The Future of Opera is Indie

Editorial

What we call ‘indie’ opera is not necessarily any more ‘independent’ than Big Opera – ‘grass-roots opera’ might be a better definition. Whatever you call them, what these organizations do have is a license to artistic freedom and experimentation that big-budget opera has had to renounce in order to maintain an outdated model of funding: subscriptions, high-profile donors, and swanky corporate sponsors.

Nico Castel's dialectic genius

On May 31st, the opera world lost comprimario tenor and linguistic authority, Nico Castel. I never personally had the chance to work with Castel, but I'm among the many who thanked him every day for his *Complete Opera Libretti Translation Series*, the invaluable anthologies of opera libretti, translated and phoneticized.

How to really learn a song

How-to

The universal steps to learning a song, I know you've all got them down. You can read music, count rhythms, learn language, and tell stories. A lot of the music I work with involves a pianist and singer, and duetting is all about communication. In the process of "learning your part," it's easy to forget to look up (or down) at some of the other musical lines happening in tandem with your own.

The Dallas Opera picks its Women Conductors

News

The Dallas Opera has created a new residential program, the Institute for Women Conductors. "This program has already generated tremendous international interest, and over extremely 100 talented women applied -- from the U.S. and 26 other countries. The field was extremely competitive, and the acceptance on the program is recognition of the significant accomplishments in the candidate’s career to date."

Arizona Opera, on tradition

Editorial

“Is this going to be a traditional production?” As the Education Manager at Arizona Opera, this is the question I am asked most about operas in our upcoming seasons, and I must confess, I don’t really know how to answer it. After all, what tradition are we talking about?

Relationships and the road

Editorial

Even if there's endless respect for each others' careers, working away from home means that you will have experiences without that person. You can tell them about the incredible show you sang, or send photos of the beautiful cities you visit, but it will never be the same as having them there with you. Not only that, but you will have these experiences with other people.

Tune into Cardiff 2015

Interview

Mark your calendars! From June 14-21, you can watch the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition online at bbc.co.uk/cardiffsinger. There are four instalments each of the Song Prize and Main Prize categories; Song Prize Recital 1 is June 14 at 2:30pm, GMT (9:30am for Torontonians), and the Main Prize concerts begin June 15 at 7:30pm (2:30pm EST).

Giving up, caring too little, and other taboos

Op-ed

A couple of articles popped up this week that circle around the big issue of taboo in the arts. Allison Ford, in her "I Gave Up My Dream And I'd Do It Again," talks about her decision to walk away from pursuing a career in theatre, at the tender age of 20-something. Closer to opera is Kathryn McAdam's "Soprano on Sabbatical...What on earth does she mean?", where she reveals a beautifully personal story about her struggles with vocal health that finally trumped all.

Jerry Hadley, on style

Interview

On the recommendation of a colleague, I found this gem of an interview with the late and great tenor Jerry Hadley. At just under half an hour, it's not a big time commitment to listen to the whole thing. But I love what he says starting at 3:16, which is where I've cued up this video below.

6 creative & affordable ways to learn a language

How-to

As classical singers, we constantly are looking for creative ways to learn a language quickly and affordably. Languages are important to our craft: we sing in different languages, we work in different countries, and our colleagues speak different languages. Yet we’re often not in another country long enough to learn the language by exposure alone.