One of the most challenging aspects of a career in singing is funding it. Most singers must have a “day job” of some kind. Read on to hear from singers who balance work in other industries.
Every year a new batch of incredibly talented, desperately hopeful, and unflinchingly passionate young opera singers burst onto the operatic scene. They come with beautiful voices, dramatic training, and a goal of finding success in a business that lures one in with the prospect of a jet-setting, glamourous, well-paid lifestyle. But is the likelihood of a career spent only singing a reality for the majority of artists? I spoke to a variety of people in the field, some at the beginning of their careers and other, more established creatives that have found a way to survive in the competitive world of opera while also thriving in non-singing jobs.
For many singers, maintaining the balance between singing and non-singing work can be the trickiest part of the career. Michelle Trainor, a Boston-based soprano, also works in HR. “I am fortunate enough to have a job that allows me to work remotely if I’m traveling for a gig.” She admits, “This, however, ultimately means that I have very little down time. When I’m not in rehearsals, I’m working my office job remotely.”
Even if a singer has multiple engagements, the fees they receive may not always cover the cost of being an opera singer as well as life’s expenses. “Considering the out-of-pocket cost of healthcare in the U.S., I may never stop having a part-time job,” says Sam Dewese, an emerging Chicago-based baritone. “Why would I give that up just for the opportunity to say, ‘I’m a full-time singer and nothing else?’ That dream was sold to me during my undergraduate studies and my conservatory years, but the reality is that it’s tough to make it happen. Still, I maintain hope!”
Realistically, most opera singers, even those covering and singing comprimario roles in larger houses throughout the U.S., have other forms of work. Many teach, act, do voice-over work, write, or do jobs that are completely outside of the creative sphere. “When I first started performing, right out of college, I had the same dream most singers who go to college for singing do: sing big, sing long, sing at the Met,” says soprano and fundraising professional, Brenda Marie Turner. “Years of maturation brought me a couple of truths: 1) I am more than just a singer, 2) I have many talents on- and off-stage and, finally, 3) my purpose in life is a harmony between singing and fundraising.”
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Robert Wesley Mason, a baritone who recently completed his doctorate at the University of Michigan and appears with Opera Grand Rapids, Detroit Opera, and Portland Opera this season, maintains a freelance catering job. “I have been truly fortunate that in the catering industry, which comprises the majority of my food and beverage service and hospitality career, there is a great deal of flexibility. There is no issue if I am gone for months. When I come back to town, I am put right back into the schedule rotation.”
The steady increase of the cost of living coupled with the decline in artist fees for most singers means that artists have had to figure out how to supplement their incomes. Ten years ago, Mason made 95% of his income from singing. He notes that for 2025, it’s going to be about 50%. In 2019, Trainor made approximately 82% of her income as a singer. Post COVID and with the addition of her HR work, she’s at 15%–25%. She states, “I also want to point out that corporate jobs often pay more, offer health benefits, retirement, life insurance, paid vacation/sick leave, and offer a steady paycheck.”
So, if a singer has learned that they need to have work outside of singing, yet still chooses to sing, the industry should celebrate their ability to remain committed to the craft and their own self-preservation, right? For many artists, it’s often the opposite. It raises the question, why does there seem to be a stigma around opera singers who make the decision to have other work?
“This boggles my mind—we know that everyone has side-hustles, yet the industry tends to shun them,” says OperaDelaware general director, Brendan Cooke. “I think it’s changing (and OperaDelaware is trying to be part of the change), but I think that in a lot of ways, it comes down to scheduling. We are so tight on resources and scheduling, perhaps navigating one more hurdle is just a bridge too far for administrators…especially, sadly, and maybe subconsciously knowing that there’s another artist waiting in the wings.”
Trainor adds, “As young singers, it is implied that if we are truly passionate about music there is no way we can do anything else. I learned early on in my career that I was not supposed to tell anyone about my office job, that I would be looked down upon and not taken seriously.” She continues, “If you ‘need’ a day job, you must not be good enough. It’s been a shadow on my career since I started singing professionally, and it was only in recent years that I started to be more open about it.”
“Singers used to spend years just on exercises and scales, perfecting their coordination with their instrument before even moving into repertoire, which took serious time and dedication—of course, it still takes that same investment today,” states Mason. “But if your attention is split between tons of other things,” he continues, “advancing technique can be slow going. So, someone doing non-singing work might somehow imply that they aren’t spending enough time on their craft, that they aren’t serious enough.”
“In undergrad and graduate school, I was definitely encouraged to assume I would only ever earn money as a singer, and it would be hard, but it would be worth it,” replies Dewese.
Cooke adds, “I was certainly given warnings as a young singer to not let certain companies know that you’d take chorus work, or to not put other work on your resume, for fear of not being seen as not ‘serious’ enough.”
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The contrast between the reality of being an opera singer and the cultivated image we see on social media where everyone around you is “booked and busy,” can have an adverse effect on an artist’s mental and emotional well-being, coupled with an unspoken shame.
Mason shares how he imagined the career. “When I was first starting out in 2003, just a teenager, success to me was landing a principal contract at the Met, singing all around the world, and being a big star like Dmitri Hvorostovsky. I was convinced that once I had a season where I was booked out all year as a principal artist, that every season to follow would be the same.” He acknowledges, “The truth is that I have only had one year in my career so far where that was the case. It was a difficult lesson to learn that the reality is closer to ‘feast or famine,’ and I wanted to blame others.”
Trainor agrees that early in her career, having to find non-singing work “Absolutely affected my idea of success. I was ashamed for years by the fact that I sat in an office for a significant percentage of my day instead of honing my craft. I must not be good enough if my season isn’t full and I need other income.” She continues, “I’m human, so of course I think about what my singing career could be like if I was fortunate enough to not need other income.”
In 2022, Turner made a shift. “If I wasn’t on somebody’s tour, I was on somebody’s set, in somebody’s studio, on somebody’s stage. At the end of that period, my feelings were that I was successful.” But then she realized “That it wasn’t the life for me. I’m content because I did it, I was successful, and I chose to pivot.” She has managed to combine her love of opera and fundraising by offering workshops for LA Opera’s Young Artists as well as UIA’s Artist Fellowship.
Dewese notes, “When I focused on my priorities and found a job that runs alongside my singing career while also financing the basics of my life, my vocal development and career took off.” He continues, “The gigs I book now are at a much higher level.”
Is the industry as a whole ready to accept that many opera singers needing to have multiple revenue streams while centering their own security is actually making space for better artists? And can we as artists accept that if we are being paid to sing, that we are successful opera singers?
Mason shares one last thought, “I’ve come to see and treat singing/performing as a form of hospitality. So many of the skills that have enhanced my stagecraft and social interactions I learned in restaurants, private homes, ballrooms, and wine stores.” He continues, “We serve the audience by serving the art. It’s a different kind of food—it’s food for the soul. I have my non-singing job to thank for that perspective.”
