The recent Classical Singer Convention in Chicago last May involved an Audition Feedback Experience where judges listened to singers in a mock audition setting and then offered verbal feedback. Some Young Artist Programs offer written feedback to singers, sometimes for an extra fee. Such feedback can be invaluable. But who should be qualified to give feedback, and how can singers ensure they make the most of it when they receive it? I spoke with many such judges tasked with giving audition feedback in various settings to find out. They answered these questions and more, including the audition feedback they give most often.
Feedback—Who and How
Who sits “behind the table”? Who should be tasked with formulating the feedback and delivering it? New York City voice teacher and blogger Claudia Friedlander feels strongly that the feedback duties should fall to a voice teacher—or at least someone who knows singing and vocal production well. (Ms. Friedlander recently wrote over 200 feedback letters to singers who had applied for participation in a masterclass at Carnegie Hall.)
Pianist and coach William Hicks agrees and adds that the judge should know the repertoire well, be it opera or art song, and should have experience in the performing world. The judge should have credibility when talking about singing, about repertoire, and about what works and what doesn’t.
Friedlander is emphatic that feedback should be specific to the performance being evaluated. There should be no evaluation of a singer’s chances for career success based on one hearing. Comments should be as specific as possible: “Above F-sharp in this aria you tighten up, causing you to sing under the pitch” rather than “High voice needs work.”
Other sources suggested judges should refrain from asking questions that should have been clearly answered on the audition form and from making repertoire suggestions from behind the table based on one hearing. (Repertoire suggestions as part of formal feedback are expected, if called for.) All the judges I spoke to acknowledged and, in fact, emphasized the value of framing criticism constructively and of making positive comments before bringing up things that need improvement.
Most Common Audition Advice
What advice and feedback do these judges have for the singers they hear? The most common issue mentioned is that singers at nearly every level choose repertoire they are not ready for technically or which otherwise does not suit them. One judge emphasized that she and her colleagues would prefer to hear something simple sung with pleasing tone, good intonation, and expressive musicality over something flashy that is not sung well.
Hicks had the following suggestions:
• Offer repertoire that shows you at your best. Present what is right for you vocally, physically, and temperamentally. If there’s even one note in an aria that doesn’t work, do not present it.
• Know your pieces cold.
• Offer something short and sweet for your first piece that shows who you are in the first eight bars. Make it an attention grabber. Consider the judges will have been hearing auditions for hours or for days—or might have hours or days of auditions ahead of them—so grab them quickly.
• Wear what makes you look your best.
• Remember that your audition starts when you walk on stage or in the room—quite possibly when you get off the elevator or walk into the building!
Other judges offered the following additional advice:
• Present well known arias. The judges usually want to compare you to others who sing the same repertoire. Consider the pianist, who may or may not be a brilliant sight reader, when choosing repertoire.
• Know yourself and your Fach. Know the classic audition arias for your Fach. If you don’t have five of these arias that you sing well and are comfortable presenting, you should rethink your readiness for the audition. Or you might want to reconsider your Fach. (Note: This is for professional auditions, not for conservatory-level auditions.)
• Have your five or six arias and stick to them. Sing what you sing well, not what you think the panel wants to hear. If they want to hear something from the role they are casting, they will ask for it. This echoes Hicks’ suggestion to sing what suits you best. (Again, for professional auditions.)
• Unless it is part of a formal feedback period, do not take any advice from behind the table as an invitation to have a conversation. While such advice is usually an indication of interest in you, the most appropriate and efficient response is a sincere “Thank you,” the promise to discuss the suggestion with your teacher or coach, and to move on to the next aria.
• Again seconding the advice of Hicks, the audition is not over until you have left the room or the building. Be courteous to everyone you meet, thank anything that breathes—especially the accompanist, and quietly move on with your life.
Grace Under Fire
If you are given written feedback or feedback in the form of a conversation after your audition, accept it gracefully—especially if you have paid extra for it. One audition judge observed that singers in their 30s and 40s in particular are sometimes resistant to constructive feedback. Remember that the judges are there because of their expertise in singing or in the opera world or both, and their advice is likely quite valuable.
Remember, too, that they really want you to do well. Writing and delivering mixed or unfavorable feedback is no treat. Feedback is not an invitation to debate, but rather advice from people who want to see you improve. Take such suggestions to teachers and coaches you trust to consider how, or if, to put it into effect.
These are mostly common sense suggestions, viewed by many as common knowledge. Those I spoke with, however, were concerned that this information is not getting to young singers and their advisors, or that their advisors are not holding them to these guidelines.
The bottom line on audition feedback? Opera companies and competitions: do it and do it right. Singers: listen to it and consider it earnestly with your advisors.
