I have to say that I don't agree that small companies are always the best platform for a singer. When you say 'small', how small are you talking? There are so many companies with a different view to what is amateur/pro-am or professional.
In my experience, I haven't had a great time with 'smaller' companies for a number of reasons. I do not agree that a singer should pay to be in an opera. (Yes, pay for a high level opera course.) We are all trying to make a living (if this is your only job). Coaching, language classes and lessons cost a fortune and I'm afraid we all need to take these regularly to pursue a full-time career. The competition is getting harder, so the more effort you put in (and be honest with yourself) the more you get out. If the company cannot afford for the singers NOT to pay, then they really should consider whether or not it is worth putting on opera. May be a concert of excerpts would be better. I know that the art form is elitist by it's very nature, always has been and always will be.
There has to be standards for the singers as well as the company. We, the singer, should not be treated like a pack of wild animals! The accompanist or orchestra NEVER pay to perform in an opera and quite frankly the standard in small companies is very questionable. When I performed a major role with one of these companies, I was horrified that the 'band' were paid. They were so bad during one of my performances that at one point I had to sing the most famous aria in the opera unaccompanied as the orchestra just stopped playing! Does that make sense that they got paid and the soloists didn't?!
Politics seem to play a large part in the smaller companies. If the committee or company members constantly get given the main roles, do not waste outsiders' time and money in holding auditions. It is rude and disrespectful to those that have paid to coach for the role and possibly paid for an expensive train ticket or tank of petrol. The company members in my experience were not the best singers by far, so there seems to be no fair audition process - just a lot of upset for those really trying to progress. If you want to keep using the same singers, DON'T hold open auditions!
Next, is it being better to sing a role for a small company rather than just lessons and coaching? This is where the majority of singers will get left behind because they assume they are good enough to sing certain roles. I'm afraid some singing teachers (that have never had a career OR sung) give bad advice and I'm constantly shocked when I read singers' biographies and the roles they have done and are about to do. Too ambitious by far usually!
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I am privileged to have a singing teacher who has an international career and is singing around the world. I learn more about opera in my lessons than singing with a small group. We are both sopranos so she knows how it feels to sing in different opera houses/concert halls etc. Because she is used to working on a high level I get a tough 'workout' building up my technique, which moves me further on up the ladder even if I haven't performed the role on stage. The same is said for a renowned coach. This is the way to climb the ladder. If you want to pursue a career you need to be 'in' with the right people in the business. It's hard but true. Coaches have links to casting directors and know what operas are coming up in the future, so can advise you on what rep would suit your voice. I have got professional work, being chosen for a role because of who I coached the entire role with. At a high level that is considered better than performing it in the back of no-where for an un-known company - again, harsh but true. I really have learnt the hard way!
Donald Maxwell, the Head of National Opera Studio has coached me in the past and has said that the mid range and bigger companies would rather know you'd worked at a high level, learning a role, than singing in some small companies. You need to be heard or seen working with prestigious musicians at top venues. It looks better on the CV to have just a couple of top gigs than HUNDREDS of big roles from grand opera with an unknown MD, producer or company.
This is why large companies can't hear everyone. If the standard of the work on the CV is not high enough then they have no choice but to reject you. They get thousands of letters for, maybe only one job they have to offer, so they have to be brutal. That's understandable right? Having started in a career of sales and marketing that makes perfect sense to me. If I'm selling something I want the best and cannot afford to waste time on the rest!
A good move up the ladder try and get an audition for extra chorus at the major houses and professional chorus at the mid range companies. All the extra chorus singers I know are all professional soloists and session singers. They tour abroad and the UK working in both fields. It is worth auditioning for an extra chorus job as it is a specialist position for those who can sight-read and have excellent musical & memory skills. Understudies and small roles are usually picked from the chorus so that's your way of working at a top venue with top musicians. It's helped me move up the ladder and after all, isn't it better to use your voice everyday & work on a big stage etc. and get paid for it or work in an office all day and rush to a rehearsal for a big role you'll probably never do in a major house?
I've learnt a lot from prestigious people and also, as a manager of a professional session group I've been on both sides of the audition panel!
Claire Pendleton
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