What to do this summer? This is a time when you can expand your experience, skills, and professional network in a summer opera program. There are literally hundreds of summer programs in the United States and abroad to choose from. How can you narrow your search to the ones that would be appropriate for you?
I present this article as a “how-to” guide to help you make informed decisions and save you time and money. Let’s start with some basic questions:
1. What are your long-term career goals?
2. What are your short-term career goals?
3. What skills do you possess right now?
4. What skills do you need to develop?
5. What are your goals for a summer program?
Answering these questions will help you focus your search for a summer opportunity and eliminate programs that do not offer what you need. Your answers can also clarify the difference between what you want and what you need. For example, you may want to perform a leading role with an orchestra this summer, but what you may need at this point in your career is to focus on your acting or language skills. Or you may want to study Bel Canto repertoire or vocal technique, but what you may need right now is to gain stage experience by performing a complete role or scenes. These are questions you and your “team” need to consider.
The questionnaire on the opposite page will help to guide you through the many available programs. I encourage you to take the time to answer the questions thoughtfully and honestly. Overestimating—or underestimating—yourself will only cost you time and money in the long run.
Once you have evaluated your situation realistically by considering the questions in the sidebar and have determined your summer goals, you can move on to target the summer programs that would best suit your needs.
There are many factors to take into consideration when choosing a summer program. “What role can I get?” and “How much will it cost?” are important questions, but too limited when there are so many different types of programs that feature such a buffet of options.
One useful step would be to visit companies’ websites to investigate the following about each.
1. Mission
What is the stated purpose of the program?
Examples: “To provide performance opportunities to students with no prior stage experience” . . . “To teach the German language and song repertoire to aspiring performers” . . . “To present up-and-coming American artists in full productions of new operas.”
2. Performance Opportunities
Does the program offer equal opportunities for all participants or are only a few singers cast in roles and the rest sing in the chorus? If it is a pay-to-sing program, is there a difference in the fee for a full role versus a chorus position?
3. Casting Policies
Do the number of public performances equal the number of casts so that each cast would perform at least once? In other words, if you have been selected for one of four casts for an opera, but there are only two public performances advertised, does that mean that two casts (and, possibly, you) would not perform?
When you are paying to perform a role, make sure you get something in writing that states the role you have been offered and the number of performances you are guaranteed.
4. Repertoire
Is the advertised repertoire appropriate for you? You should look for operas or opportunities that fit your voice type.
Example: If you are a lyric mezzo and the advertised repertoire is all Puccini, this may not be your summer to apply. If you are a dramatic tenor and the program listed is all Mozart, they probably won’t be able to cast you for the season. On the other hand, it could be useful to audition anyway and let them consider you for the future.
5. Curriculum
Is there a specific type of training offered? Does the curriculum offer what you are looking for this summer?
Example: Is it predominantly a vocal program, a performance-oriented program, or a masterclass program—or does it focus on the whole performer? If you want to strengthen your physicality and acting on stage, then a program that focuses on art song will probably not be the best fit for you right now.
6. Level of Participants
Most Young Artist Programs post the bios of their artists on their websites. Read those to see what each YAP seems to look for and then determine if your age and experience match the artists they have hired in the past. If so, then you should consider that YAP next year. If your experience does not match theirs, then take note of their career trajectory and utilize that information as a possible guide for your own path.
Example: You can research each singer on the roster as well as the opera companies or orchestras in their bios. Does their past experience consist of leading roles at conservatories or companies? Have they sung solos with professional orchestras? Have they previously been a young artist with another program? This can be very informative and helpful in making a career plan for yourself.
For pay-to-sing and training programs, check their websites to see what level or age of participant they are looking for. Sometimes the photos on their websites can also give you a general idea if the singers are college age or professionals.
7. Faculty
It is important to determine who the full-time faculty is and who are drop-in guest teachers. Sometimes a program will splash a “big name” on their poster to attract applicants, but in reality that person may teach only two to three days during the program and may work with only a few singers in a masterclass setting. Therefore, it is important to learn about the faculty you would work with on a regular basis.
Another factor in selecting a program is the singer-teacher ratio. If there are 80 singers in a program with eight faculty, that is a 10:1 ratio. Similarly, if there are 30 singers and 15 faculty, that is a 2:1 ratio and you will most likely benefit from considerably more individual attention.
8. Audition Fees
Program application and audition fees can vary widely, from $0 to $250 per program, and you are not always guaranteed an audition. Considering that many of the YAPs receive 900-1,000 applications for 400-500 audition spots, you should contact the company and inquire about their policies regarding refunds of application fees if you are not granted a live audition.
9. Program Costs
Calculating what it would cost you to attend a program is not always easy. In a pay-to-sing program or training program, the application, tuition, and room and board costs should be pretty clear. You may also need to add transportation and incidental expenses to the cost of those programs. With a YAP, even though you receive a stipend or fee, there can be other costs which you must bear such as your own transportation and housing. With all programs, you will also need to account for your regular monthly expenses and loss of wages for the time you are away.
10. Financial Assistance
Some programs offer full or partial scholarships, some offer work-study options, and a few offer fundraising suggestions. Research these options and plan ahead if you will need financial aid to attend a summer program.
Other Considerations
In another example, singers who are accepted into several programs can find themselves having to decide between a pay-to-sing program where they have been offered a role and a professional training program. The traditional thought is that doing a role—any role—to build your résumé is crucial to your career path. This is not always the case, though. To be accepted into an established training program where you can learn and polish skills that will benefit you throughout your career versus singing a small role such as Giannetta (L’elisir d’amore) in a $4,000 pay-to-sing program may not be a good trade-off. If it were instead the leading role of Adina and you were ready for that opportunity, then choosing to do the role might be the best option for you.
With any program, look at the number of classes, the variety of classes, and how many hours a day you would be in class or rehearsals.
Example: The daily schedule at “Program X” consists of a coaching, a movement class, and a rehearsal for a scenes program. “Program Y” consists of a diction coaching, movement class, business class, audition techniques, and Alexander technique. In comparing the two programs, “Program Y” may be a better choice, especially if it also includes a low singer-to-teacher ratio and positive reviews.
Doing the Research
You have several helpful options for researching summer programs:
Classical Singer (summer program and YAP directories, forums, summer program singer surveys, archived articles): www.classicalsinger.com
OPERA America’s Artist Resources & Archives: www.operaamerica.org/content/learningLab/artistic
YAP Tracker: www.yaptracker.com
New Forum for Classical Singers: www.nfcs.net
Kim Witman (of Wolf Trap Opera) blog, absolutely invaluable for singers: www.wolftrapopera.blogspot.com
Word of mouth and personal recommendations are another good source of information. And it never hurts to call up a company (yes, by telephone) and ask a few questions about the program if you cannot find the answers by other means.
Company Organization
It can be very informative to make note of the quality and organization of the website, as well as the materials and communications a company sends out. Common sense would suggest that if the communication and administration are well organized, then the program itself would be too. Conversely, if a program sends out late or incomplete information, or if there are typos and misspellings in letters and e-mails, don’t be surprised if you find yourself left standing at an airport waiting for a ride that may or may not show up.
With the abundance of summer programs available to singers, your most difficult task is to narrow your search to programs appropriate to you—the artist and the person. To do this, be diligent in your research and realistic in the estimation of your artistic and financial abilities. Keep your goals, needs, and capabilities in mind, and you may find you have opened yourself up to some meaningful, amazing new summertime experiences.
