one opera director told me he was (he's deceased) always suspicious of
singers who put obscure arias on their audition lists. in his mind, an
audition was a competition of a number of singers for one spot. he thought,
in that light, it was better to hear singers singing roughly the same
material (of course, if everyone sings different well known arias, that kind
of defeats that purpose). whether it makes sense or not, he is/was the one
doing the hiring and, if putting an obscure aria on your list is, in his
mind, a negative, right or wrong, it is not a good idea.
he once spoke to me of the exhilaration of hearing 182 versions of
norina's aria ('don pasquale') in two days. (i would have shot myself after
the first hour.)
mike
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