Opera Singing in Germany and other adventures....

Like many of you, I went to the movie theaters a few months ago to see the movie "La La Land" because of all the rave reviews it was receiving from critics. As you can imagine if you've also seen the film and are a working Performing Artist, I was pretty angry at the predictability of the movie's plot, and their insensitive and narrow-minded presentation of an Artist's life and options they have. And, then coincidentally, my issues with La La Land were summed up, in a masterful blog post that I happened to stumble upon last week written by Linda Essig, who is the Director of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Programs at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University, and if you're curious to read her thoughtful words, you can click here to see her post . Basically, what she says is what I was feeling right after seeing the film. Why does life's trajectory always get over simplified to two distinct and different choices for an...

So I was lucky enough to recently have had vocal troubles. I know, I know- sounds not so lucky. But, behold! It was. Because my vocal troubles were really minimal, actually. It started rather slowly and then got worse; I was often a bit hoarse after singing (either after an hour-long coaching of Opera Arias, or after 2 hours of private practice at home) and I knew that that wasn't normal. So off to the ENT Doctor (Ear, Nose and Throat, or in Germany they are called HNO which stands for Hals, Nasen, Ohren- the same as in English, just "auf Deutsch") I went. And luckily for me, here in Munich there is a ENT that works in the Klinikum Rechts der Isar, which is run by the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (for those non-German speakers- the Hospital on the right side of the Isar [River], which is run by the Technical University of Munich) who works in a department of the hospital which was specifically designed to treat Musicians' injuries. Cool, right? They often deal wi...

For the New Year I wanted to offer you all some of my 'essential' products for a singer's life, so I've made a list of some things that I simply cannot live without. And no, in case you were wondering, I'm not being paid or compensated in any way to endorse these products. I merely like them enough to want to share their awesomeness with the world, and with you, dear Reader. Although I wouldn't mind having a lifetime supply of some of these things...and neither will you, once you try them! So, happy reading and happy finding new favorite go-to products for yourself or the singer who is dear to you. 1.) Burt's Bees Lozenges ( http://www.burtsbees.com/product/natural-throat-drops%3A-honey/01441-00.html ) Especially when Winter is in full force and we are plagued by dry air from indoor heating on full blast, having a lozenge in my purse or coat pocket at all times is essential. I especially like these because they don't have any high fructose corn syr...

Dear fellow singing friends and professionals, I was awakened a few weeks ago by a few very unsavory experiences to the fact that it might be a good thing for me to talk about the Ethics of being a Professional Opera Singer. Before I start, I would like to say that I welcome all of your thoughts about this topic, so if after you've read my post you feel there's something to add, please do share it in the comments section below! It's certainly possible that these principles of professional ethics apply equally well to other industries, but I'll forge ahead with their relevance to being a singer, specifically. As a professional Opera singer who hasn't yet had her "big break" (a.k.a. a contract singing at an 'A-level' Opera house OR really any job which would allow me to actually earn a living wage from my singing in a year's time), I still feel it of the utmost importance for me to be "ethically professional" because I believe that...

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...