There is a general trend…to emphasize performance experience as a form of ‘training’ rather than emphasizing the development of fundamental technical, musical, and stagecraft skills. Indeed, performance experience is quickly becoming the criterion by which students measure a school’s ability to serve their needs…”
James Meena is the general director of Toledo Opera. His comments come as a result of a poll CS conducted recently, asking GDs (General Directors) of professional opera companies about their opinions on education and the trends they observe as they audition new singers. Singers need to be aware what the hirers think regarding education and training for singers.
Have you seen any important patterns emerging in the pre-professional training of the best singers? To the best of your knowledge, are the best singers coming from conservatories or liberal arts colleges? Small schools or large schools?
John Moriarty of Central City Opera had this to say: “In the past 30 years, training has become more extensive, and there has been more awareness of the importance of movement training. Many schools have introduced courses in foreign language diction. The best singers seem to come from everywhere.”
“Cream still rises to the top, even in the 90s,” added Meena. “The best and brightest–the most talented, if you will–find a way to rise to the top, even in the face of poor vocal training, poor stagecraft training, etc. A Renee Fleming or Lauren Flanigan, whom I knew and worked with before their rise to the top, had the drive to find their way to success.”
“An unfortunate pattern is that many have gotten their best tools outside their school setting,” said William Florescu of Lake George Opera Festival. “In other words, they have to find it on their own.”
Richard Harrell of Western Opera Theater said, “The best-trained singers tend to come from conservatories–however, singers who do their undergraduate work at liberal arts schools tend to be more well-rounded performers.”
“Most general directors could care less about where you went to school and do not want it on your resume.” Dan Montez is the GD for Taconic Opera in Peekskill, NY. “No one hires based on the school you attended, the teachers you have had, or the coaches you have worked with. They primarily want to know how you perform and how easy you are to work with.”
Have you noted any specific schools that seem to be doing the best job training well-prepared singers?
“The Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) has built an excellent program for talented singers,” said Meena, “and I emphasize the latter portion of that statement. First, their standards for accepting students are very high, and their enrollment is low. Second, they provide excellent fundamental training in the voice studio and their coachings. Third, they provide safe but artistically stretching experiences onstage. They are, in my opinion, the best finishing school for singers in America–period.”
Longwood Opera’s J. Scott Brumit told CS, “While I am sure there are many other great schools around the world, I’m most familiar with the schools in the Boston area. Based on my perception of the preparedness of the hundreds of singers I have heard at our annual auditions over the last few years, I would list the New England Conservatory; Boston University; Boston Conservatory; and Longy School of Music.”
Most general directors listed schools in their general geographic area, as well as the better-known conservatories and universities. Schools included Northwestern University; UCLA; Cal State_Fullerton; Manhattan School of Music; Indiana University; Juilliard Opera Center; Cincinnati College Conservatory; University of Michigan; Eastman School of Music; and Arizona State University-Tempe.
What do you think is the best next step for a very talented singer just coming from high school? From a bachelor’s program?
“I like what I have been seeing and hearing in the recent generations of singers,” said Brumit. “After high school go to the best college you can get into with the sole purpose of getting the best well-rounded liberal arts degree you can achieve. Participate in as many musical and/or theatrical opportunities as possible while working on the BA. After the BA program, look for a school where you can begin to specialize in your area of musical interest. Enter a master’s degree program if possible. Continue to perform frequently. After the MM, consider some specialized, more intense programs–opera workshops, vocal performance workshops, Lieder programs, and so on. Summer opera camp is a must–Santa Fe, St. Louis, Glimmerglass, Tanglewood, Ashlawn-Highland, Aspen, Brevard, Central City, Chautauqua, Ohio Light Opera, Opera North, and Wolf Trap are just a few of the wonderful opportunities that are available.”
Diane Garton Edie of Opera for the Young said, “Audition for a music department or conservatory at a school that has happy, satisfied current students and graduates. [After graduation] consider an apprentice program; investigate graduate schools (with the right teacher for you!); and attend summer workshops.”
“The best singer who is mature at 22,” said Meena, “may be able to go right to apprentice programs, a finishing school like AVA, and then off to career time–but the vast majority of good singers need additional time to develop. It is our equivalent of a medical residency–the time for apprenticeship. During this period, the singer should find a master’s program that provides both an exceptional voice teacher and a curriculum that emphasizes languages, musical coachings. and stagecraft training. If the school provides the opportunity to perform one or two roles in a two-to-three year period, even better, but that should be the last criterion for selecting a school.”
John Moriarty was less subtle. “Forget about singing roles until the voice is under sufficient development. [After] the undergraduate program, continue vocal study with good teachers and coaches. Stay away from New York until you’re ready to begin a career.”
What, if anything, would you like to see colleges and universities do differently (more attention to voice, appearance, dance, entrepreneurial training, role preparation, acting, stage experience)?
Griff Duncan of Fullerton Civic Light Opera replied, “More attention to the complete performer–not just the voice. Most young singers lack stage presence and the ability to sell (make believable) the performance.”
“1) voice; 2) languages and diction; 3) acting ; and 4) entrepreneurial training would be lovely,” said Harrell.
“Universities and colleges notoriously prepare students for future teaching and not operatic careers,” Montez said. “If this is to change, these institutions should add the following as required classes:
Acting classes. We live in a different age. Singer/actors are required, not those that can just ‘park and bark.’ Opera is about the synthesis of both! Most auditioning singers are not comfortable with the stage.
Classes on the business. Most singers who audition for me, understand very little about how to get an agent, why you may or may not want one, how to write a resume, how to network, what professional behavior in a rehearsal setting entails, how to make a living while developing our career, understanding the difference between European and American systems, and much more.
Classes on operatic technique. The needs of the operatic voice are different from the art song voice or oratorio and choral voices. Most singers fresh out of college do not know how to project over an orchestra and cannot express at high projection levels.
Classes on recitative. Students exiting the college experience rarely understand this art form.
Classes on memorization. Most big breaks come when a singer is prepared to step into a role in days. Singers who are a “quick study” often create reputations that make great careers.
“The best singers who get jobs,” Montez concluded, “are those who are self-motivated enough to use the university to further what they need to know. When a singer looks at a university as their servant rather than the other way around, they will succeed.”
Do you have any other comments on the training of young singers?
Orlando Opera’s Robert Swedberg recommended, “More general focus on communicating the essence of character. Too many can sing, but don’t know why they must give (share) their souls. The large majority is cold, academic, dull.”
“Too many young singers are being given false hopes at the university level,” said J. Prentice Loftin of the El Paso Opera.
“Above all–LANGUAGE TRAINING!” said Moriarty. “Schools are offering courses in diction, but for the most part are lax in offering (and requiring) courses in Italian, French, and German grammar. Many young singers tend to sing the International Phonetic Alphabet instead of languages with meaning. Attention to professional ethics and rehearsal behavior is also needed. Many young singers coming to companies like Central City’s apprentice program have to be taught these things.”
Edie said, “Emphasize theory as being very important to being a good employee and colleague… being a good musician is much appreciated…”
“More dance!” said Arden Anderson-Broecking, at Crystal Opera Consortium, Inc. “Modern dance technique is very beneficial to a singer! Also a little business/ management training couldn’t hurt. The emphasis on ‘winning’ can often intimidate a young singer who doesn’t have a lot of nerve (yet). I’ve seen a lot of very promising young singers become terribly discouraged, because someone who has already discovered some of the ways to push ahead–numerous as they are–seems to be getting all the plums. I have always had the idealistic belief that talent should be the primary reason for making a successful career–but alas, I know I’m dreaming. Nevertheless, I continue to hope that schools will stop pushing and start nurturing.”
“Opera is first and foremost about singing,” Meena said. “Its success as an art form is derived from the ability of an artist to connect emotionally with the public. What we have developed in our country is at least one generation of singers–if not two–who are ill-equipped to carry the torch of their predecessors. Colleges and universities are not the only ones at fault for this–the opera business, including opera companies and artists’ managers, are equally if not more culpable.
“The solution, I believe, will not come from the business itself, but rather from advocate agencies like yours, from music critics, and from enlightened writers. The business will always look for the next tenor to sing Calaf–and they’ll find him somewhere, even if he only sings that role for a couple of years before losing his voice (this actually happened to a tenor I know who was used and abused by his agent and the companies who hired him).
“The opera field has never looked at the long term when considering the health of the art form. There is something fundamentally wrong with the business, in my opinion. And that has been the de-emphasizing of great singing.”
