Studio – Training or Cheap Labor? From my conversations with agents I gather that studio programs can be tremendously variable, from cheap labor or inexpensive cover and rehearsal drudge work to a legitimate part of an ensemble, singing small parts with big people, gaining high level knowledge at a good address and maybe growing into …
I just had a lovely chat with a top notch agent in Berlin and he told me a lot about how they hear auditions. Understanding this can clarify and enrich the choice of audition repertoire. It’s in the nature of singing to think narrowly and short term – the next high note or the effect …
Young singers have a super wide horizon but no depth. They know lots about what’s going on today, but nothing about who did what 50 years ago. For lots of things it doesn’t matter, but for opera it does, and agents complain about it. Not knowing who Hans Hotter or Renate Tebaldi were means there’s …
It’s a big deal and will affect you more than people already in the system, so PAY ATTENTION! It’s complicated and very German but it may affect everything from how long you have to rehearse and what roles you might sing to your retirement. It’s called the NV Solo, (Normalvertrag/Solist-the Standard Contract for Soloists) and …
For those of you looking for a Fest engagement this is a good time to start with a private agent or directly with theaters. Theaters must notify singers whose contracts will not renew by mid October, and singers must notify the theater by October 31 if they do not wish to renew their contract. There …
One of the highlights of our latest interview is that singers already have the skill set to learn to speak German. Not from books and word lists, but by real world experience, listening and figuring things out. This is how singer and certified Goethe Institute teacher Lorna Price and many European language teachers approach language …
Summer Vacation (Schulferien/Sommerferien), is the six weeks when theaters close and many Germans take long vacations. This will be over by the end of August with two major exceptions; Bayern (where Munich is) and Baden-Würtenburg (where Stuttgart is located). These two Bundesländer (States) always have their summer vacations at the same time. Like all the …
Summer is ending…know when “Sommerferien” ends for each German State! Read More »
Martha Eason has a lot to say to young American singers and you will be able to find it soon, right here on OperGermany. 38 years after I made my way to Germany, it’s wonderful to see that even after the Covid pandemic, a singer can find a life and make a career in a …
Coming Soon: Interview with Martha Eason, Soprano Read More »
Especially since Covid: Don’t infect others! This was true with nasty colds or flu but is even truer since Covid. It is downright inconsiderate and even nasty to infect others so if you think you have something, stay away from others, get it tested and have a little consideration, it’s the neighborly thing to do! …
How long are singers affected by Covid? Not the disease itself, but the constraints-vocal, sartorial and professional-under which everyone labored during the Pandemic. Singers, especially young inexperienced ones, got all too used to small rooms and short, often informal sessions. ZAV agents commented that many singers were acclimated to small studios and not used to …