Opera Singing in Germany and other adventures....

I recently auditioned for a medium-sized Opera house here in Germany for a position in the chorus (simply because I thought- well, at least then during my search for some professional solo work, I could have some money, and perhaps also an introduction to important people in the Opera house, e.g. the Stage Director, Conductor, etc...).  Contrary to my perceptions about chorus auditions, it seemed like the theater had made many preparations and considered this audition just as important as any solo auditions would be (as they organized everything really effectively and kept strict tabs on whether or not everyone was able to meet with the pianist to rehearse and also had private time to warm-up).  Therefore, I felt confident that I would be chosen (to put it honestly) because I figured, well if you're working on a solo career, then you'd certainly be good enough for the opera chorus (don't hate me Opera chorus members!) just by sheer technical skill and experience. I arrive...

I think that it's about time that I get to the nitty-gritty of what things were like for me in terms of rehearsal schedule and working environment for the 5 weeks that I spent in Bad Orb, don't you?  And for those of you who have insatiable curiosity about these sorts of things, if I haven't answered all of your questions by the end of this post, feel free to leave your questions below in the comments section.  Therefore, on to the crux of the matter! The rehearsal schedule that I experienced in Bad Orb, Germany while I was working on the role of Rosine in Der Barbier von Sevilla  was quite unlike anything that I had heretofore experienced in America.  Of course we did the same sorts of things during rehearsals (staging, musical rehearsing, tightening up ensemble singing, acting, etc..) but we did it at totally different times than what I am used to from the programs in which I had previously take part in the states.  To be more specific, here was a normal day...

This past weekend my colleagues and I sang in a concert located in the neighboring town of Gelnhausen  The concert served to promote the upcoming Opernakademie performance of Rossini's Barber of Seville, and to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Opernakademie Bad Orb, and all the hard work and dedication that has gone into producing successful summer Opera performances year after year.  Since 1986 in July and August international emerging artists come to Bad Orb specifically because of its wonderful reputation for putting on quality performances, allowing younger singers to sing important roles for future use in developing their career, and its well-known capacity for acting as a platform from which these emerging artists receive opportunities to take on larger projects at important opera houses in Germany and internationally. Therefore, there was quite a lot to celebrate at this past Saturday's concert, and we all had a wonderful time, however, as is no...

This particular entry is meant to provide an insight into my first two weeks here in Bad Orb thus far while working on the role of Rosina in Rossini's opera, The Barber of Seville , or in German "Der Barbier von Sevilla". The photos below are included to be a sort of progressive explanation of my experiences during these two weeks, almost like a photo journal. Our first day of staging, and part of our scenery! During this day, we went through the First Act musically, and then began right away to become acquainted with the acting out of the First Act Finale, and putting it on the stage as it would look in the final product. Different angle, same scenery :) Though, the set has changed even further from what it looks like here, and it is currently really much more developed than what you can now see.  A side note: the tables on the stage are where the Stage Director (Carlos Krause, a Kammersaenger from the Oper Frankfurt, and this year has been working in Opera for...

Okay, so today the newspaper came out and there was a picture of me and my colleagues from the production that I am currently rehearsing for in Bad Orb, Germany, and an article to accompany it! If you'd like to see and read this article (it's in German, of course, so heads-up to you non-German speakers) then please do click on the title of this blog post and you will be taken to the website of the newspaper in which the article appears! (And, I will of course keep you all updated as more details come to light- I will also write a bit of a longer blog post this weekend- it's just that rehearsals have been so busy, I can hardly do anything like that at the moment, so, promising now- a longer blog post this weekend!)

I am certainly no expert, but I do like to think that I have a fair amount of observational talent.  That being said, I have paid particular attention to the singing that I've seen from my colleagues on both sides of the Atlantic and I have some general insights to share with you all, which you might want to keep in mind the next time you think about characterization for role preparation. (Phew, that's a tongue twister!) Anyway, I have watched various professional and non-professional colleagues from Germany and the USA, and I have noticed two distinct camps of acting training that are making themselves evident from the performances I've witnessed.  The German singers I've seen have managed to maintain (no matter what the dramatic situation was) a sort of naiviete in the portrayal of their characters while singing.  This, I believe, comes from their in-depth understanding of each word that they sing. And, I don't just mean what we American singers think of (I ca...

So, it's been long overdue that I write something about my upcoming singing in Germany (again) and the good news I've received of being chosen for a singing engagement there this summer in the months of July and August. Therefore, I will begin by saying that because all of you are very dear to me who read this blog and who've supported me monetarily, psychologically and physically over the past years/weeks/months/days, I would like to say that this success of mine is due to your generosity and love for me.  So, I would like to sincerely thank all of you for helping to make this possible. Now, to the details: I auditioned for a program called "Opernakademie Bad Orb" on January 15th, 2011 in Germany at the Frankfurt Opernhaus in their Orchestralprobesaal (Orchestral Rehearsal Room) at approximately 2:30pm, after having arrived there around 12 noon.  My boyfriend and I left from Dortmund that morning by car at approximately 9am and arrived in Frankfurt a bit ahea...

When I talk to non-musicians and non-singers about the difficulty of breaking into the solo career scene in Opera, they ask me (as any logical person would) "Well, why not just join the chorus? At least you could be still doing what you love- singing!"  And, while this is a very sensible plan and a good one in theory, it actually has a lot of pitfalls that I'd like to explain now to you in this post.  This will also hopefully bring about some good conversation from my operatic colleagues who are opera chorus members, or who are thinking of doing it, or who are opera house managers and who deal with chorus singers and the system of how the hiring works. I must stress that what I am saying here is in no way the only view on the matter, but it is an informed one, as I know many chorus singers are various size opera houses, and I see and hear about the politics associated with being a chorus singer through being in the opera business and being around those people in charge ...

So, since I am back in Germany some things have come to my attention that I would like to share with you, Dear Readers, about differences in the cultures of Americans and Germans.  Some things are positive, some are not so positive, and some are merely observations.  Here goes! Things I really love about German Culture: 1. They separate their recycling meticulously.  They make a distinction between bottles which are given back for monetary reimbursement, green and white glass containers and bottles, cardboard and paper, plastic packaging materials, things which can be composted, and simply "all other things which don't fall into the categories mentioned before this one".  What a great system- and helpful too.  (Though, I do have to say, things can get a little stressful sometimes when you are, let's say, opening something which has all of these materials included, or perhaps, three or more of the materials in the categories included, then....it's no picnic t...

I had an audition in Berlin on the 28th of September for the ZAV there and I will now dutifully report to you, Dear Readers, on what occurred during my time there, and the results of my audition.  (Possibly, not in that order.) DAY 1: I arrived in Berlin on Sunday around 12:15pm and did not have my audition scheduled until Tuesday at 1pm, therefore, I was able to fit some other touristy things into my trip, prior to my audition.  So after leaving Dortmund that morning at 8am and arriving in Berlin that Sunday afternoon with my boyfriend aboard the ICE, we decided to stash our luggage in the lockers at the 'Zoologischer Garten' S-Bahn stop, (an S-Bahn is a regional train system that interconnects with the subway station system in Berlin- much like the New Jersey Transit system connects with the Subway at New York Penn Station, for those Readers from New York, or at least familiar with its transit systems) and then we hastily made our way to the Berlin Zoo, which happens to b...