Singers spend a lifetime working to improve their dramatic and interpretive abilities for their art. Sometimes those carefully honed skills can seep into other aspects of life, with negative results. Michelle Kunz suggests some ways to draw the curtain between the stage and your personal life.
To fully understand the present, we must have an understanding of the past. Our Met violinist takes us down memory lane as he reminisces about his final evening in the pit at the old Metropolitan Opera House. The great singers of the past laid a great foundation for those who follow.
Last month CS featured a book review highlighting the connection between singing and the Alexander Technique. This month read about one singer’s practical experience with the technique in her first ever Alexander private lesson.
Singers usually love the spotlight—but doing a radio or television interview can be terrifying. For one thing, talking—rather than singing—is the main event, and secondly, there’s no script! Learn a few tricks of the trade to help calm your nerves and make your interview a success.
We get only a few precious minutes to make a good impression on those all-important folks who do the hiring, but those minutes can make all the difference. Here are a few tips on how to make those first impressions positive ones.
Insurance man by day and composer by night, Charles Ives was, remarkably, one of the most prolific American composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Learn more about his art songs and their appropriate interpretation from insights Jamie Kotmair acquired in a recent master class with two Ives experts.
In this latest installment of our Fulbright Scholar’s European experiences, Jennifer continues her language training and orientation. Meeting the other Fulbrighters, from biologists to economists, prompts some self-evaluation. Is studying music as valid as finding a cure for an illness or improving the economy? Jennifer finds her own answers.
From San Francisco Opera, to Houston Grand Opera, to the Shanghai Conservatory, Patrick Summers has enjoyed a successful and varied career as a music director, teacher, and conductor. In this Classical Singer exclusive, he shares his secrets for having a career as a singer, his amazing experiences working in China, and what he looks for in an audition.
Damage assessment and massive cleanup efforts have begun in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans. Such is the case for New Orleans Opera, under the direction of general director Robert Lyall. In this Classical Singer exclusive, Mr. Lyall discusses the extent of the damage the opera company has suffered, the effect of Katrina on the 2005-2006 season, the company’s plans to rebuild, and what this will mean for the city of New Orleans.
Each month Classical Singer highlights two of the 14 singers our panel of distinguished judges selected from more than 200 AudComps 2005 applicants for having a ready-to-go audition package appropriate to their Artist Division. This month we spotlight Sergio Blázquez from the Professional Division and Holly Sorensen from the Emerging Professional Division.
Seattle Opera is making its mark as the American center for Wagner operas. Dr. DiGaetani gives CS readers a report on this summer’s Ring Cycle.
In a recent crossover from singer to “admin,” Erda gained a new perspective on what singers communicate by their behavior—both good and bad. She shares her insights to help you be the type of singer that administrators will want to work with again and again.
