January 2009
Lifelong Curiosity : A Conversation with Baritone Juan Pons
After making his La Scala debut in 1980 as the incorrigible Falstaff, baritone Juan Pons went on to sing at every major opera house around the world. Still an active artist, Pons also makes time to share his experiences and advice with singers who are just starting out, as he did while visiting students at the Bel Canto Institute in Florence, Italy last summer. Program participant Margaret Higginson shares with CS readers what Pons had to say about his career, how he studies roles, what led him to make the switch from bass to baritone, and how his career has affected his life and his family.
Certified Singers ’08-’09
From more than 200 applicants competing in three intense rounds of competition in the Classical Singer AudComps, the judges named the 12 top competitors Certified Classical Singers for 2008-2009. This month, we feature baritone Jonathan Gabriel Michie and tenor Jin Hwan Byun from the Emerging Professional Division.
Summer Program Survey Reviews
Summer programs offer a variety of options for continuing your training, adding a complete role to your résumé, exploring a new country, learning a language, and more. In an effort
Exploring Possibilities : My Crittenden Summer Workshop Experiences
A longtime summer program that runs for two weeks in Boston and Washington, D.C. each summer offers singers indepth stage and acting training at a very reasonable price. One singer who has attended the program in both cities reports on her experiences.
Complete Preparation with dell’Arte Opera Ensemble
Read about a small but fast-growing program in New York City that offers singers the chance to prepare and perform complete opera roles in a supportive and friendly environment.
It’s Not What You Know…
When singers consider the pros and cons of summer programs, they sometimes overlook or underestimate the value of making connections. One singer reflects on the many ways friendships forged at three different summer programs have benefited her life and her career.
CAUTION : SSMA Strikes Again
In 1999 and again in 2003, Classical Singer received a host of complaints from disgruntled singers about the Sessione Senese per la Musica e l’Arte in Siena, Italy. (For the
TOI, TOI, TOI in Taos
CS reports on a summer program’s inaugural year in beautiful New Mexico. Find out what the program has to offer, what went well the first time out, and what improvements participants can expect in 2009.
A Spanish Summer
Spanish art song and lyric drama (known as zarzuela) is gaining increasing popularity in the States. If you’re interested in this genre, check out this summer program offered through Saint Louis University in beautiful Madrid.
Arts Administration Internship : A Behind-the-Scenes Summer Program
If you’re one of the many singers considering working in arts administration, you might want to add interning with an opera company to your list of possible summer plans. One singer-turned-administrator discusses possible internship destinations, as well as the how-tos of getting there.
Get Your Audition Package Together in a CoOPERAtive Enviornment
If you’re looking to do nothing more this summer than work intensely on your audition package, look no further than this program on the Westminster Choir College campus in Princeton, New Jersey.
Ask Erda : The Year of Living Audaciously
Erda invites you to join her in the year of dreaming big. Then she gives you five steps to make those dreams become a reality, one day at a time.
The Singer’s Autobiography : Get Your Information- and Your Inspiration- from the Horse's Mouth
Aspiring singers are always looking for clues on how to achieve success, so it’s natural to seek and find a community of other aspiring singers for support. In many instances, however, such relationships are a bit like the blind leading the blind. For gaining a deep understanding of what the singer’s life entails, you can’t find a better source than first-hand information from singers who are doing it, or have done it—and the most detailed accounts are in successful singers’ autobiographies. Here are some tidbits from three autobiographies by singers whose careers span the past 80 years.
Recent Winners of the Met National Council Auditions Tell All
What does it take to achieve success in the Met Auditions? How should singers prepare and what should they expect? Last year’s five winners talk about their experiences and what impact winning the competition has had on their careers.
Editor’s Note : A Banner Year
A Google search on New Year’s resolutions instantly reveals a host of websites listing the most common goals. The lists look remarkably similar with essentially the same resolutions worded just
Center Stage : Kenneth Kamal Scott, Tenor
Kenneth Kamal Scott Tenor Brooklyn, N.Y. Please tell our readers about your career highlights so far. Soloist with Boston Symphony Orchestra with John Williams conducting, starring role on Broadway for
Letters to the Editor
Tell us how we’re doing. Tell us about the articles that have helped you and articles you’d like to read. We would like to publish your comments, received either by e-mail at editorial@classicalsinger.com or in the mail at P.O. Box 1710, Draper, UT 84020.
Bulletin Board
Mortier Quits The New York Times announced Nov. 7 that provocative impresario Gerard Mortier has decided not to assume the top position at New York City Opera. For the previous
Continuing Education : One More Conversation about the Feldenkrais Method with Master Teacher Maxine Davis
CS wraps up its four-part series on the Feldenkrais Method with a continued discussion about how this technique can help you learn to release unnecessary tension in your singing and discover a new way of doing things.
The Singer’s Addiction : Part Five: Learn to Forgive Yourself
Building on the continuing discussion of recognition, mourning, grief, and letting go, Adria Firestone discusses the healing, forgiveness, and gratitude that can come after a singer decides to leave the stage.
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