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From:  Karen Mercedes <dalila@R...>
Date:  Thu Sep 27, 2001  3:16 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] {rep} recital and audition Arias

I think Kathleen Battle, Barbara Daniels, Jessye Norman, Leontyne Price,
Shirley Verrett, Grace Bumbry, and a host of other African American divas
have demonstrated that there is no role in opera that an African American
CANNOT play, at least since the 1960s. So your comment about
"race-appropriate" roles is absolutely irrelevant. Your choice of audition
material should be based on factors like your vocal abilities, your
dramatic abilities, and your temperamental inclinations, plus the nature
of the aria itself. An audition aria should show off as many of your
talents in as short a period of time as possible. Generic audition arias
(vs. arias used to audition for a particular role) should probably not
exceed 4 minutes in length, and should not be devilishly difficult for a
competent pianist to sight-read. Most importantly, audition arias should
be absolutely, 100% comfortable for you to sing. This doesn't mean picking
an aria that is too easy, but it means PREPARING that aria extensively
before ever using it in an audition.

Recital arias are not the same kettle of fish. A recital is a chance to
sing all those great arias that aren't necessary suitable for auditions
due to length, or the fact that they don't meet the "show off as much as
possible" criteria. Sometimes, you may also include audition arias in your
recital - but it's also a chance to sing longer, more obscure arias.

Which points up another problem with your logic: you want audition arias
that aren't overdone. There is no such beast. What opera auditors want to
HEAR are *exactly* those arias that are "overdone" - opera auditors WANT
to be able to compare how seven different sopranos all handle "O mio
babbino caro" or "Una voce poco fa" or "Dove sono". With some exceptions
(we have an opera artistic director here in D.C. for whom 'the obscurer
the better' is a good rule of thumb - as long as it's not by Massenet, who
he hates...and woe to the poor singer who hasn't done her homework in
advance and comes in with arias from Werther or Manon!), the best rule of
thumb is NOT to venture outside the Schirmer and Prima Donna books when
seeking audition arias. Or, to be fair, it's probably a good idea to have
one or two "lesser-known" audition arias, but ALSO to have three times
that number of "greatest hits" arias.

My suggestion to you is this: for your "obscure" arias, you might want to
look at the many, MANY possibilities for lyric coloratura from Handel's
operas, like GIULIO CESARE (his most famous) or "Bel piacere" from
RINALDO. Or for something in English, you could try "I attempt from love's
sickness to fly"
from Purcell's THE INDIAN QUEEN.

Another possible "lesser known" aria for you would be "Gai du soleil" from
Massenet's WERTHER - it's age appropriate, short and sweet, and probably
also right for where you are in your technical development at this stage.
Another possibility, "Adieu notre petite table" from Massenet's MANON.

Now, on to the "meat and potatoes" arias. Mozart is an obvious source for
you. Susannah's "Deh vieni non tardar" (from LE NOZZE DI FIGARO) is an
absolute must, I think; you might also look at "Batti, batti" and "Vedrai
carino"
from DON GIOVANNI. For something less well known, check out the
Ilia arias from IDOMENEO (also Mozart) - "Padre, germani, addio" ("Father, brothers, farewell"), "Se il padre perdei" ("If I lost my father") and "Zeffiretti lusinghieri" ("Pleasant Zephyrus")

Another good choice would be Adele's laughing song from Strauss's DIE
FLEDERMAUS (aka, "Mein Heir Marquis"). Also consider "Chacun le sait" from
Donizetti's LA FILLE DU REGIMENT.

You might look at Oscar's aria from Verdi's UN BALLO IN MASCHERA, and
"Sul fil d'un soffio" - Nanetta's Fairy Queen aria from Verdi's FALSTAFF.
If you want something by Puccini that is NOT "O mio babbino caro", you
might consider "Quando m'en vo" (Musetta's waltz) from LA BOHEME.

Depending on just how ambitious and obscure you want to be, there is also
Xenia's aria (in Russian), "Gdye te", from Mussorgsky's BORIS GODUNOV.
*If* you could prepare this well - with proper Russian coaching - it
certainly would be an impressive piece to be able to offer, even in
recital. Not that's it's difficult or long - it's short and lovely - but
the mere fact of having a Russian aria in your "bag of tricks" is bound to
impress some people (a particularly good thing to have for a competition
or university audition - again, only if you are absolutely sure of your
Russian diction); other possibilities in Russian are Snegourotchka's arias
from Rimsky-Korsakov's SNEGOUROTCHKA (The Snow Maiden) or the Lullaby from
his BOYARINA VERA SHELOGA. Russian literature is generally and
undeservedly ignored in this country - but given the increasing presence
of Russian singers and Valery Gergiev at the Met, this is likely to
change. I personally think EVERY serious opera singer should have at least
one Russian audition aria in his/her repertoire.

In English, I suggest you look at Monica's Waltz from Menotti's THE MEDIUM
as a recital piece. Also learn her "Black Swan" aria, though it's not very
demonstrative of anything vocally. But young sopranos are expected to know
it, for some reason.

You might also look at Laurie's aria "Once I thought I'd never grow" from
Copland's THE TENDER LAND. And then, if you still want a "race
appropriate" aria you could do worse than "Summertime" from Gershwin's
PORGY AND BESS, particularly if you have the ability to truly float those
high notes in the final descending cadenza. I'm not familiar with Scott
Joplin's TREEMONISHA, but that's another possible source for an African
American aria. Finally, to round things out, another "must have" for you
is "Glitter and be gay" from Bernstein's CANDIDE. This will be a good
audition piece for operettas, and also a crowd-pleasing recital piece.
Similarly, you should probably master "Poor wand'ring one" from Gilbert &
Sullivan's PIRATES OF PENZANCE. For fun, I also suggest you look at
Eurydice's couplets "Le femme dont le coeur reve" from Offenbach's ORPHEE
AUX ENFERS. Then - with the "Laughing Song" by Strauss (which serves
equally well for opera and operetta auditions), you will also have
your bases covered with possibilities for operetta auditions.

Outside the opera/operetta repertoire, there are a couple "musts" for
soprano. You should definitely have the soprano arias from Handel's
Another good thing to know is the "Alleluia" from Mozart's EXSULTATE
JUBILATE (and eventually the entire piece). Schubert's "Ave Maria" is
another "must know" sacred piece for soprano. If you want something else
in Latin, you might look at the "Quia respexit" from Bach's MAGNIFICAT in
D, and/or the "Laudamus te" from Mozart's Great Mass in C minor.

If you're considering competitions and university/conservatory auditions,
you will also need to have some art songs ready. I strongly suggest you
start with Faure, Schubert, Argento, and Copland all of whom wrote many
lovely songs appropriate for a young soprano voice.

Karen Mercedes
===
On Neil Shicoff - http://www.radix.net/~dalila/shicoff/shicoff.html
On yours truly - http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html

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