I was born to sing. I knew it when I opened my eyes in the morning and when I dreamed about it at night. Draped in my mom’s old dresses, I took the fireplace stage every week with a new selection to wow my loyal crowd.
Life, however, is not so forgiving. I was born to love music and to pursue a career in which I could support an art form I have come to embrace and respect as I learn more about it each day—but after years of practice and lessons in and out of the classroom, I gained perspective and saw the light. The light, ironically enough, was a fluorescent one, inside an office.
Like some other classical singers may finally admit, I began contacting opera companies in the hope that I’d be humming in the back room one day and the artistic director would grab me by the arm and take me to the stage, the prima donna from that point on. Through my experiences in opera administration, however, I have found something that lets me support my love of opera without enduring the stressful life of a performer.
My journey has taken me from one smaller company, the Kentucky Opera, to a larger one, Washington National Opera. Both had innumerable lessons to teach me and gave me an enormous perspective I could not have gained if I had not delved into the administrative world of opera.
For me, the first part of finding a coveted summer internship was figuring out what I wanted to do. To begin, I checked the websites of larger companies, such as Houston Grand Opera, for internship possibilities. Once the initial wave of lofty ambition subsided, I took stock of my strengths and cross referenced them with the needs of the opera companies. I would not be good in a finance department, for example—my checkbook is not the neatest one you’ll find.
The second decision was choosing which company was for me. I knew I would be in Louisville, Ky. my hometown and home of the Kentucky Opera, so this company was a top priority. I had also seen many operas there and remained enthusiastic about those productions. When you are deciding what employer is right for you, one of the most important things, in any trade, is the quality of that company’s work.
After numerous searches of opera companies and classical singing institutions I narrowed my search to five companies. Not all of the companies’ websites listed internships. In fact, none of the companies to which I originally applied even mentioned interns on their websites. If this is the case with a company that interests you, don’t worry. Small companies need interns just like large companies, but websites are expensive and opera companies might not have the room to advertise internships.
Then came the time to do what I feared most: putting myself out there and sending an e-mail. I was a mere undergraduate music major. What did I have to offer to a company that produces million-dollar shows three times a year? I took a deep breath and hit the Send button.
To my great surprise and delight, a week later I received a call from David Levy, director of production at Kentucky Opera. We spoke about responsibilities and my qualifications, and he offered me an internship.
During my short stay at Kentucky Opera, I was the only intern working with the professional staff. At that time they did not have an established intern program. Levy was my primary task manager but I had the opportunity to see what went on in all the departments. This is one of the greatest perks of working with a small organization: You are not competing with anyone else or getting lost in a sea of interns, so you have more opportunities to see what each department does.
When the company moved to a new building, I was seated right next to the Development Department, about which I knew nothing. It was a stroke of luck, because I quickly learned that development would continue to be an area of interest as I moved to another internship with another company.
Another perk of working in a small organization: I had the opportunity to attend full staff meetings almost every week. With larger companies, the staff is spread out, making it difficult to gather in one room every week.
As a production intern, I acquired new knowledge about lighting, set design, and overall stage management. Levy, a stage-manager for many years, was patient when including me in meetings with the electricians at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts.
Overall the experience was exactly what I needed. Because I did not know what I wanted to do and I wasn’t sure I was in the right area, the smaller company worked to my advantage. My knowledge grew tremendously with my first summer internship, and left me hungry for more.
My search for an internship for the summer of 2008 started the previous October. Spreadsheets with phone numbers, e-mails, and numerous notes to myself dominated my computer screen at any free moment. Again, I applied to a number of companies. With new wisdom and a need to go somewhere other than my hometown, I searched for paid internships, or those that provided housing options. These are the more competitive internships, so I put my best foot forward.
I received many kind but discouraging e-mails but ended up with a few options. In the end the best choice for me was Washington National Opera.
I interviewed in the Education, Artistic Administration and Public Relations departments. Public Relations sounded like the best position for me to contribute to the company as well as take lessons home with me.
Washington, D.C. is a daunting location for many reasons, the greatest of which was finding housing. The generous WNO volunteers, however, helped me find a room that did not drive me into debt.
Washington National Opera boasts an intern program with a high rate of employment. It is well organized and tailored to fit each intern. Interns were accepted as team members from the moment they sat down at their desks. All interns received a binder similar to what I would imagine visiting artists receive, including local restaurants, maps, phone numbers, and other helpful information.
Many other interns arrived the same week as I, and we were lucky enough to attend Handel’s Tamerlano, featuring a cast that included Plácido Domingo, David Daniels, Patricia Bardon, and Sarah Coburn. Any opera company, stipend or not, offers numerous opportunities to see performances of all kinds. I was able to attend three top notch performances at WNO, and I received many offers from local theaters in the area, enriching my experience all the more.
One advantage of some larger companies with established intern programs is a weekly meeting with department heads. WNO and Chicago Lyric offer this added benefit.
At WNO these symposiums were very informal lunch meetings. Each week the department heads provided a description of their job responsibilities, in and out of the office. Department heads were also extremely open to questions and additional personal interviews at the interns’ requests.
A lunch with Executive Director Mark Weinstein was one of the highlights of these symposiums. Weinstein was very generous with his time whenever possible, and reminded interns that, “although my door is literally closed, it’s always open.”
My supervisor at the program, Angela Olson, was gracious and helpful in every aspect of the job. It can be terribly overwhelming when you walk into a large and very well-known organization and do not know what to do. Olson was patient, kind, and very knowledgeable about teaching me the business of public relations.
JoAnn Labrecque-French, the director of my department as well as two other departments, was a powerful and intelligent source of inspiration. Members of the Marketing and Communications Department were tremendously helpful and willing to give their time with informational interviews and lunches.
Many of the team had backgrounds similar to my own. They started in music, realized that performing was not for them, and found in the office a fresh perspective of their love of opera.
Even if the stage is dark during the summer, large opera companies offer a myriad of things to do. Companies want to catch people before they leave for vacation, for example, so many hold their opera galas in the early summer. I was fortunate to attend WNO’s Opera Ball, held at the French ambassador’s residence. It was a working night for everyone involved, but with such luxury around, it was difficult not to enjoy ourselves.
After reflecting on my own experiences as an intern, I decided it would be beneficial to interview others who have had internships at other opera companies both large and small.
Dana Dickson’s time at Atlanta Opera, encouraged her to continue with her degree in artistic administration. An intern at Atlanta from the winter of 2007 to the spring of 2008, Dickson is now enrolled at the Savannah College of Art and Design, pursuing her master’s in artistic management.
Dickson’s degree program requires an internship each semester. She had already acquired a love for opera while working toward her undergraduate degree in humanities. Dickson said her experience at Atlanta was a very positive one, from gaining specific skills to an overall boost in understanding and enthusiasm for the art.
“I learned a lot of the groundwork that has to be laid for doing any grant application,” Dickson said. “All of these were things we talked about in class, but there’s a difference in reading about it and doing it.”
Deven Shaff is the Education and Community Programs Coordinator at Central City Opera in Denver, Colo., and a former CCO intern. Shaff, like me, is a vocalist. He worked as a special events intern during the company’s summer festival.
Shaff said he had a “great intern experience.” CCO pays interns a weekly stipend and provides them with housing. Shaff said he worked long days and wished during his internship that he could have been in the artistic field rather than the administrative. One thing he did not anticipate was the amount of time he would spend in the office rather than with the artistic department.
“There are many ways to get in the field and many ways to stay in the field,” Shaff said. “There are different routes for everybody.”
Shaff expressed precisely what many young singers come to find within the world of opera and classical music. Starting out in one place does not mean you will end there.
