The connections start to come in...
(Originally posted on 27 June 2012)
So the mailing went out from Germany thanks to an AMAZING friend of mine... saved me a couple hundred dollars in the end!
The GOOD NEWS!! Each day I receive a couple of responses to my mailing! Taking the time to make it look good and spend the money on the printing must have paid off some. I've already set up a few auditions for October, and am in contact with Agents who want me to contact them as soon as I am there. I didn't think it would happen so quickly... quite exciting.
The BAD NEWS... The Opera world is being hit as so many other areas of the arts. Even in Germany! I've had several responses from Agencies who apologize for not holding auditions because of full rosters. Great for them... BAD for those of us still in need of getting in the door. This I guess is the beauty of sending out 139 press packets! If I can get even a few auditions I guess it isn't in vain. So currently I'm ahead of my game. Phew! (On a side note. I'm working on updating the database as well... some are PR firms that costs TONS of money and you don't want to get stuck working with them... others no longer exist or they do not represent singers and these folks have been kind enough to respond and let me know.)
The way I feel about it now is that I've done what I can up to this point and will continue to answer inquiries as they come in and stay in touch with those who express interest!
A WORD OF ADVICE: If you are planning to go over to Germany and you don't speak German yet... get yourself in a class... YESTERDAY! If you want to work with the ZAV (Zentrale Auslands- und Fachvermittlung), which is the Government Subsidized Agency... they will want to make sure you speak German (they do ALL business in GERMAN and will not speak English with you... they don't care) and will ask to set up a phone conversation. My advice here is to email them back in German and set something up. I explain that I lived in Vienna for two years and understand that my German is not in top form, but also realize that being back in Europe will help this immensly. So far... the ZAV München replied that they trust in my German skills and won't need to do a phone interview... Score one for me! It pays to be honest that you know you aren't perfect at something... but are willing to give it your ALL!
Anyway... off my soap box!
Also something to consider. My friend and I were planning to move to Berlin to make our home base and since she has been back home in München, she has learned that maybe we should be in München because it's the Center of Opera for Germany and the German speaking countries. This is fine... it's just EXPENSIVE and hard to find a place to live... Again, the beauty of thinking and planning ahead is that these kinds of issues can be addressed and planned out to make the most out of our experience. Thus... I will keep you posted on what ends up happening. As for now, the word on the street is to base in München or Köln. Stay tuned for further updates on that!
So the journey continues and we will take what comes to us in strides! Thanks for sharing the adventure and as always feel free to contact me if you have specific questions that I can help with. For now... Alles bestens!