February 2009 – All Articles

Can singers find other alternatives to eliminating and preventing wrinkles than Botox or cosmetic surgery? Read about several natural alternatives and hear from singers who have tried them.

In our last Pedagogy 101 installment, we discussed the importance of good vocal resonance and how to achieve it. In this part of the series, acclaimed vocal coaches, diction, and language experts Shannon McGinnis, Marcie Stapp, and Nico Castel discuss the blessings—and the curses—of vocal diction.

Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore began her remarkable career more than 20 years ago. Larmore is still enjoying debuts and new recordings, but she is also branching out into many new entrepreneurial projects. Read about her new group, Jennifer Larmore and Opus Five, and about her children’s books on opera. Larmore also has lots of terrific advice for singers starting out.

Are the hardships of the singer’s life getting you down? Do you need to remember how fun and exciting classical singing can be? Do you just want a stiff drink? Maybe it’s time to pop into an Opera on Tap performance.

Soprano Joanie Brittingham decided to go to Africa for an adventure. Little did she know that a life-changing, view-altering experience awaited her in Kenya.

“It’s all in the mind.” How powerful is this statement? Dr. Jahn tells us as he explains the mind-body connection and its particular importance for singers.

Those in attendance at the AudComps Finals Concert at the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott Hotel last May need no introduction to soprano Katrina Thurman. Her fiery performance not only earned her first place from the judges, but the Audience Choice award as well. Read about her path to choosing a career as a singer, how she combats the rejection and doubts along that path, and what she sees on the horizon.

Singers are often left stymied when they are asked to name a fee for a prospective gig. Take some of the guesswork out of the process by learning some basic dos and don’ts about naming your price.

If you find yourself the proud owner of a new iPhone or iPod touch, you are in a good position to enhance your singing pursuits. Here is a list of downloadable applications, many free, that are useful to classical singers.

Once in a while, when the stars are aligned, when the director, conductor, singers, and designers are all on the same page and of the same skill level, opera has the potential to become what the composer in Ariadne auf Naxos calls “die heilige unter den Künsten” (the highest of the arts). What follows is not a review, but an appreciation of one recent occasion where singer and writer Lisa Houston saw that potential realized, causing her to reevaluate the possibilities for the art form of opera.

In the spirit of Adria Firestone’s recent series “The Singer’s Addiction,” one “retired” singer shares how she is transitioning into a new career as the artistic director of a concert series on New York City’s Roosevelt Island. Read about how she did it, the miracles that have occurred, and the challenges she’s still praying to resolve.

In this final installment of Firestone’s series on retiring from singing, Adria Firestone shares readers’ thoughts on this somewhat frightening prospect that looms in the future of every singer. Read what your fellow singers have to say on everything from retiring, to transitioning to new careers, to the joy, heartache, and hard knocks of this career.