To be a successful singer not only takes hard work and discipline in the practice room but also in the gym and on the road, and with healthful diet, exercise, and lifestyle choices. Classical Singer asked several vocalists about their diet and exercise regimens, how these affect them on stage and off, and how you can incorporate healthful habits into your vocal training and lifestyle.
Kyle Ketelsen
Madison, Wisconsin
Bass-baritone Ketelsen returned to Lyric Opera of Chicago this past October to sing Escamillo in Carmen. Last January he made his role debut as Nick Shadow in Covent Garden’s Robert Lepage production of The Rake’s Progress conducted by Ingo Metzmacher. Upcoming engagements include Escamillo with the Bavarian State Opera House in Munich and Alidoro in La Cenerentola with Canadian Opera Company this spring.
What exercise programs do you engage in?
My only exercise program is basketball. I hoop whenever I can. It’s a passion. I get out and run full speed for an hour or so. Also, daily stretching.
What is your dietary regimen?
Watching when I eat. I have one large meal per day, ideally mid-afternoon, and never late at night. This is a pitfall for singers, since we’re usually working until midnight or so.
Where is your favorite place to exercise?
My local health club—on the court, of course. There’s a core group of 20 or 30 guys (and a few girls) who play regularly.
Do you have any tips for staying fit to share with fellow singers?
Don’t eat after a performance. Working in large cities can mean a lot of walking, which is great exercise. Do so at a brisk pace to get your heart rate up. Bypass the elevator and take the steps whenever possible. Never coast on the escalator. It all adds up.
How does this help or affect your singing?
When I walk to rehearsal, it gets my body—and my voice, to a certain extent—warmed up. I never play ball the day before or the day of a performance. All that panting on the court tends to wear out my voice.
Cynthia Hanna
New York, New York
Mezzo-soprano Hanna recently appeared with the Washington National Opera as the Page in Salome and at Carnegie Hall as the alto soloist in Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel’s Oratorium nach Bildern der Bibel and Louis Spohr’s Die Letzten Dinge with the American Symphony Orchestra. In February, she will appear as the Third Lady in The Magic Flute with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Hanna was a 2010 district and regional winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
What exercise programs do you engage in?
Usually two to three days of cardio per week (spin class), one to two days of total body conditioning (free weights or resistance cords)—though, I am slowly being swayed into the world of cross-fit.
What exercise program is your favorite?
Spin classes. If you work really hard during the class, you feel like you’re floating afterward.
What is your dietary regimen?
I eat a mostly strict paleo/primal diet. I don’t eat grains, refined sugars, legumes, or any processed foods. It’s protein heavy but not as crazy as the Atkins diet. I eat a lot of vegetables.
Where is your favorite place to exercise?
It depends on the mood I’m in. Sometimes, if I’ve had a rough day, I like going to the gym and working really hard to forget it. Other days, I like exercising outdoors because it really relaxes me.
Do you have any tips for staying fit to share with fellow singers?
I think people forget that all the little things add up, both in positive and negative ways. Instead of taking the elevator all the time, take the stairs. Or get off the subway one stop early and walk a little more. We’ve become very sedentary as Americans and forget that we, as humans, were meant to move a lot at a slow pace. People don’t think about that one dessert, full of processed sugar, which will lead to future cravings for something equally bad, if not worse, for them. Most of this processed food and most of these sugar-loaded things are like drugs to people. Your body will crave them if you eat them with regularity. Try using honey, stevia, or a sprinkle of cinnamon (which tricks your brain into tasting “sweet”) instead of a packet of sugar in your coffee.
How does this help or affect your singing?
I’ve noticed a vast improvement in my singing and in my confidence level during auditions. Since February, I have lost 40 pounds without losing the color or size of my instrument. I did it slowly and in a healthful way. I am stronger and don’t get winded running around during rehearsals. A couple of the shows I have done, or am doing, are physical, and I have no problem with it because my body is prepared (from eating right and being active).
Vale Rideout
Bronx, New York
Tenor Rideout appears this month as Tamino in The Magic Flute with Arizona Opera after recent appearances with Florentine Opera and Opera Tampa. Upcoming engagements include Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Tulsa Opera and Tancredi in The Inspector with Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. He is also featured on the Newport Classic recording of The Ballad of Baby Doe, the world premiere recording of Kurt Weill’s The Eternal Road, and recordings with Third Angle Ensemble.
What exercise programs do you engage in?
I try to get into a gym whenever I can, but prefer to exercise outdoors. The sports I engage in on a regular basis are running and biking. I try to run four to six miles two to three days per week, and I try to ride two to three days per week for one to two hours at a time, at maximum effort.
What exercise program is your favorite?
Bicycling is my favorite sport because of the low-impact, aerobic exercise accomplished. The speed also is exciting and keeps your body temperature in check, even on hot days. The amount of calories burned increases with effort and time spent riding, which is an excellent way of keeping fit.
Having a bicycle with me that can be used for training is a challenge. During those times, I try to increase my running and get to the gym as often as possible. When I can’t drive to a job . . . I’m able to bring my folding bike on a plane. It is a Birdy that I purchased while I was working in Germany years ago, and it fits into a suitcase. Not all folding bikes are built well enough to ride for training, but my Birdy has been one of my best investments and has allowed me to stay in shape on the road. It is an excellent way of seeing the cities I visit.
What is your dietary regimen?
Eating healthfully is one of the major challenges for people who travel constantly, in addition to exercising. I try to cook for myself with fresh vegetables, low-fat meats, and few carbohydrates. I try to eat fruits throughout the day, which is always easiest if brought to rehearsals. I always stay away from hydrogenated fats, altered ingredients, and corn syrup. Natural ingredients always are better than substitutions promising low-fat or all-natural. Eating out is sometimes a necessity; I try to follow the same guidelines I set for myself when cooking at home.
Where is your favorite place to exercise?
My favorite place to exercise is outdoors. If there is a country road, I prefer to run or bike along it, rather than on a busy road. I am inspired to stay in shape when I’m in nature. I have had to adjust to exercise in cold weather and enjoy running and biking when the temperature gets down to 35-40 degrees.
Do you have any tips for staying fit to share with fellow singers?
Aerobic exercise is important for many reasons: to keep us limber and strong enough to do staging that is asked of us by directors, to give us the strength and health to live a life on the road and, finally, to stay as youthful as possible so as to play roles of various age ranges.
When exercising, I try to always breathe in the same manner that I do for singing. I try to keep the breath low and expanded in the lower back and extreme lower abdominals, keeping the sternum and rib cage flat and the larynx low with the throat open. I try to stay aware of what my tongue, lower jaw, and neck are doing as well. If I feel as though I’m tensing my lower jaw, jutting it, tensing my tongue, or straining my neck in any way, I try to start over, concentrating on my breath first and then moving on to the activity.
How does this help or affect your singing?
Staying in shape helps my singing more than it does any other aspect of my career. Keeping in shape helps my posture, musculature, core muscles, and stamina. Most importantly, it helps my breathing. By staying fit, I’m able to have more control over my breath than I have had at times when I was less fit. I’m able to hold phrases longer and shape them in more interesting ways. I’m also able to do more with phrasing and breath when asked to do staging that is physically challenging.
I find that a good aerobic workout the day of a rehearsal or performance is often a good idea. With enough lead time, a good workout can give your body and voice the warm-up they need to perform at their best. It also can give you more energy than you would have if you simply rested. This is not to say that there isn’t time for strict rest, but working exercise into your rehearsal and performance periods is an excellent idea.
Catherine Cook
San Francisco, California
Mezzo-soprano Cook appears in the 2010-11 season as Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro with San Francisco Opera and Ježibaba in Rusalka with Opera Colorado. She recently made her Houston Grand Opera debut as Marthe in Faust and Tisbe in La Cenerentola. A winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Merola Chicago Regional Auditions Yoder Award, Cook is also professor of voice at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
What exercise programs do you engage in?
I have been a YMCA member for years in San Francisco, and I work out there.
What exercise program is your favorite?
I love to swim, do the weights, and do classes. I have recently found that Zumba classes are really fun and a great workout. I almost forget I’m working out.
Where is your favorite place to exercise?
The YMCA has childcare, so I can work out while my kids are taken care of. I look at it as “my time.” When I’m on the road, I always am able to find a YMCA, and my membership works at most of the YMCAs across the country. I try to work out at least four or five days per week.
What is your dietary regimen?
I have been a Weight Watchers member for years. It’s the only way of eating I can sustain. The principals of Weight Watchers are so healthful and can be sustained on the road or at home. I was part of Classical Singer’s first Singer/Fitness issue when I was featured in 1998 after I lost more than 100 pounds. I have kept most of it off, but it’s something I have to be aware of at all times.
I don’t consider myself thin by any means, but I do know that I feel better when I’m working out on a regular basis and keeping track of what I eat. In a business where there are no real constants, I find that this is one thing that I actually do have control over. It’s just about staying aware and keeping it at the top of my list.
Do you have any tips for staying fit to share with fellow singers?
My most difficult time is right after a show, when I am totally famished and want to eat anything that is not nailed down. I try to have something light, like popcorn or a light snack that doesn’t affect my reflux.
How does this help or affect your singing?
Working out keeps me grounded. It’s something I do for myself and for my health. Cardio really helps my singing in so many ways. As I get older, I find it’s even more important to work out for breath control and stamina.
David Adam Moore
Brooklyn, New York
Baritone Moore joined the Metropolitan Opera roster for the 2010-11 season, during which he also appears as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with Palm Beach Opera and returns to Seattle Opera for Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia. His debut CD, a new English version of Schubert’s Winterreise, will be released in 2011. Also an accomplished composer, Moore’s recent work, Kronos, was featured in a performance by New York’s oXymoros Dance Theatre.
What exercise programs do you engage in?
Parkour, the physical discipline of training to overcome any obstacle within one’s path by adapting one’s movements to the environment. It’s 90 percent calisthenics and 10 percent jumping around on things [see picture, p. 52].
I like precision jumps, vaults, handstands, and just running around looking for something to jump on, off, or over. I also really enjoy training with groups of other parkour practitioners (traceurs). There’s a lot to be gained from sharing knowledge and seeing how different people make their way through an environment. Parkour attracts a diverse group of people. The group I train with in New York City includes teens from the Bronx, a DJ, a cardiac surgeon, an astrophysicist, three architects, and a nuclear weapons tech from the army. I’ve found great groups to train with in Milan and Seattle as well.
Where is your favorite place to exercise?
Everywhere. This is the beautiful thing about parkour and what makes it a perfect match for this crazy, itinerant lifestyle we singers live. The street, parking lot, front porch, forest, or hotel room floor is your gym. The more limitations, the more creative your movements must be.
What is your dietary regimen?
I eat what I want and try to be in touch with how it makes me feel so that what I want ends up being also what makes me feel the best. I usually eat three to four small- to medium-sized meals per day, each with some combination of protein, complex carbs, and veggies, giving protein the top priority. I often snack on organic corn chips, hummus, and Clif bars to keep my blood sugar stable. I like to stay away from foods that are fatty, salty, fried, excessively processed, and sugary. I eat one big, fat chocolate chip cookie every afternoon, and that seems to take care of my sweet tooth for the day. I really like espresso, but I limit that to two double shots a day.
Do you have any tips for staying fit to share with fellow singers?
Don’t take in more calories than you expend. Always end your meals when you’re still a little bit hungry. Keep your blood sugar levels stable. Find exercise you’re passionate about. Train incrementally so that you don’t get overwhelmed. Train within your limits so that you don’t injure yourself. Train hard enough so that you don’t get bored. Comfort is your enemy.
