i agree...be sure to have these mezzo roles in your
rep...at least that is what my mentors have told
me...as for "o don fatale" i was at a master class a
few weeks ago and a really good mezzo sang this (she
is 25) and the master class teacher (a coach at the
met) said that they generally expect to hire a
dramatic soprano or someone a lot older...and that she
needn't bother with it for about another 10 years...no
matter how well she sings it. I know that it stinks
to have to be patient and no one looks forward to
getting older really...but now you have something to
look forward to!!!!
christine
--- ODivaTina@a... wrote:
> In a message dated 3/4/2002 7:22:54 AM Pacific
> Standard Time,
> dalila@R... writes:
>
>
> > I am curious whether this is just a generic
> Loca/Regional opera problem:
> > i.e., smaller companies EVERYWHERE avoid doing
> anything but the lighter
> > opera rep that can take advantage of the
> overabundance of
> > just-out-of-school lyric and coloratura sopranos
> and lyric baritones, and
> > to hell with the other _fachs_. Or is it a
> peculiarity of this region
> > which also, coincidentally, is VERY big on choral
> music, especially of the
> >
>
> Karen,
> It is not particular to your region. It is the same
> here in the Bay Area,
> although not quite as bad. In the recent past, the
> local companies here have
> produced Tosca, Trovatore, Mahagonny (GREAT mezzo
> role!), Baby Doe. But, it
> is more rare than the "lighter" rep.
> You must realize that this is not only a small
> company issue. Large companies
> have a hard time casting these operas as well, and
> don't produce them as
> often as the other works. However, there are plenty
> of roles that a larger
> voiced mezzo (of which I am one) can do that are in
> the more standard/lighter
> rep: Carmen, Nicklausse, Dorabella, Third Lady,
> Orflovsky, Suzuki, the Witch,
> Marzelline, L'Italiana's Isabella, LOTS of Handel,
> Maddalena, Orsini, Martha
> in Faust. All of these roles need a mezzo who can
> really deliver in the lower
> passages and be heard, so heft is desirable.
> The issue can also be boiled down to taste. Just
> yesterday I sang Orlovsky's
> aria in a fund raising concert, and a number of
> people came up to me
> commenting on the unique quality of my voice (I have
> a very large chest voice
> that contributes to a lot of heft and darkness, but
> which also has a
> laser-like quality.) It is not a mezzo sound that is
> typical, and it is,
> quite frankly, a double edged sword. It is great to
> be unique, yes, but on
> the other hand, I have a LOT of experience with
> people who simply don't like
> it and don't understand it and won't hire me. And I
> really don't mind. . .
> now. But I had to get used to that fact.
> You may need to branch out to larger markets. The
> bigger houses understand
> what it takes to cut through an orchestra.
> TinaO
>
>
> removed]
>
>
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