“The ability to recreate, to be spontaneous with a piece of music that you have thought out, worked on, slaved over—the ability to believe in the total magic of something that you have analyzed, dissected and put back together—these are only a few of the thrilling challenges that face you as a singer. To learn how to develop an instrument that you can’t see and the satisfaction that it brings is something that should be cherished.”
—Joan Dornemann (with Maria Ciaccia) from Complete Preparation: A guide to auditioning for opera
Confessions of a Singer
The audition is the hardest hurdle singers have to clear. It challenges mind, body, and spirit in the span of a mere 10 minutes. Personally, I dreaded it, and now that I am on the other end of the audition table, I feel particularly sympathetic to how singers feel.
Hearing singers throughout the year, I can honestly say that the things I see them do, say, and sing leads me to a big, fat, “been there, done that.” I made audition mistakes throughout the time I put myself out on the market. I can admit it now. I went out way too early during my development. In hindsight, doing this truly helped me understand why singers do what they do.
We have two strong reasons for auditions in the first place: feedback and networking.
Feedback is key. Think of it as information. Inviting, receiving, and processing feedback can help a singer tremendously. Thinking about yourself as a marketable product requires test runs and analysis. Audition success or failure is a great way to see how “purchasable” your product is. Provided you can get feedback and change according to the information and results you receive, you have the power to adjust your package to create a more salable product.
Besides the feedback factor, auditions are also a crucial, meaningful way to connect. We all want to be “out there” and be heard. Auditions can provide a venue, a chance to connect not just to a panel of judges or administrators, but also to guests invited to the audition. People find other people through the audition process. Period.
So, how do you ensure a successful audition? Joan Dornemann, a great mentor and friend, wrote a whole book about it, Complete Preparation, which I quote above. [Join Dornemann at this year’s Convention. See insert for more details. -ed.] I recommend her book to get the insight you need. (One magazine article can barely scratch the surface of this very complicated process.)
As with most things about singing, no one path is right or wrong when you audition for anything. Everyone has different things they bring to the table and everyone who auditions singers has their own checklist of how they evaluate talent. A competition is very different from a Young Artist Program, and a main-stage audition is even more dissimilar.
That said, here are some obvious things you should and shouldn’t do.
Making Music
Do your homework. Know how things go. Never audition with a piece you don’t really understand frontwards, backwards, and sideways. We can’t all know all repertoire intimately, but singers must have that kind of intimacy with the work they are presenting. I always find it amazing when a singer doesn’t announce the piece right or clearly doesn’t understand the style and period of the music. When you don’t really know the piece, it shows.
Make musical choices with every phrase you sing, even if that choice is, “Here I just sing forte,” or, “Here I’m going to really roll that ‘R’!” In auditions, we have so little at our disposal to move an audience. In most cases it’s just you, the pianist, the piano, and your voice. Optimizing every passage (within the style of the music) is what makes your 10 minutes memorable to the panel. Just blowing the top of your head off to impress them, well, just won’t.
Don’t think you are going to reinvent the wheel. The museum music called opera is done a certain way, with traditions firmly in place. Coaching a piece with someone who knows how it “goes” is the route to take. What you bring that is unique to the music is your voice, your image, your sense of drama, and your connection to the text and notes. “Here is a new cadenza I want to show you, folks” is probably only going to leave a question mark in the panelists minds—not a good impression.
Show your musical smarts. The music, our music, is full of hundreds of details that make up a whole. Refining those details is part of the necessary homework for an audition. A beautiful voice is not enough. People hire minds and musicians, not just sound.
Presenting an Image
I can’t emphasize this one enough: Take off your glasses! Maria Callas did it and so can you. Callas could barely see on stage without her glasses, so she had to memorize the set to avoid bumping into things. Learn how to sing without them, and please do so. Stating the obvious, we want to see your eyes.
Take a good look at your outfit before any audition. From hair to shoes, things need to blend, to be unobtrusive, to flatter your body in whatever state it is in that day. Full mirrors help—taking a moment to sing a phrase in front of that mirror with that outfit on can be very telling about how you’ll appear to the judges or directors. Quivering fabric during a high note is not flattering.
Speaking of which, think about fabric. Both men and women should wear shirts that don’t shimmer more than their sound.
When it comes to audition apparel, don’t believe that “skin is in.” You can cover up and still show your contours (if your contours are worth showing).
Don’t hide your personality. Allow the panelists to see who you are in the way you dress and the presentation you make. Caveat: If you have an outrageous personality, restrain your clothing choices to a more business-like approach.
Rule: Attract rather than distract. If your appearance distracts the auditioners, they are not paying attention to you as an artist.
Showing Your Personality
Smile. Be connective and approachable. Showing humility without apology is very fetching in a singer, especially when you sing well.
Don’t mistake smugness for confidence. Be real!
Don’t talk too much (my own favorite). Say less, sing more.
Practice the politician in you. Start with a platform of “approachable and friendly” and build from there. Ask yourself, “On what do I want to base my entire campaign?” Make sure that what you present is in line with the situation. For example, if you are trying out for a summer intensive program, be honest about what you want to work on when asked. Panels like to know that you possess a clear and honest evaluation of yourself.
Rule: Trying too hard to impress is just as bad as oversinging—eventually you wear people out. Keep it real.
Presenting Your Artistry
We’ve all seen what I call the “overdone or underdone factor.” “She moved too much, I got dizzy.” “He didn’t do anything with his body. He bored me.” Some coaches have made careers of the art of gestures, and we still don’t get it right!
Let your body expand on notes where it makes sense to do so. Feeling confined in the crook of the piano is not the idea. Your body energy when singing should be honored, not inhibited.
Don’t move too far from the audition area unless the panel requests it. The piano (and pianist) is your friend and your support. It makes judges uncomfortable when you cross boundaries.
Don’t assume that singing an aria you recently did in a staged performance warrants doing the staging in the audition. Panels can usually tell when a singer just did a role on stage, if the singer starts to mime the props they had or looks in a certain direction at a character that isn’t there. Sing it straight out and express the text. We know the words and don’t need to see you put your hand on your heart to know what core means.
My rule is simple: Is it going to make someone more into you or is it going to turn them away? Again, mirrors help tremendously. If you are not sure whether something is too much or not enough, ask.
Basic Truths
Listen to feedback. Don’t discredit what panelists say to you. They have no bias and nothing to gain. They just want to see you do better. Have you heard that you need to lose weight more than three times? Then start the process. You’ve worked too hard on your talent to let something like that stand in your way.
Auditions are about being heard. Concentrate on making beautiful music with beautiful sounds.
Be brave, but also remember: Nothing is a greater fear-buster than being prepared—technically, vocally, musically, dramatically, and emotionally. Then it is not a question of “Am I good?” but more a question of “Am I what they are looking for?” Taste becomes the hiring factor, not ability.
To quote Dornemann in her authoritative book again, she says, “I would love to get those of you young artists who are reading this book to the wonderful place where you have all the opportunities to perform that you want. Since that’s not achievable in a book, I can hopefully get your started on the right road, the road to complete preparation. If you get nothing else from reading this, I would like you to begin to understand what complete preparation entails, and to share with me the great excitement and satisfaction that it can bring you.”
Thanks, Joan. I couldn’t have said it better myself, and for that matter, I won’t dare to try.
