Fact: There are more vocal performance majors graduating than ever before.
Problem: There are fewer available opera contracts worldwide than a generation ago.
Solution: Singers need stage time to be competitive for opera contracts.
Why do so many singers choose to major in music when there is no job security in the performance field? The typical music major in 2016 is a member of an empowered generation—encouraged to follow their dreams and told they can do anything. Your professors work with you because you are talented and special. I am one of those professors and I love my students even more than your teachers or coaches love you!
There can be an ethical dilemma in guiding young singers to find their own path to success. The opportunity to make a living performing opera is dwindling, but the music industry is growing. Education administrations are adding music back into curriculums for both full-time music teachers and guest artists for musical activities. These statistics grant me solace in knowing that my students are studying to be a part of the growth, not the death, of music.
OK, so now that we’ve established we do not need a postmortem on the opera career, how do you—the divine singer that believes you have what it takes—get your career moving in the right direction? There are more answers to this question than sopranos at a young artist audition!
If you are a traditional university student studying singing, you have already begun. Exceptionally talented and lucky singers win a competition and get noticed by someone in a position to offer a contract that may or may not pay a month’s rent. Young Artist Programs are intensely competitive for performance opportunities, advanced training, and the connections within the company.
Many singers move to New York City after graduating with the intent to audition until they “make it.” Other singers find performance opportunities in their local cities and become the gem of their community. Some pursue teaching or music industry jobs that fulfill their artistic goals by day and they sing as much as they can by night. Finances and relationships are the most common reasons most humans live in any given locale.
The short answer for advancing your singing career? Bloom where you plant yourself!
But if you are an adventurous student looking for the aforementioned solution of stage time, then summer opera festivals are for you. Summer programs are available all over the world, and in the States, they have the nickname of “pay-to-sing” programs. This is not a bad thing. You pay tuition for college, why wouldn’t you invest in an opportunity for an intensive week or month of lessons and performing? Not only will you learn from new teachers and directors, you get to put aside all the other menial details of daily living for a short time to concentrate on what you love: opera!
Last summer, as faculty for the first Festival de Ópera de San Luis, held from July 31 to August 14, 2016, I fell in love with a new city and the Mexican culture, I taught lessons all day, and I was a judge for an incredible bonus opportunity: the international competition that partnered with the festival. Here is what the website (www.operasanluis.com) offered:
-Participation in any of the three full operatic productions to be presented at Teatro de la Paz and Teatro Polivalente, as a main, secondary or cover role or as a member of the choruses:
–Die Zauberflöte (Mozart)
–Suor Angelica (Puccini)
–Don Giovanni (Mozart)
-Intensive studies of vocal technique, style, interpretation, diction, body expression, and acting. Conducted in the form of individual and masterclasses with renowned teachers, artists, coaches, and stage directors of the opera world.
Also on the website was information about the international competition. Cash prizes and international performance opportunities were offered, including the finalist concert with orchestra. There was an option to only attend the competition or to also compete and participate in the festival.
International conductor and festival Artistic Director Linus Lerner gathered support from the secretary of culture in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, to set up shop in the Centro de las Artes, a remodeled prison that now houses state-of-the-art performance venues: a theatre, dance studio, library, music hall, and beautiful rehearsal spaces. For the opera festival, a national production company rolled in with two trailers full of sets and costumes for the three fully staged operas. A professional orchestra was assembled, and 94 singers representing 13 countries competed in the competition and participated in the festival.
As an American teacher that does not speak Spanish, I was treated more graciously than words can describe. The young artists, ranging in age from 18–35, were very grateful for lessons, excited to sing in masterclasses, and prepared and ready to rehearse their opera roles. After the first three nights of competition eliminations, singers cheered on the semifinalists as though they were family members, and by the end of two weeks, this is the best way I can describe my role in this festival: I was part of a family.
Fact: There are a myriad of summer opera festivals in the States and abroad for various levels of singers—and they can be expensive. Research the programs on Classical Singer, YAP Tracker, etc., and talk with your teacher and coaches. They can guide you to programs that are the most beneficial for your level of study and readiness to network.
Problem: These programs are still competitive and if they are in other countries, the price tag of the flight alone can be overwhelming, not to mention tuition and housing.
Solution: Plan ahead! Check out all scholarship opportunities. Do they require further audition materials or application forms? Once you have been accepted into a program, plan a benefit recital, and mail invitations inviting benefactors and asking them to invest in your studies. Save up and go for it! Don’t be afraid of international programs if you do not speak the language. Most programs have language study as part of the curriculum, and there will be faculty and students who speak your language, providing moments of sanctuary.
As a future professional singer, these programs are just the beginning of your sensational traveling career. Take advantage of the many opportunities available for stage time worldwide while you are a student. This preparation is your secret weapon for professional international auditions and, hopefully, the holy grail of this whole profession: paying contracts. Toi, toi, toi!
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Meet Megan Nielson
Of the 94 singers at the Festival de Ópera de San Luis, only one was American: Megan Nielson. She found the festival information on YAP Tracker and with one online application that included an audition video, she found herself in Mexico. Nielson is an exceptional soprano with beautiful, big, vibrant tone. She was cast as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, and in the competition she won cash awards as well as career-advancing international performances.
Nielson agreed to share some of her experiences with the CS community. In addition to the 2016 summe program in Mexico, Nielson also attended the CoOPERAtive program at Westminster College and AIMS in Graz, Austria. I began by asking her about her experiences as a young artist transitioning from student to professional.
Where did you attend school and how do you continue your training?
I did my undergrad at the University of Missouri–Kansas City with Gustavo Halley and graduate school at the University of Tennessee with Marjorie Bennett Stephens, where I was part of the Knoxville Opera Studio program. After grad school, I moved to Providence, Rhode Island, and was without a teacher for a year or so. I was coaching with some people in Boston and a wonderful coach, Michelle Beaton, brought me to the voice teacher and former Met soprano Maria Spacagna. She really helped guide me through the awkward post-grad time in my life. During this time, I was continuously auditioning for YAP programs and was never accepted to any programs.
In 2008 my friend Zachary James and I started our own opera company in NYC, called Metropolis Opera Project (www.metropolisoperaproject.org). We did over four full productions and premiered several new works in four years. We fundraised and sold tickets and beer to finance the productions. Our musicians and singers volunteered. Our productions were mostly produced in a 90-seat black box theater in Hell’s Kitchen, and we sold out every show. I feel like this project was pivotal in battling all the rejections I was facing and also helped me gain more stage experience.
In 2012, while preparing to move to NYC, I did the CoOPERAtive Program and met Ms. Laura Brooks Rice, who has been my teacher, mentor, and guiding light ever since.
Looking back at your college experience, what were your most valuable courses of study?
I think language courses and opera scenes have provided me with knowledge that I use daily in my craft. At the time, I didn’t understand the importance of language study.
What did you do after college to pursue your singing goals?
Networking! I coached with lots of people and sang full roles to build my résumé. I did an AIMS Graz program in Austria for two summers, which helped me get contacts in Europe. I subsequently got an agent and did some self-funded audition tours in Germany in 2012, 2013, and 2015. Also I did the CoOPERAtive Program in 2012/2013, which really helped me meet and work with important people.
When did you decide to move to New York City?
After four years in Providence and some time in Germany, I decided to finally move to NYC in 2013.
What jobs have paid the bills?
All of my jobs to pay the bills have been outside of music; however, they have all been rewarding and fulfilling in their own ways. I have always taken jobs based on flexibility and have met many wonderful friends along the way. I’ve been a Starbucks barista, a nanny, a preschool teacher, and a personal assistant.
Young Artist Programs are more competitive than ever. Why should anyone even try? What have you found valuable for your own career in these programs?
To me the most valuable aspect of a YAP is the contacts you meet. Over the past year, 90 percent of my gigs have come from personal recommendations or people I had previously worked with.
You have won some great competitions. What is your secret weapon?
The more competitions I do, the less I understand them—and, honestly, I think it’s a lot of luck. Every competition I’ve been to there were fabulous singers I would’ve happily lost to that didn’t place. I think judging singing comes down to a matter of the judge’s taste.
If you could have a do-over for anything in the last five years, what would it be?
The last five years have been a whirlwind of new experiences, traveling, being broke, and moving. There’s nothing I can think of doing differently. However, I really regret not doing a study abroad program while in college. A real command of a second language would diminish the learning curve of so many roles.
I feel like I could achieve an intimacy and immediacy in text if I had spent six months in Italy or Germany diving into the language, as opposed to now, where I have to work the libretto and translation constantly to really own and hone the language.
What do you hope to achieve in the next five years? And what makes you feel successful?
I really hope to be singing full time in the next five years and not have a double life anymore. Success? I feel most successful coming back to a role or an aria after some time and feeling like I’m making different choices artistically. To me that’s real growth in my technique. Gaining the ability to choose how to sing a phrase—not just getting through a phrase or singing it like how I’ve heard it sung. I think with a larger instrument, it’s frustrating to have your artistic mind and technical ability not compatible.
Since working with my teacher, Laura Brooks Rice, I’ve been able to grow into my instrument and find the nuance that I had little control over in the past. I recently had someone say my acting had really improved, and they asked what I had been doing differently. To me it was simple: as I gain in vocal technique, my musicality really solidifies with my voice, and in that I feel freedom of expression. That feeling of freedom makes me feel successful!
Does anything get you down?
Rejections and criticism can still be difficult, but it is the nature of the opera beast.
How do you shake that off and keep going?
For me, feeling balance in other parts of my life with my friends and family and knowing that I am a complex person and more than just a singer really helps me stay steady in all of the ups and downs. Having friends outside the opera world has helped me not be consumed with the ups and downs of the performing lifestyle.
You met your fiancé on Tinder? Mazel tov! What would you like to share about singing and dating?
Thank you! While living in NYC, it can be hard meeting people outside of your circle. So Tinder worked well for us both; we would have never met any other way. He is in an artistic field so he understands and respects the discipline of a singer but is a lot more stable than a musician.
I think the biggest thing I’ve learned from traveling and a relationship is a balance in autonomy and partnership. Traveling is such a valuable tool in self-discovery and is a true luxury. So when we submerge and commit to the experiences we are presented, we can gain self-knowledge and fuel our relationships. Every relationship has a different balance of needs that must be respected while traveling, so openly talking to your partner about those expectations and being honest with yourself is key.
Read more about Megan at www.megannielson.com.
