Opera Singing in Germany and other adventures....

Okay, so I'll set the scene for you: yesterday evening I had an impromptu audition for the Sueddeutsche Schubertgesellschaft e.V. (which translates to Southern German Schubert Society, a Non-Profit, here's their website , if you're curious) which was organized only the day prior, and which I was looking forward to for a few reasons. Actually, I found out about about them through a flyer I'd seen where they were advertising for a series of concerts of Schubert's music where the profits from the performances were to go entirely to benefit the Refugees here in Munich, so that made me think, "Yeah, what a good cause! Maybe I can help by offering my singing and then they'd have more concerts and make more money and it'd be great!" You get the picture. Then, I thought about it some more and decided to call them and see what they said. At least I'd get the chance to sing some German Lieder (aka Art Song) which I hadn't done in a while, even if ...

Well, hello all! Welcome to another Thursday morning, just like any other really, except for the nagging guilt of my taking time off of cadenza research and instead writing this blog post for you! Why do I write today, you ask? Does it have to do with the cacophonous collision of c's in the title of this blog post? Why yes, yes it does. My, aren't you awake this morning! Currently I find myself in a 'Groundhog Day' of sorts. One which was created by the dreaded task that faces all singers sooner or later, and especially those of my particular voice type: Coloratura Sopranos. Ha!- as if it wasn't enough that we have to sing the dang things, someone still decided to rub it in by naming our variety of Soprano by the very thing that is currently making me look for excuses to clean the house, namely, coloratura cadenzas. Coming up with cadenzas with coloratura passages that ultimately show off your voice but also 'fit' the style of the music is something that ...

In light of all the things which have been happening recently (especially the most recent mass shootings and bombings in Paris carried out by ISIS) and all of the terribly violent crimes against humanity that have happened in the recent past (the Ferguson shooting, all the horrible genocides taking place throughout Africa and the Middle East, the war in Afghanistan, the silent takeover of the Krim by Russia....the list could go on and on) I feel that I need to talk about our role as Musicians in society when circumstances like these provide us the opportunity to make a real change. Not that our music making wasn't already altering the lives of those who witnessed it, but rather, in situations of less volatility, our music's message may not have been understood with as much gravitas as is possible now. Why is it that whenever there is too much sadness in the world people look to music to give hope, provide insight, ease discomfort and affect change? (Of course there are those...

As a singer, I try to avoid getting sick. I'm not talking about life-threatening illnesses, I'm talking about your everyday colds that turn into sinus infections, Bronchitis, the Flu, Strep Throat, Laryngitis, and those sorts of sicknesses. Of course you probably try to avoid it too, since we all know that being sick and singing don't really mix well, plus it's generally not fun. In the best case your voice will sound a bit strange and it will be uncomfortable to sing, and in the worse case you won't be able to produce a proper singing tone sometimes for days or even weeks! That's why we as singers all DO NOT want to get sick. Though, there are certainly ways to try to avoid getting sick in the first place, I'd like to use this blog post to talk about what you can do when you're already sick and have to sing (for a rehearsal or a performance) and how to make the best of a bad situation, AND what tricks of the trade can help you to recover quicker. ...

All too often I find myself forgetting that there are many valuable perspectives to be examined in the world of Opera and not just that of the Singer. So today I'd like to introduce you to one such perspective from an interview that I held recently with the very talented Conductor, Coach and Pianist, Maestro William Hicks. Although his extensive experience with many of the legends of Operatic, Classical and American Music would surely lead you to believe that he holds numerous advanced degrees from Juilliard, Mr. Hicks actually only completed two years of study as a Piano, Voice and Piano Accompanying Major at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and he did not finish high school. (This, of course, just makes his considerable achievements all the more impressive!) He grew up in Lexington, Kentucky; an only child raised by his maternal Grandparents and attended private school until his musical precociousness gained him early acceptance to CCM at age sixteen. Though h...