How do you define success?
Is your career only going to be a success if you make it onto the stages of A-level opera houses or top tier theatres? Do your aggregate career earnings drive your motivation and define your worth?
Perhaps the answer is yes. And by no means do I want to dampen your expectations or lower your goals. I believe in striving for greatness and hope you can achieve your goals and fulfill your dreams. It is important, though, to realize that you can have a successful career and a fulfilling life without ever making it to the Met or landing that dream role and contract.
I recently heard from tenor Robert Mitchell. After a 30-year career he wrote his story in Tales of Tenacious Tenor. Robert never made it into a major opera house and he never sang at the Met. But you know what, he had a long and successful singing career that included more than 40 roles spanning from Mozart to Menotti. He’s a perfect example of finding success off the beaten path, or the path we sometimes think is the only way to “make it”.
Here’s what Robert said:
Few singers make the Met, so the point of pursuing a career in opera is the journey itself, not the destination. That’s why I wrote Tales of a Tenacious Tenor. I teach and entertain with the stories, but most of all, I inspire other singers to never give up. You never know what might happen…
A word to young singers: Celebrate what you do. Strive to be the best you can be. I emulated Domingo and Pavarotti, but never imitated them. Rather, I always knew that I was my own singer. My job was to be the best that I could be.
Robert had a full-time job for Scholastics, Inc., but sang on the weekends and evenings. No, he wasn’t the most famous singer or richest performer. But he was a success. Here’s a recording of his from YouTube that has had more than 57,000 hits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSq6oe6U9DM
My point is don’t spend too much time worrying about whether you are going to make it big. Just go sing. Go do what you love to do. You can succeed and be great at any level.
Don’t worry about all those naysayers telling you that you can never make it as a singer. Don’t listen to critics who tell you the odds are too low and you’re wasting your time. Remember the words of the Shel Silverstein’s poem “Listen to the Mustn’ts:
Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child,
Listen to the DON’TS
Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON’TS
Listen to theNEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me—
Antyhing can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.
Don’t let others define what success is for you. You decide what you want and don’t worry about other people’s expectations.
You can be great. You can achieve greatness.
Written by Alex Stoddard, General Manager of Classical Singer and Auditions Plus. Email Alex at alex@classicalsinger.com and follow him at twitter.com/alstod.
