (which, by the way, is the best description of many emerging opera stars), there is a fine line between looking like an attractive blank slate waiting for direction and having "personality." Both can be achieved, but one can also fail at both. For instance, animal print, in general, is never a good idea on either sexes. Gobs of makeup, on either sex, is also not a good idea. Animal print and lavish makeup says that you already have a certain idea of yourself, and it doesn't lend itself to a general feeling of ease and it lacks a certain amount of versatility. It's like you're hiding behind something that is bigger than you. Think like a business person: your commodity is you, and you want to look as easy to work with as possible and 100% on top of your game. Being on top of your game also means staying on top of what's generally fashionable, but not the cutting-edge of fashion. Know what looks good on you.

What does all this really mean? It means keep it simple, but not too simple. Steer clear of wearing all black, or all red. Know what you look good in. If you're short, wear something sophisticated that elongates your body. If you're tall, wear something that doesn't make you look lanky. If you're fat, wear something that gives you a waist, or some shape. If you're flat-chested, wear something that shows off your neck. If you have curly, long red hair, brush it out and show it off. If you have a face full of freckles, don't hide it with foundation. If you have great eyes, pull your hair back. The focus should be you and what's good about you, not your 3 carat diamond earrings or your new leopard-print wrap dress. You don't have to be an expert in fashion, just know what looks good on you. In short, wear the packaging; don't let the packaging wear you.

Resumes.
I prefer not to know age, weight, hair color, eye color, mother's maiden name or your first dog's name. Those are unimportant facts, usually seen on musical theater resumes. I do, however, prefer to know where you went to school, what degrees you received, what roles in what shows you have performed, summer programs you attended, private voice teachers, special talents applicable to the stage, and even something unique or silly about you. By unique, I do not mean that you like to cook or you have 2 kids and a wife. Unique is graduating Summa Cum Laude, experience as a sign language interpreter, training in certain circus arts, previous employment as a pantyhose-crotch-sewer, etc.

Double check your resume with professionals. Make sure everything is spelled correctly, umlauts and accent aigus are all where they should be. Also, make sure someone can spend 10-20 seconds looking at your resume and can tell what important things you have done. TAKE OUT anything you did in HIGH SCHOOL. It does not matter after high school what you did while you were in high school. I don't care if you performed the complete role of Susanna in a staged performance of Le Nozze. (There are some amazing schools that do that, by the way.)

Aria choices.
Please, for the love of God, leave your 15 min aria in the practice room. It's better to avoid the potential embarrassment of being halted mid-aria by a perturbed artistic director. It really only takes about 3 min to get a good enough understanding of someones voice. But, if you have to bring that 20 min Act II finale death scene lament, then don't sing it first. Let them ask you for it later.

~More is Less~
Assumptions.
If you fail to bring your audition repertoire list with you ("bad dog!"), please do not assume everyone in the room is an operatic expert. There could be a stage director who is legendary in the straight theater world, but who is just getting acquainted with opera. The accompanist could be a last min fill-in from the local orchestra. You never know. Yes, you don't want to seem like a know-it-all, but you should announce as much of the full title of what you have to offer as possible. Saying, "The Doll Song" isn't necessarily enough. "The Doll Song from Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffman" is enough, though. Saying, "I have a French and an Italian aria" is really not enough. Be as thorough as possible, yet still concise.

~More is More~
Script Readings.
It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does happen, relax and do your best. And please, SPEAK OUT. All of the lovely inflection you're doing is great except we don't know if you can project to the back of even a 20 seat theater with that voice! Think of it this way: When we sing, we sing much louder than necessary to fill a practice studio. Why? Because we want to project to the back of whatever theater we're booked to sing in. Same thing goes with script readings!

Experience.
Because there is an art to auditioning, save the best companies for last, when you're most experienced. Don't blow your only 3 chances at auditioning for the Met on the first 3 years out of college. Take all the regional auditions you can afford to at first, even choral auditions, then work your way up. The more auditioning you do, the better you'll become. But, also remember it's important to remember that first impressions don't last forever, but they do last a long time in this industry.

With that said, don't treat the small-time opera companies as if they're unimportant to your career. You never know if someone might be hired on by another company. Nothing in this industry is static.

~General Don'ts~
Sheet Music.
Plastic sheet protectors are for your Science project/English report only. The glare of the over-head lights on the plastic makes reading the music much more difficult, and therefore worse for the singer. Unless the aria anthology you're using lays completely flat, like a spiral bound notebook, do not... DO NOT use it. We don't really care if you have originals to the music or not. Most of us don't have time to be concerned with your copyright infringement. But, books have a tendency to have wild pages that don't lay flat and the last thing you want from your accompanist is to be more concerned with just wrestling with the music than following you.

Assuming the singer has a copy of the aria, double sided, with all of the music on the page (that means the lowest notes on the bass clef are not cut off), another guideline to follow is to keep the music in the same general layout as the book you copied it from. For instance, if you're using the Prima Donna album, and the first page of Caro nome is on the left side of the book, put the copied version in your (black) binder the same way. Make sure the first page of Caro nome is also on the left side of your binder. The more experienced pianists, have certain well-loved arias almost or totally memorized. Accurate page layout can keep from tripping them up.

But, if the aria is three pages, make your copy so all three pages are visible. Do not have three loose sheets, but tape them together so it folds out like an accordion. A faint breeze from the air conditioner could send one of the pages flying, but taping them together usually keeps that from happening.

Also, have legible tabs in your binder with the aria name and composer separating the arias/songs, and even an index of all the pieces in your binder at the front. If a second aria is asked of you, it is much better if you don't have to walk over to the pianist and find the song for them.

Make sure the accompanist's copy of the music is clean and free from extraneous markings from your voice lessons like "BREATHE," "ARCH," "RELAX," "SUPPORT," etc. By leaving the markings, you're immediately bringing your vocal "issues" to the table, and anyone who can see the music will know what your issues are, even if they're not apparent in your audition.

Above all, make sure all of your artistic liberties with each song/aria marked in your accompanist's music. That means, rubatos, accelerandos, all ornaments, etc. Even if the aria is the Habanera from Carmen, go ahead and mark in that sudden rubato.

Breaking character.
And if you happen to get an accompanist who is stumbling over the music you gave them, for whatever reason, don't break character to give them looks or glances, don't point at them when they miss that sudden rubato, and try to not stop singing. If you must stop, quickly pick a spot in the music and move on. Pointing, glaring and breaking character makes you look worse than the failing accompanist. Again, you want to look like you're easy to work with, and not a diva/divo. Be forgiving and get the job done. It isn't a recital, it's an audition.

No-show.
There are no excuses besides death for not showing up to an audition. Don't do it no matter how insignificant the company may be. If you are running behind and miss your time, show up anyway. Late is better than never. If you have to cancel less than 24 hours in advance of your time due to sudden sickness or death in the family, call the office, or call the venue where the auditions are happening to give a message. People who no-show without notice are never hired in the future, no matter how "amazing" they are. And as mentioned above, you never know where someone from one opera company may show up next -- nothing is static.

~General Dos~
Smile.
Relax.
Remember, that they want you to do well. If it were socially acceptable, I bet most auditioners would like to have a martini or a glass of wine while listening to auditionees, not to dull the pain, but to add to the enjoyment. Perhaps by the 8th hearing of Barber's "Must the Winter Come So Soon?" a little dulling might be nice, but still, a good performance is still a good performance.

Get out there, kid, and knock 'em dead.