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From:  "SMSchneider" <smschneider@e...>
"SMSchneider" <smschneider@e...>
Date:  Fri Nov 9, 2001  6:47 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] obsecure arias?


Hi, Fiona,

Here's my experience with singing obscure arias. For the first few years of
auditioning for opera companies and apprenticeships, I always started with
the big aria from Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Thiresias or the Fire Aria from
Ravel's L'Enfant et les Sortileges. I sang the *&$# of of both of them, I
must say, and got lots of good feedback in coachings and performances. But I
belatedly realized that neither aria gave the auditioners anything to
compare me to since no one else was doing them. They just didn't know that
that high note was a D, and couldn't hold it up to someone else's high D.
They were a novelty for them, and probably a relief from hearing the
zillionth Caro Nome, but rarely got me anywhere. (Of course, maybe I just
wasn't good enough to get hired by those particular audioners, no matter
what I sang. But I refuse to accept that possibility!!) (I gotta tell you,
one company that loved the Poulenc was the Des Moines Metro Opera.)

Another problem with bringing obscure arias is that you absolutely MUST
bring your own accompanist, since obviously you can't assume the staff
accompanist is going to know them.

What I would do now were I in the same position is to start out with a more
mainstream aria, but have the oddball ones on the list for them to ask for
if they want to hear something after your first one.

My .02 Euro.

Susan Schneider


----- Original Message -----
From: "Fiona Chow" <fionat@i...>
From: "Fiona Chow" <fionat@i...>
To: <vocalist-temporary@yahoogroups.com>
To: <vocalist-temporary@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, November 09, 2001 1:22 PM
Subject: [vocalist] obsecure arias?


> Hello!
> Here's a question for all of you - how bad is it to have a relatively
> unknown aria as one of the five arias for auditioning? Out of my five
arias
> that I like to do (okay, so sometimes it varies), three of them are VERY
> well known, one is known but not everyone sings it, and the last one is an
> aria by Handel. The other problem is, I like to start with this rather
> obsecure one too. Any thoughts/experiences/words of wisdom?
> Thanks!
>
> Fiona
>
>
>
>
>



  Replies Name/Email Yahoo! ID Date Size
15231 Re: obsecure arias? Deal Diva Laura   Fri  11/9/2001   3 KB

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