A Routine Refusal

As you may recall, recently I auditioned for the Boston Lyric Opera.  Today I received the following email message.  Curt?  Not really.  Concise and forthright?  I think so.  At least the BLO made the courteous gesture of responding in some fashion.  I typically receive no response at all from most auditions.  That is unless the client is interested in my talents.  I’m used to not getting the gig.  In fact, one has to be inured to it in this crazy industry.  At least I have a gig later this week to look forward to.

Rolling with it

This past Friday I had an audition that was important to me for a variety of reasons.  A few weeks ago I had solicited for one of the time slots in the Boston Lyric Opera general auditions.  These are typically annual auditions at which those who are selected may showcase their wares for the listening panel while not being considered for a specific role or production.  Since this was to be my first formal singing audition in quite awhile, I wanted to do my best to have everything in order. 

After having been briefly sick, and after the performance of the Mozart, I worked to focus on the audition and presenting the best me possible.  I thought of bobsled drivers who take photos of competition tracks and their turns, and then mentally review the runs multiple times in the weeks leading up to the event so they have achieved a laser-like focus.  I made a list … Read more »

Last Night

Last night:

  • was the final performance of the Boston Lyric Opera run of the Doucet/Barbe production of Les Contes d’Hoffmann.
  • was the last time I had to be swathed in cold, gold body paint that sounded–during application–not unlike a small puppy licking my face.
  • was the last night I had to spend 30 minutes removing flaky, gold body paint that had drifted to parts undesired during performance.
  • I realized the amazing beauty in the living art that is opera–singers, artists, musicians, technicians, stagehands coming together out of a desire to create a sentient, mobile, audible medium that can only be appreciated to its utmost live, in person and in a theatre.
  • I vowed (to myself) to seek more work with fun, talented, friendly people like those I met in this show.
  • I believed I could actually resume a busy singing audition schedule–and win auditions.
  • I pledged to make this last night only the first of many.

A Muse in Action

Photo: Jeffrey Dunn