My own experience with young artist programs started off normally enough, but as it turned out, my experience was anything but that. When finishing graduate school, I did what most young singers do and auditioned for any YAP that would hear me. Over the next year or so, I sang for nearly 30. As I later found out, I needed more time and pursued applying and auditioning for artist diplomas around the country. I was accepted into Indiana, and though I sang a fair amount there, and certainly grew as an artist, I didn’t really learn what I later found out was absolutely necessary for a professional career in this strange, ancient, and chaotic business.
When I finished my Performer Diploma in 2012, I was fortunate to go to Utah Festival Opera, as my first professional contract. As most of you know, it’s a summer festival, which means you do multiple shows simultaneously and though it was certainly intense, it wasn’t until a few years later, when I did my first residency program that I understood just how hard one has to work in order to survive YAP’s and make the experience worthwhile and allow it to help propel you forward into being a principal. Utah gave me my first professional cover experiences and allowed me to sing some exciting rep with orchestra. It was very worthwhile, and an important first foray into the business in a still safe environment.
Recently I concluded my second season at Palm Beach Opera, in Florida, now considered one of the most successful companies of its size in the country and in that state. There, the bar was set very high and if you didn’t meet it, you were not likely to move beyond into the principal realm. There, I worked daily in intense coachings covering everything from old rep to brand new, prepping roles for the mainstage I was not only covering, but also singing. What made it so truly intense and non-stop, was all the hats we have to wear. In a single day, there would be a concert in the classroom for middle schoolers in the morning, followed by a coaching, followed by a rehearsal and then another one, or a young artist outreach concert that eve for local patrons. 10-12 hour days are not uncommon. It may not sound difficult, but you are using your voice constantly. As a result your technique must be more than solid, it must be already solidified and ready to go, along with an impressive amount of stamina. The last part, for me grew exponentially while there and for that I am very grateful, because I remember many, many days like the previous one. The best example would’ve been during tech week culminating in three performances of Carmen, in which I sang Escamillo in the mornings in cover runs, and Dancairo and chorus in the evenings, and because I was in chorus as well, by the time that week ended, it was almost 80 hours of rehearsal, and 21 days of singing in a row without a break.
Nothing can quite prepare you for the journey from college to YAPs to career, even considering the valuable time I spent at Indiana. You have to take a deep breath and go for it. I was grateful that I was already 31 when I was hired by Pbo, so that my basic technique and stamina were already solid, and ready for such heavy amounts of rehearsals and singing. Even so, one is never done learning. The principals we worked with, many from the Met or Covent Garden or La Scala, are constantly evolving and it was important for me to see how they prepared, the way they sang, etc, so that I could learn from it. I know it’s cliche, but treat every opera-tunity as a learning experience, which includes intense surroundings and collegial warmth and getting along. You’re hired once on your voice and the rest, by how you treat one another. Ultimately, this is a business of relationships.
Baritone Jason Duika is quickly making a name for himself in the classical music world. Being praised by Oregon Music New as having a “big, warm voice” and, “spot-on comic timing.” Having just finished his second season with Palm Beach Opera, Jason sang and covered nine roles with that company, including Dr. Malatesta in Donizetti’s, “Don Pasquale” in the family show, singing the role of Dancairo in Bizet’s “Carmen”Mainstage, and singing Hamlet’s Aria from Thomas’ Opera, with full orchestra and chorus at the annual Waterfront concert there. Jason has joined the roster of mangager Peter Randsman. Please visit www.JasonDuikaBaritone.com for more info.
