Here’s a great post from a young soprano just back from an extensive audition tour. It covers a lot of ground but here are some of the high points and brilliant suggestions:
• Lodging
Try single rooms in HOSTELS €20-30 per night
Herberge or Jugendherberge
Single room = Einzelzimmer
WG-gesucht.de sounds like a very useful app. (Get apps over there because they’re usually not available at the US sites. Another great sounding app is “Too Good to Go” for cheap food at the end of the day).
A Wohngemeinschaft is a shared apartment, mostly done by students or young people in hip areas. Shared kitchen, bathroom, cheap rent.
When you can and can’t sing in German residences.
She mentions this important detail: when you can and can’t sing in an apartment.
As a musician you have the right to practice in an apartment, but there are specific times when you can’t
That’s called Ruhezeit and is mostly from 1:00-3:00 PM (13 bis 15 Uhr, but can slightly different in various cities, so check for local variations. The official night Ruhezeit is from 10 PM to 7 AM (22-7 Uhr), but I persanally found it bestnot to practice much after 7 or 7:30 PM 19.30Uhr).
Advantages/Disadvantages of Cologne vs. Berlin as Home Base
• In her two trips Kelsey lived in both cities.
Insights about the feel of each city and travel considerations.
Current information on visa regulations-how long you’re allowed to stay as a tourist.
• Her take on the minimum useful stay and how to manage an extended tour.
Audition Advice
• Great observations and comments
• From Fach to appearance and dress to regional differences she experienced auditioning.
Personal and Daily Life
• What it’s like to live there.
• Smart things about the weather, the short daylight, the everyday plusses for a women there and some of the emotional stresses of a long audition tour. .
• CHECK IT OUT, and
• THANKS TO KELSEY!