Gayletha Nichols joined the artistic staff of the Metropolitan Opera in the fall of 2000 as executive director of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (MONC). The following season she became director for both the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and MONC. Gayletha brings with her two decades of experience as a singer, teacher and career advisor. From 1992-2000, she was Director of Houston Opera Studio, the young artist development program at Houston Grand Opera, where she created and individualized the training for both singers and pianists, supervising their work and advising them on career opportunities. Ms. Nichols auditions hundreds of singers across North America every year for the MONC auditions and also hears singers at the Met for the Lindemann program and in her travels addresses many universities, conservatories, and festivals on developing the next generation of opera singers. She is a frequent adjudicator in national and international competitions.
Ms. Nichols, what is the age limit for the Lindemann program?
There is no age limit. We take it on an individual basis and hope to catch the artists at a time when we can help them most.
How do you find the singers? Do they audition for you?
They do audition. We often find them through the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions. There are district and regional auditions, and then the finalists come to New York. We do pick some of the singers from there.
Where else do you find them? Do you attend musical events?
Yes. I happen to be in Aspen now for a few weeks, because I am also working on the festival. But I attend eight or 10 festivals every year between June and August and hear the apprentices in these festivals sing, so I have an idea who is out there and, given time, who might be appropriate to audition for the program next year. In addition to that, we get a lot of recommendations from our colleagues across the country.
What does the program offer?
You know, a lot has to happen for someone to have an operatic career, so we try to evaluate singers and help them in areas where they might be weak. For instance, if their languages are not so good, they immediately get to study language one-on-one with a teacher of French, Italian, German—we’ve even expanded that to Russian now. Languages are a very important part of our training program, so singers who need it will receive that kind of training on a weekly or even daily basis. Of course, they all receive musical coaching every day for their own audition repertoire, or for roles that they are learning, not only for the Met stage but for other places where they are performing. We also have a dramatic studies program: acting classes, dance—a lot of guest directors come and work with the singers individually. We also have an Alexander Technique person on our staff, who spends enough time with us each week so that everyone will have an individual session with her.
Would the singers still have to work to support themselves, or is this similar to a full-time job?
I guess you could say a fellowship with us is a full-time job. We have a $30,000 living stipend, as we would call it, and that’s the minimum that a person in the young artist program would make. They all start with that. And if they sing roles on stage, they would be paid additionally for the roles.
For how long can a singer stay in this program?
It varies. People often stay 2 or 3 years, but it is a year-at-a-time commitment, both on the part of the singer and the company.
And are they evaluated? Is somebody responsible for their progress?
Yes. They are evaluated more or less constantly, I am afraid. We try not to make them feel like every time they open their mouth they re-audition for the job. That’s not fair. Our commitment to them is stronger than that, but they do get daily input about their work. For instance, if they sing in a masterclass I often talk to them afterwards about how they felt it went—if they were at their best, or if something did not go well. They also audition for outside folks—meaning people who are holding auditions for summer programs, managers, artistic directors looking for singers I try to attend the auditions so I am able to talk to them afterwards, help them evaluate it and make it better next time.
Do they ever go on a career at the Met?
Oh, sure they do. There are a lot of people from the program that are now singing at the Met very regularly.
The most common concern of Classical Singer readers was that information about this program is so inaccessible. It is not advertised anywhere. So, to sum up, the only way a singer can audition for this program is if someone hears them and recommends them?
Yes, you need to be recommended by somebody. We have in the past done auditions where singers sent in information, but it became very time-consuming. [Editor’s note: these auditions are not the same as the MONC auditions but are separate auditions held just for the Lindemann program.] Before I convene a whole panel from the members of the Met artistic staff, I need to know whether this is an appropriate candidate. The best way to do that is a verbal or written recommendation from someone in the business whose opinion bears some weight. We do not have one set time of the year for auditions. We are hearing people for the program all year long. Hardly a week goes by without hearing someone. So, it is pretty accessible
Do you look for experience?
We are looking for the potential, really, and it is not about just training singers for the Met, it’s about training singers for opera. So it’s not just about Met potential, it’s about real talent— how the big the vocal gift is. The singers auditioning have to communicate, to say something with their music, to have that spark, to show they are going to be a commanding presence on the stage.
Do you enjoy this job?
Very much.
You get to hear an enormous number of singers…
Oh, gosh! Close to a thousand a year now.
And you are musically trained as well…
I was a singer before this. There were plenty of times in my early work with young artists when I thought, “Wow! I wish there were something like this when I was their age.”
I take great joy in really being able to help them and be there for them. There was nobody around when I was their age to talk about these things. I have worked with young artists for 10 years now. Before I came to the Met, I worked in the Houston Grand Opera Studio for eight years.
Is there any communication between the different young artists programs?
Constantly. Right before you called, I was on the phone to Houston. Dianne Zola runs the program now. We were comparing notes about singers she is interested in; she is looking for some extra information on them and I just heard them recently. So, I talk to my colleagues all the time in San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Florida, and elsewhere.
Sounds like a huge network.
It is very much so. It’s always funny because the singers never think that we are talking about these things, I guess. So if they do something in another part of the country and it’s good, I will hear about it. If it is not good, I will hear about it too. It’s pretty easy now to get this information between your cell phone and your e-mail…You know, when they do well, it’s to their advantage. Often someone will call me and say, “I know you are not taking so-and-so for your program. Do you think they would be good for our program?” I have found a lot of work for people I was not interested in for the Met. I have been able to place them in other situations that they were able to grow from.
Do you choose mostly American singers?
Not intentionally, but most of our singers are Americans. However, in the last season we also had two Russians, a Belgian, a Canadian, and maybe five other countries were represented. So, it’s quite diverse, provided we can get visas for these singers. It is not a student visa. Those are pretty easy. But a training visa, where you are getting paid as well, is a very tricky matter. Sometimes we cannot get them. It depends on the country, what the procedure is and how much time we have.
Lindemann Young Artist Development Program
Created by Metropolitan Opera artistic director James Levine in 1980, the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program discovers and nurtures a select group of exceptionally gifted singers and coach/accompanists, drawing upon the unique artistic resources of the Met to complete their training.
There are eight singers and three pianists in the program this year, but usually there are about 15 singers and pianists. This year there are four sopranos, no mezzos, two tenors, one baritone and one bass. The age range is 23-33. The females range in age from 27 to 32, the males from 23 to 33.
To meet the specific needs of each young artist, the program provides individualized training in musical styles, languages, Alexander Technique, movement and acting from the Met’s own musical and artistic staffs, as well as from invited master teachers. Along with an annual stipend to cover living costs, the program also provides health benefits and funds private voice lessons. The program is offered for a maximum of three years, with contract renewal on an annual basis.
The Lindemann Young Artist Development Program has been instrumental in bringing up a new generation of artists to ensure the highest standards of performance at the Metropolitan Opera and in opera houses throughout the world. During the current Met season, there is only one production that does not involve current or past participants of LYADP. Past participants of the program include: Stephanie Blythe, Dwayne Croft, Michelle DeYoung, Christine Goerke, Anthony Dean Griffey, Paul Groves, Andrea Gruber, Nathan Gunn, Aprile Millo, Heidi Grant Murphy, Mark Oswald, Sondra Radvanovsky, Denis Sedov, Gregory Turay, Dawn Upshaw, and Jennifer Welch-Babidge.
