An Introduction & Preparation...what's that?

(Originally posted on 21 May 2014)

Greetings from sunny Vienna, Austria!

For a couple of years now, I have been throwing around the idea of writing a new Blog to deal with some of the questions I am asked, and issues I see floating around the world of singing and opera in particular. This is where I can share my ideas about what it is to be a singer in today's world of opera and what that means. I will be using my opinions and experience to guide me and see what I come up with! As I am finishing up my first season with the Vienna State Opera, I believe it is a good time to start this project. As with my previous blog: timetoauditionineurope.blogspot.com I welcome question, comments, and would love for discussions to take place. Feel free to email me and ask questions if you have them as well. I am always willing to help, when I am able. I plan to have fun and I hope you do too!

So, where do we start?

Preparation... what is that? (in regard to singing/opera)
A topic that has been presenting itself to me over and over again as I move through this career. To answer the question presented, PREPARATION is to be studied and knowledgeable about what you are doing, in order to be open to discussion, present your own "personal" ideas about something, and be able to work collaboratively to achieve a common goal.

Preparation is not something we are taught. You have to take the initiative to figure out how you best prepare for something and be honest about what that all involves. Each one of us is different. We take different amounts of time to learn different things, and so each one of us needs to figure this out on our own. One of the scariest, but most rewarding ways of figuring this out, is failing to prepare fully or properly for a project. It happens to us all, and let me tell you, it is the most stressful, eye-opening moment. In my own experience, it happened once, quite awhile ago, and I strive everyday to not let it happen again (with the understanding that we all have bad days and sometimes things just happen).

Organization is part of preparation. Know in which order you need to work on something. When I have the time (I try to give myself lots of time to learn something), I go to the rudimentary aspects of a piece. Each part on it's own: Rhythm, Lyrics (this means speaking/singing, and MEANING - translate or get a translation or your lines and the lines of those you interact with!!!), melodic line, then I put it all together, slowly and work my way up!

There is also the component of researching a piece. It doesn't matter if it is a full opera, aria, or song. Find something out about it... was it composed for someone in particular? When was it written? What was going on in the world? If it is based off of a another work, what was it and how does it relate? Not all of these question can or need to be answered, but I try to do some amount of research and get a bit more background to understand a piece more fully. Sometimes you find something and it completely changes a meaning of a line or the entire piece (this might happen after years of working on something as well - maybe you see a piece of art that inspires you, or read a novel and you think of a specific piece... this all comes into play and is relevant for your understanding and approach). This goes for ALL roles if we are talking operatic repertoire. There are no small roles! Each role has a specific purpose and thus was put in by the composer. Figure out what that purpose is, otherwise the plot will fail to move forward...

Then there is the process of fitting something into your voice. Feeling it, owning it, and being comfortable singing whatever it might be. In my experience this can't be done over-night. Sure there are moments we have to jump in to do something, but on the whole, give yourself time and let a piece become part of you. Know it inside and out and be able to do different things with it. You never know when you will be asked by a conductor or director to try something a bit differently, and if you have a solid relationship with the way you sing something, you can tweak it and make all the more interesting. The other side of that is to try something and be able to have an intelligent discussion as to why something might not work out for you in a way a conductor or director might like. But you have to be able and willing to try first.

Last, but certainly not least... Keep an open mind and the sky will be the limit as to what you can achieve. You have to prepare yourself for this! I know it might sound odd, but we all get stuck in our own habits and ways of doing things. BUT when you are working with other folks, you have to be open to trying things and open to saying NO. It all works together. If you are prepared you reserve the right to not do something. If you aren't prepared, you don't get that right because you didn't do the work in the first place, so you are out of luck!

AND MOST IMPORTANT... HAVE FUN! If you aren't having fun, you aren't doing the right thing, so figure out why that is and change it. I mean fun on a whole, not plucking notes or tapping rhythm... tedious work isn't necessarily fun, it's NECESSARY! But after the couple of hours put in there you open up and have fun! I promise!

So there you have it. First step preparation. As you come to the end of this post, you might be thinking, well duh... but really, it is astonishing how lacking the singing world is in regard to preparation. From the high school level, to the top opera houses of the world. ASTONISHING!

All of the information I am going to provide in this blog is completely based on my personal experience and opinions on topics. We are all allowed to have our own opinions and ways of doing things. This is what makes it so fun to be human. I just offer mine up to the singing community (or anyone who is interested) and if it can be used, GREAT!

Until next time...