“I have been offered a very good opera chorus job but am uncertain as to whether this will label me for future attempts at Young Artist programs.…I need to make a decision very soon, so any immediate advice would be appreciated.”—Narietta
Nanetta’s request sparked the debate that has been running in Classical Singer’s online Opera Chorus Forum since December, 2000. Is there an unwritten rule that says singing in an opera chorus will hinder a successful solo career? If this rule exists, how does obeying or disregarding it affect a singer’s career?
Nearly 40 singers (including two in France and Australia) logged on to the forum to answer this question and to share their experiences, successes and horror stories. Their posts give advice and comments presenting different aspects of this important question, which cannot be definitively answered. Each singer’s story and path have been different. For some, chorus work opened doors; for others, it inadvertently led to career stagnation. While nearly half of the forum respondents wrote in favor of singing in an opera chorus, even some of them offered their approval cautiously, citing both the negative and the positive effects that singing in an opera chorus can have on a performer’s career.
Why is there ambiguity over the role of chorus work in a singer’s life? Maybe the uncertainty is due to a concern about perception—which, to a singer, can sometimes be more important than reality.
“Opera chorus experience is usually not helpful on your résumé when auditioning for solo parts,” wrote “Pedro.” “In fact, for some companies it is a definite turn-off, where they might label you a lifetime chorister, assuming you can’t do anything else. Sad, but that’s the way it is.”
“On the other hand, you need to eat,” advised “Temp.” “My manager tells me not to turn down work unless I have something in my hand that is better—even work where he doesn’t get a commission. This approach has worked well in that I’ve kept working while some of my friends who were holding out for lead roles in big companies are now out of the field. It is a hard call to make, but if I were you, I’d take the chorus job. You learn so much from being onstage and watching great singers.”
“Polichinelle” wrote, “I sang for four years as a well-paid, full-time member of a splendid, world-famous opera house. I absolutely loved the job and was terribly proud to do it; however, you can be sure that this does not appear on my résumé when I am looking for solo jobs, nor does it appear on any other of the chorus members’ résumés. Even the chorusmaster, who is also an important conductor, leaves it off his résumé when looking for conducting jobs.”
“It has been a fabulous experience for me,” wrote “Delilah,” “great fun and vocally beneficial, too, as it has helped me build a nice lower register….[O]pera chorus keeps me right in the midst of what I love. I’m singing great music, wearing fabulous costumes, meeting terrific people and having a ball at the same time!…. I feel that the… productions I have been in have benefited me tremendously as a singer and performer. It is unfortunate that this experience is not considered valuable in the professional arena.”
“JRinDC” succinctly defined the debate: “I wish there was some empirical basis to test ‘Pedro’s’ theory, which is oft declaimed on these boards. Although it is the conventional wisdom, I’m…not sure if it is [a reality].”
Several other questions arose in the forum. Singers wondered about differences between choral and solo singing techniques. Can choral singing cause vocal harm? Does chorus work provide valuable on-the-job training (thereby offsetting the labeling risk) or does it mark a singer as good-but-not-quite-solo material? Again, respondents’ posts presented opposing answers to each question.
Is there a difference between choral and solo techniques?
According to “Audreypoo,” “…[C]horal singing…requires a different technique, and in some instances a certain type of ‘blendable’ voice. If a singer is more interested in making a career as a professional choral singer, then a more blendable voice is preferable…[I]f you are interested in a solo career, do NOT go out for the chorus!!”
“…I absolutely reject the notion that chorus singing ‘requires a different technique.’ Healthy singing is healthy singing….” countered “JRinDC.” “…[T]he fact that some voices are particularly distinctive does not mean that the ‘technique’ of singing chorus versus arias is necessarily different…. [I]f you truly understand technique, then, subject to the natural limitations of your voice, you can sing whatever you want in whatever style you want. Whether the conductor asks you to sing piano, or ‘blend’ or forte or whatever, it will make absolutely no difference. You will simply sing the music correctly and interpret it appropriately.”
“HuffmanDK” said, “I don’t consider ‘blending’ and ‘holding back’ uniquely choral situations. If one is unable to sing softly, or blend with other singers in a duet/trio/quartet, how can one have a solo career?…[A] solo career and singing in the chorus are not vocally incompatible.”
Is choral singing harmful to a soloist’s voice?
“Notadiva” logged in with, “I did quite a bit of professional opera chorus work, and it did me no favors in my solo singing. We were consistently asked to sing much softer than a soloistic pianissimo, which meant singing off the breath, or to darken the sound for ‘cupo’ effects. Not only that, but many of the big chorus shows are vocally taxing. Solo technique is not the same as chorus technique unless you have a very small nondescript voice.”
“I remember a very important audition I had to do after doing chorus work for FIVE Turandots in eight days,” wrote “McBaritone.” “It affected me…the singing was not very ‘focused’ and was overly ‘covered.’ If I had sung solo roles, I’m convinced that although I would probably have been vocally tired, the results would have been completely different.”
“…[L]et’s face it,” wrote “Primadonna,” “most soloists just don’t enjoy singing in a chorus, and many of us are not very good at it….”
Can a singer move up through the ranks to become a soloist?
“CindyS” believes that: “…[I]t’s true that one should be cautious about singing in the chorus of certain opera companies; in others it’s perfectly fine to take a chorus job and move up through the ranks. I have seen this happen at numerous companies. It just depends on their mindset.”
“TenorX” wrote: “I sang for eight years as a comprimario/chorister with the largest opera company in my area. I learned a lot observing the principals and enjoyed being exposed to the repertoire. I quit a year ago because I had learned all I could, and it is a fact that being in that chorus and doing bit parts for so long there pigeonholed me with that company and everyone in it, and they have connections to others in the opernwelt…. [I]t was a wonderful, intoxicating initiation to the opera, and I will always be glad I started as I did.”
“This notion of ‘once a chorister…’ seems to be most prevalent in the house where you did the chorus work,” wrote “Jeffrey.” “This is also true of YAP programs. The artistic director of the B house where I did a YAP program told us in so many words that he wanted us to all go off and sing elsewhere once we finished the YAP program. ‘Sing for everybody you can,’ were his words. Doing so, and getting work in other houses, would ultimately make us more desirable as returning artists to the house where we were once YAPs.”
From “Primadonna,” “If you have solo ambitions, singing in an opera chorus is NOT going to advance your career in any way. What it WILL do is provide a decent paycheck. My stint in the Bayreuth chorus earned me enough money to travel to another country, audition and get what turned out to be a four-year engagement as a leading soprano!”
In his response to a post, “HuffmanDK” wrote, “There is a fallacious assumption here: ‘history proves that very few make it from the chorus into the spotlight.’ It seems to me history proves that very few singers make it into the spotlight, PERIOD. Being in the chorus has little to do with what happens thereafter. And it certainly can’t hurt actually being involved in opera, on whatever level.”
“CindyS” related a true story: “As an apprentice in Chicago, I sang with the chorus. Several of my colleagues moved up to auditing for the YAP and…becoming apprentices.…One very talented character tenor…went straight from the chorus to singing Goro when the scheduled, internationally famous singer had a stroke. From there he got major management and a career. So it does happen!”
“MezzoNJ” queried: “Hey, didn’t Dawn Upshaw start in the Met Chorus?”
Are there other opportunities in the chorus?
“Amethyst” had just started as the chorusmaster for a small company in the metropolitan New York City area when she asked for ideas and help in obtaining chorus members since her first recruiting effort had failed.
“McBaritone” advised, “…[T]he best way to do so is to make it known that the company WILL give singers from the chorus performing opportunities—comprimarios, secondary roles, etc. in appropriate situations. Sometimes offering ‘understudies’ or ‘covers’ in exchange for chorus works as well. You should work closely with the artistic director to make sure the company doesn’t get a reputation of ‘once a chorister, always a chorister.’…[S]ee about doing the kind of productions where the chorus feels involved in the show…stand and sing choruses are boring for ALL involved (including the audience)….You might not be able to do all these things, but these kinds of ideas do a lot for morale—and the happier your chorus is, the less they will complain about the lack of pay.”
Perhaps a distinction should be made with regards to what type of chorus a singer is considering joining. For example, there is the Met’s chorus—a full-time job (with benefits) that makes pursuing a solo career extremely difficult, if not impossible. “Altobabe” gave this example from the Met: “…[D]uring the 1999/2000 run of Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron, a HUGE chorus show full of fiendishly difficult contrapuntal music (divisi in 8 parts!), these folks were also spending the whole DAY rehearsing the monster choral parts in Mussorgsky’s huge Khovanschina. Anybody who tried to sing this kind of schedule and ALSO be seriously competitive as a working, auditioning solo singer would be hospitalized in a week.”
And then, consider the whole array of regional choruses that fill various performance needs. “Altobabe” raised this point when she wrote, “Singing chorus in a smaller company with a less demanding repertoire and less frequent performances, on the other hand, can be a great way for a still-developing singer to learn musical, ensemble, theatrical and practical vocal skills.”
Two Forum posters summarized the debate this way: “HuffmanDK” wrote, “Everyone, please do yourselves a favor and enjoy your work AS you’re doing it. Don’t rob yourself of the present joy of singing professionally for the sake of an unknown future joy.”
Another singer wrote, “… [I]n my life, it was more of what I made of my chorus experience that shaped the performer I became, and I didn’t suffer any labels because of it.”
The forum doesn’t reveal what “Nanetta” decided. Perhaps the advice from “CindyS” is the most practical: “It sounds like a good opportunity; the main issue is whether you can reconcile your soloist heart to being a chorister. You don’t have to do it forever….”
