In the December 2012 issue of CS, we spoke with pianists who offered singers some valuable insights on how to forge a smooth working relationship with accompanists, whether in lessons, rehearsals, or the recital hall. But, most importantly, we tackled the controversial topic of auditions, where a singer and accompanist often are working with one another for the first time. Pianists offered singers some useful tips on how to collaborate cold in a setting where an accompanist often is provided, and how you—the singer—can assist them in helping you give a strong and successful audition.
But the question still beckoned: What if you, the singer, do everything right? You come with a clean score, neatly bound for page-turning ease and with clear musical markings. You take the time to properly communicate the tempo and indicate any traditional cuts you will be taking. And, still, you are provided with a dud—an accompanist, who isn’t as familiar with the piece as you had hoped, doesn’t follow the tempo you’ve set, and doesn’t collaborate with you musically or as one half of this whole ensemble.
What if it’s not the singer? What if it’s the accompanist?
A simple Google search for “bad accompanists” draws up countless forums and blogs featuring horror stories from singers dreading their next audition.
While singers sometimes take the heat in providing a messy score and not confidently leading or communicating with the accompanist, the preparation is not all up to the singer, according to renowned collaborate pianist and professor Martin Katz. The pianist also needs to bring his or her A-game.
So, what is the proper protocol for a singer in this case?
“If you’re speaking of the actual audition—not a rehearsal—then all the singer can really do is wait until a moment in the music where he or she controls the tempo, and use that moment to adjust things,” Katz says. “I think stopping would look as though the singer were embarrassing the pianist. A slight turn to the right can often clue the pianist in to the fact that something isn’t going the way the singer needs it to go. Never snap your fingers or clap or stomp on the floor—that’s beyond rude.”
Katz, who has been dubbed “the gold standard of accompanists” by The New York Times, has enjoyed a 40-year career that has found him collaborating with some of the world’s most celebrated singers in recital and recording—including Marilyn Horne, Frederica von Stade, Kathleen Battle, David Daniels, Karita Mattila, and José Carreras—as well as recording for the RCA, CBS, BMG, EMI, and Decca labels.
Teaching for the School of Music at the University of Michigan for more than two decades, Katz has chaired the program in collaborative piano and coached vocal repertoire for singers and pianists alike. He’s also the author of the book The Complete Collaborator: The Pianist as Partner, published by Oxford University Press.
For a pianist, Katz says it’s important that they are well prepared. After all, no two singers will ever have the same interpretation of an aria, regardless of how standard the repertoire might seem.
“A pianist—knowing rehearsal will be limited or nonexistent—needs to over-prepare,” Katz says. “Be ready for anything, having listened to countless recordings. He or she should know the range of possible tempi, the possible breathing places and, of course, the traditional cuts. With this kind of unmusical situation, it’s also extremely helpful for the singer’s music to be well marked with breaths, nuances, cuts, etc. Expect the worst, and do everything to avoid it.”
Scott Gendel, another collaborative pianist, echoed this.
“An accompanist should always be learning new repertoire, certainly,” he says. “Playing for voice lessons, coaching audition packages with singers, and listening to opera recordings are all the kinds of things that will slowly but surely help an accompanist feel more secure with audition repertoire. At the very least, an audition accompanist should be very familiar with the styles of the various operatic composers, so they know how the tempo stretches in Strauss versus in Verdi and so on.”
Gendel, who holds a DMA in composition, discovered the world of coaching and accompanying while in graduate school, collaborating with students and faculty, working full time as a freelance pianist and, now, working as a vocal coach and pianist for singers and opera companies. He is the company pianist for Madison (Wis.) Opera and has worked with such companies as Opera North, Bard College, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As a coach, he’s collaborated with a plethora of preprofessional and professional singers and also has served as a musical theater pianist and music director—experiences that enriched him with the essentials in performing at the highest level possible as an accompanist and helping singers rise to the challenge of putting their best foot forward, even in those unfortunate situations where the accompanist is unfocused or underprepared.
“In an audition, a singer needs to perform strongly and confidently and also let the company know that they are both professional and easy to work with,” Gendel says. “I think the best thing a singer can do is to give a solid, fully committed performance despite the obvious musical problems. If a singer can show that they can sing and act well under that kind of pressure and then be graceful about it when the performance is done, that’s a great indicator of their professionalism. While it might be tempting to get angry with the pianist or to say something to the company, the people listening to your audition undoubtedly can hear the same problems you heard, and your job at that point is simply to rise above.”
While there are several steps a singer can take in making an audition collaboration smoother—providing clean, well-marked, and accurate copies for the accompanist and keeping the lines of communication open and the collaborative spirit alive—there are plenty of things an accompanist also can do as one half of this duet.
“I think there are some mental ways an accompanist should prepare for playing auditions,” Gendel says. “One very important lesson is that you can’t get too attached to one certain way of performing an aria. Every singer will have a different idea of how these things go, and a good audition accompanist will do everything possible to fully inhabit that singer’s interpretation rather than impose an interpretation on the singer.
“Also, if the repertoire is unfamiliar, rhythm is more important than getting all the notes in, and harmonic outlines are more important than melodic figures,” Gendel adds. “At the bare minimum, [accompanists] want to provide a strong rhythmic sense and a rough harmonic outline. It’s obviously best to get everything in, but melodic figures and flourishes are usually the hardest thing to play and the least important thing for a singer in an audition.”
Above all, Gendel advises both accompanists and singers not to lose sight of the performance aspect.
“It’s very easy for an audition accompanist to stop caring about music-making and just play the music in an adequate way to get the job done. And that does a great disservice to the singers and to the company, who both want to see if the singer is capable of thrilling an audience and blowing them away with their performance,” he says. “If the pianist isn’t invested in the performance, it doesn’t allow anyone in the room to experience the aria as a thrilling piece of music theater—to imagine the performer up on a stage in a fully realized performance. Even if it’s the 12th time you’ve played “Deh vieni non tardar” that day, your job as a pianist is to bring Mozart’s music and Susanna’s character into believing every word sung and every note played. Anything less than that and you’re not fully respecting opera.”
Apart from the usual advice about preparing sheet music well and being sure to explain tempo shifts, the most important thing a singer can do is to be confident and in charge, Gendel says.
“It’s amazing how much better an audition goes when the singer boldly performs as if it were a real opera versus the kind of audition where they’re listening to me for guidance,” he says. “I also think singers would be wise to treat their audition accompanists as true artistic collaborators, even though there’s not time to develop that kind of relationship fully. I’m always going to perform the best I can. But when I feel a singer really relating to me in a collaborative way, as if I was the orchestra, my love for operatic performance kicks into high gear, and it makes a more powerful and convincing audition on the whole.”
Outside of auditions, accompanists are not off the hook. According to Katz, in both coaching and rehearsal settings, it is beneficial to communicate about the piece.
“It depends on whether the singer already has experience with the piece or is doing it for the first time,” Katz says. “If it is the former, then tell me your thoughts about the text, about the music. If you have experience with other pianists on the same piece and have noted that certain places are ‘up for grabs’ or open to discussion musically, we might talk about those before going through the piece. If it is a new piece for the singer but not for the pianist, it’s really wonderful when the singer listens carefully and is mentally flexible to what’s going on underneath him or her.”
Katz says that in rehearsal the demands from singers and from accompanists is strikingly similar. “Singers complain when we can’t play the notes and make good ensemble at the same time—and I don’t blame them,” he says. “Pianists complain that singers are thinking technically so much of the time.”
Katz advises singers to work things out technically on his or her own prior to working or rehearsing with an accompanist. “Then we can put the two halves of the piece together with artistry and message in mind,” he says.
“In my long career, only two people have ever told me that they were not interested in my thoughts about a piece,” Katz continues, “and I certainly would never say that to anyone. The most fruitful performances come from open dialogues during rehearsals. Even if one must be critical, there is always a diplomatic way to say things. Learn when to demand something and challenge someone and when to lighten up and enjoy the ride.”
