There are plenty of ways to have a career in opera, and they aren’t all center stage at the Met. You can have a very good life singing in the chorus.” Metropolitan Opera star Mignon Dunn mentions the possibility whenever she teaches a master class, because young singers may not know about these opportunities. In the regional houses, most choruses are semi-professional or volunteer, and rarely pay enough to be primary employment. Larger companies such as San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and NYCO utilize full or part-time choruses of solo-quality singers, and pay a living wage with benefits. The path to these prime chorus positions often involves time in an associate chorus, which supplements regular performers in large chorus shows. But for those who crave theater life with more job security and less travel, singing in a professional chorus can be a great option.
“It’s a good way to make money and get to know people around town,” says former Sarasota Opera apprentice Marlene Moore, who sings in the NYCO Associate Chorus. The soprano auditioned after a friend was cast. “I thought, ‘Gosh, that’s a good idea!’ Mainly I did it to get to sing.”
“I started out to be a professional soloist,” says tenor George Wyman, a member of the associate choruses at both the Met and NYCO since 1990. “I still am. But it was so easy to get involved in the chorus, I kind of pushed my solo gigs aside.”
Wyman found his way into both choruses after being tipped off by friends. Cast in a single show at first, his workload expanded each season. “One show makes you a full-fledged extra chorister. Then you get more. At the Met, as many times as they do the same production, you’re in it.”
He acknowledges the difficulty of getting into the regular chorus. “You have to wait for someone to die, horrible as it sounds; to quit, which rarely happens; or to retire. When that happens, they pretty much take someone from the associate chorus.”
“They’re not going to hire someone off the street,” Moore agrees. “Some of the new regular choristers have been in the associate chorus for years. The first year is probation, and they can fire you for almost anything, but after that it’s very hard to get rid of you, because of the union.”
Associate choristers don’t make a living wage or receive benefits, so most hold other jobs. Wyman is a gourmet chef for Williams Sonoma and a tenor soloist for the Catholic churches of Westchester County. Moore temps and takes church jobs. Some singers prefer the flexibility of being an associate chorister; Moore knows a colleague who has accommodated her desire to perform by “temping” for ten years. Another colleague performs with both NYCO and the Met, and commutes from Philadelphia. “People in City Chorus are really chorus people,” says Moore. “Some are in it to make money; and others, this is what they do. Not very glamorous, huh?”
Being a chorister may not have the glamor of singing in the spotlight, but apparently enough spills over to keep some very talented singers working in the theater. “When you’ve got it in your blood, you’ll do any kind of singing,” admits Wyman. Moore agrees. “I hope I get to go on to other things, but I really enjoy this and can definitely see doing this type of work without being unhappy. I’m making music and making money.”
