Warming up and staying that way is especially critical for auditions. Nobody seems to teach it but it will be required of you, depending on the audition conditions. First, you need to know a few things about German noise regulations and practices as well as finding places where you can sing without unduly disturbing others. The first thing to understand is that as a professional musician you have legally protected rights to sing within certain times and conditions, but there are national and local rules which govern when you CAN’T sing too, called RUHEZEIT. Learn them so you can insist on singing when you need to. I’ll have more on the ins and outs of Ruezeit and professional musicians in a later post.
But that doesn’t solve the problem of staying warm for an audition, especially it you have to wait around until it’s your turn. There are two approaches to this. First, have an aria which you can get out of bed at 3am and sing well. If you need to, you can start with this if your train is delayed or if they call you earlier than expected.
A better way is to start early and use every opportunity to stay warm, be it a train bathroom or dressing room. It probably can’t be a long session, just snippets or a few scales or high notes to keep you energized. Lethargy is the worst enemy, as is talking too much which is likely to take the shine off your voice. Nerves of course are an issue, so some aerobics or movement can be helpful. Don’t be sung out, be sung IN.
In fact, as I’ve grown older I’ve come to think that most of being warmed up is physical: it’s not actually your throat and vocal cords which warm up, it’s your body and breathing apparatus. If your body and breathing apparatus are in the right place your throat and vocal cords should have the technique to respond. So don’t just sit there, get up, go into the hall and do a jumping jack or two to keep loose and ready!