Dear Editor: Congratulations to Marianne Labriola on her new and rewarding musical experience playing cello [See “A Singer in the Orchestra,” May 2010]. It was eerie for me to read about, because I had the reverse experience. After decades as a cellist (amateur and freelance), hand injuries from playing Bartók forced me to stop. Despite various treatments I could not return to the cello, so I turned to singing. Now after several years of weekly lessons with a wonderful teacher and daily practice, I am enjoying this adventure and all the new repertoire. I sang in choruses for three years, then switched to a focus on art songs, and last fall performed in an art song lecture-performance course. I think Labriola’s transition and mine reflect that a person develops a musical mind (shades of Oliver Sacks) over the years, not just particular skills, so there is common ground. And yet, in other ways, being a player and being a singer feel so different!
Suzanne Epstein
Bethesda, Maryland
Dear Editor: I just finished reading the article “A Singer in the Orchestra” [May 2010]. I was elated and curious about this article as I am a graduate student pursuing voice and double bass majors at the University of Georgia in Athens. It is encouraging and comforting to read about others succeeding simultaneously in these fields (though the author’s impetus to pursue cello was working through vocal malady and not an uncompromising love for both mediums). There are many crossover, hybrid, split personality instrumentalist/singers who could really benefit from articles like “A Singer in the Orchestra.” Thank you for publishing this article, and please find more.
Jo Brent
Received via e-mail
Dear Editor: I very much enjoyed your coverage of Bridie Carroll in this month’s [May 2010] great article by Kathy Kuczka. I have a lot of thoughts on crossover work and sustaining a career as a multi-genre vocalist. I am a Broadway actor and opera singer currently starring as Lurch in The Addams Family on Broadway. This is my third Broadway show. In all three shows, I have been hired to sing operatically (singing Handel’s Messiah in Coram Boy, Bass Soloist in South Pacific, and now in Addams Family where composer Andrew Lippa has written a Verdi-inspired song with my voice in mind).
I trained in both musical theatre and opera at Florida State, Ithaca, and University of Tennessee and have had luck on the Young Artist circuit singing at Central City, Ash Lawn, and Knoxville. I remain active in the opera world having recently founded Metropolis Opera Project, a new company devoted to presenting new American opera in an intimate setting in NYC.
Congratulations on another great issue of CS, and thanks for your efforts to maintain this very valuable resource.
Zach James
New York, New York
