Facebook has become the virtual teacher’s lounge of the 21st century. Inspired by a post from Fort Worth Opera’s Managing Director and Artistic Administrator Keith Wolfe about the arrogance and entitlement of certain young artists, I asked for input from other administrators, teachers, and singers about their experiences with entitlement, particularly in the younger crowd.
Every generation likes to complain about those that come after; it’s often a big joke. “Kids today have it so easy. I walked to school, uphill, in the snow—both ways!” But the complaints I hear from my colleagues who run Young Artist Programs, opera companies, private studios, and university programs about the entitlement, laziness, or plain-old bad judgment displayed by many young singers are no laughing matter. Rudeness, lack of business acumen or, in some cases, just relying on bad advice can cost a young singer important opportunities. It can get them blacklisted. It’s behavior that the industry can’t afford.
Keith Wolfe recently shared a story about a young singer who had not received an audition and e-mailed immediately demanding an explanation. The singer cited his GPA, alma mater, and his “very promising voice.” “Is there any specific reason as to why I was not granted an audition? Please explain—I look forward to hearing from you,” this singer wrote.
Wolfe says he respects singers who politely request feedback on their applications, even though he does not offer such critiques, but none of those singers ever demanded to know why they weren’t accepted. “I was just blown away,” he said. “I never received anything like this in 10 plus years of coordinating auditions.”
Another singer asked Wolfe to accept her application a week after the deadline, on the grounds that she had “misread YAP Tracker” and forgot to set up a reminder. When Wolfe declined, stating that all the slots had been filled, she responded that it was too bad, as she was the perfect person to sing a specific principal role in one of the season’s operas. “That’s ballsy enough,” Wolfe said, “but, again, a quick look at our website would tell you the role was already cast. You don’t think we haven’t cast that role in an opera that is happening in about eight months?” Incidentally, Wolfe says that some years ago, he had a very similar experience with a managed singer, who certainly should have known better!
Wolfe acknowledges, however, that these “singers behaving badly” are generally in the minority. “The overwhelming majority of singers I have interactions with are great to work with,” he added, “and most who wrote back disappointed about not getting an audition were very professional—either asking to be on a waitlist for cancellations or, a few, asking for feedback on the process.”
It may be that there are some singers reading this who genuinely don’t understand what’s wrong with the exchanges described above. It is, to a certain degree, understandable. Few universities or conservatories offer much in the way of current business training specifically for singers, and until they get out in the world and really begin to experience it for themselves, many young singers don’t really have much perspective on how to build a career or, indeed, how the industry works. They often lack basic business skills, such as how to write an effective résumé or bio for singing work or even how to write a business letter or e-mail. Furthermore, they aren’t sure where to turn for advice and, so, sometimes end up grasping at straws.
A certain young soprano colleague, who prefers to remain anonymous, offers this perspective. “Some people just need to learn the hard way. Honestly, though, I think teachers and mentors who overemphasize the difficulty of the business end up discouraging the people who actually hear them more than they deter the ones who need the reality dose. The ones who don’t hear will expect to sing at the Met upon graduating no matter what you tell them; in their minds, they are always the exception.”
Opera admin war stories are full of anecdotes of misplaced confidence/arrogance. “The iconic story I tell, which happened many years ago—and I always change the names and places to protect privacy—a young singer was singing a small role in an Italian opera at a company where I was working,” relates Rogers. “He did all his recits full of scoops and swoops and portamentos and all kinds of affected nonsense. Our diplomatic Italian conductor got more and more upset and finally said, ‘Ma! Ma questo non è Rossini!’ and this kid, say his name was John, which it was not, had the cojones to reply proudly, ‘Ma questo è Giovanni!’ He was fired the next day.”
“I have a colleague whose career has been stunted by his sense of entitlement,” writes another colleague who has chosen to remain anonymous. “He is so gifted, with a voice of such incredible beauty and agility. He often is given one, two, three chances (tenors always get chances), and then that’s it, goodbye. His manner is very off-putting, and because he thinks he’s ‘got it,’ he doesn’t learn. Learn your music! Listen to the conductor and do what he asks! Don’t offend your host family! I have a motto: Work hard; be nice. This guy can’t get it into his skull because he’s sure he’s the next Big Star. It’s so frustrating. He can’t understand why he’s not getting hired. This kind of attitude is one that people remember when someone calls for a recommendation.”
Ironically, the singer who related this story was once on the receiving end of a “Come to Jesus” talk from a conductor. “He fired me and explained that something was negative about my energy and people didn’t want to deal with me. So I took a two-year hiatus and figured out what was up with me and called him to say thanks! If he hadn’t fired me, I would not be the musician I am today. He risked our friendship but trusted that someday I would understand. I count that as the first big ‘grow up moment’ of my life and am eternally grateful for it. People often take critical advice as a blanket ‘you suck’ and then they go fetal position and they don’t learn from it. It’s hard to get over yourself, but so worth it!” This singer is now back in the conductor’s good graces and works with him regularly.
Unfortunately, such valuable feedback is not always forthcoming, and the various singers, opera company admins, and teachers I spoke to all seemed to agree on one thing: often the most entitled people, the people with the most unrealistic expectations for themselves and their careers, never seem to see themselves in the types of anecdotes that have been shared.
What can a young singer do to make sure they aren’t falling into a trap of bad behavior? How can you project confidence and professionalism without coming across as arrogant? That, my friends, is the topic of next month’s column. In the meantime, now might be the perfect time to do a little soul searching and check up on your own attitude and to consult with trusted advisors who you know will give you an honest assessment of the energy you give off in rehearsal and performance settings.
Until next time, take your colleague’s good advice. Work hard; be nice.
Written by Cindy Sadler, the full article “Singers Behaving Badly” was published in the January issue of Classical Singer magazine. Ms. Sadler is a professional singer, teacher, writer, director, and consultant. She is the founder and director of Spotlight on Opera, a community opera troupe and training program in Austin, Tex. Her 2012-13 engagements include Marie in Most Happy Fella with Tulsa Opera, Messiah with the San Antonio Symphony, Martha in Faust with Austin Lyric Opera, and Gertrude in Romeo and Juliette with Intermountain Opera. For more information, visit www.CindySadler.com.
