Greg Waxberg – Page 5 – All Articles

How do you get the rehearsal time and musical preparation you need when you’re contracted to cover a role? Three singers share their how-tos learned from years of experience as covers at such houses as the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and more.

Countertenor Mikah Meyer has always been a mover and a shaker. He first shook things up in his high school choir, singing second alto because of his extraordinary range. Then he set up a program as an undergraduate at the University of Memphis designed to help high school-aged prospective voice majors learn how to excel. His next project: making his acceptance to a top voice program in London a reality.

A 2008 and 2009 Young Artist at Santa Fe Opera relates how diligent preparation, consistent hard work, and a stroke of good fortune during last summer’s SFO season changed her life forever.

International superstar Patricia Racette makes history next month in San Francisco, becoming one of a handful of sopranos to ever sing in one evening all three leading roles in the three operas that make up Puccini’s Il trittico. Find out what makes this endeavor such a challenge, and what advice Racette has on both singing Puccini in general and tackling the heroines of Suor Angelica, Il tabarro, and Gianni Schicchi.

When we think about the great singers of the past, Maria Callas looms large. A singer and playwright have joined together to tell Callas’ story so that both singers and opera lovers alike can better understand the woman who changed the face of opera.

Several universities have fostered good relationships with local opera companies, choral groups, chamber groups, and symphonies—and their students are reaping the benefits.

Society emphasizes perfection: the perfect body, the perfect hair, the perfect complexion. Flawless, airbrushed images assault us at every turn, silently demanding we live up to them. The era of recordings has created the same unrealistic expectation for singers, and this unattainable pursuit of perfection causes many to suffer from acute stage fright (also known as performance anxiety). Here, several industry experts share ideas for overcoming what can be a debilitating affliction.

Visiting a foreign country is often touted as the best way to really experience a language—but that can mean mega dollars and isn’t always an option. The added strain learning a language can place on an already overextended pocketbook means the importance of language proficiency to a singing career is often overlooked. CS asked Greg Waxberg to review language learning tools and methods currently on the market. From using audio programs to learning on a budget, consider these language-learning ideas to give you that extra edge as a singer.