Dear Editor: Thank you for the wonderful article in the August 2008 magazine featuring tenor Eric Cutler. I attended Luther College with Mr. Cutler and was honored to hear him in a recital and masterclass last fall at our alma mater, where I was teaching at the time. He is a wonderful talent and everyone at Luther College is very proud of his achievements and accomplishments. He has such a beautiful instrument and while the opera world seems at his feet, he possesses his gift in a kind and unpretentious spirit.
—Kristen Wunderlich, Winthrop University voice faculty, Rock Hill, S.C.
Dear Editor: As a singer I am confronted with and I am largely affronted by the preference for appearance over artistry that increasingly pervades—even dominates—the classical music genre. Your “best audition-wear contest” only supports and promotes such useless, appearance-based standards among those for whom we audition. We train and practice for years to refine our art, to hone our voices, only to be told that, notwithstanding our fine musicianship, we don’t have that movie-star look that a slimmer, better-dressed, yet less-experienced or less-adept singer possesses. Consequently, to the picture go the roles. Your contest only furthers the removal of vocal talent from the process of choosing one singer over another. It sends the message that vocal acumen is of little consequence—hold a beauty contest and pick the prettiest one.
I thought your magazine was about helping singers. There is already an overabundance of periodicals for the fashion/looks-conscious, don’t you think?
—Nick Seidenman, New York, N.Y.
To completely avoid the topic of audition attire in an attempt not to place too much emphasis on “image” would be like saying it doesn’t matter what you wear to an audition. Should a singer wear jeans and a T-shirt to an audition? Or a floor-length formal gown with sequins and beads? Well, some might do either, but we wouldn’t recommend it. Our aim with the Audition Attire Contest is not to find the thinnest, most-beautiful singer or to say that a person’s appearance earns them a major career in opera. Rather it is to feature fantastic options for audition attire to help every singer make a striking and positive impression in an audition setting—something everyone should strive for, regardless of shape, size, weight, gender, or color. —Ed.
