Question and Answer

(The following Question and Answer section was compiled from singers that participated in the first White Nights Opera Auditions.)

Question:  I want to know the results of my audition.  What did the directors say about me?

Answer:  We receive information from Directors about singers slowly.  Some directors have already indicated to us singers they liked and did not like.  Even the singers that they liked may not receive contracts immediately.  This is an audition, not a competition.  Prizes are not awarded the next day.  Directors need to get an idea of voices, the appearance of singers, and then they formulate ideas of how to cast.  It is your agent’s responsibility to support the ideas and wishes of the Directors on your behalf.  Believe me; if there is interest from Directors about you, good agents will follow it.  But, pushing directors to make a decision about a singer is a recipe for disaster.  Directors know what they want and sometimes they do not formulate their opinions right away.  The most important thing is, you auditioned and you were heard. Do not concentrate on the outcome; concentrate on auditioning better next time.

Question:  I hate auditioning.  Why do I need to audition?  I have been told that agents will simply organize contracts for me, without the needing to audition.

Answer: This is myth.  Perhaps 20 years ago this was true.  However, now Artistic Directors have more choices than ever.  Artistic Directors know what type of singer they want.  They know what type of voice will work in the acoustic atmosphere on their opera house.  It is a fact, for instance, that certain singers sound better at Covent Garden then they do at the Metropolitan Opera.  Different houses want different types of voices.  Just audition and your voice will find the right Director and Opera House. 

Especially, in North America, Companies are reticent to hire singers that they have never heard live in a performance or in an audition.  In Russia, roughly 90% of the singers are unknown in the West. In fact, Russians generally audition far less than Western Singers, simply because they do not have the opportunity.  We are creating the opportunity!

 We have tried many times using the leverage of Honored Artist, for example, to push directors to hire a singer.  It does not work.  The Directors need to hear the voice live.  If you are already working with an agency that can invite directors to your performances, then you are in a good position.  If you do not have this type of agency, then you need to audition.

Question:  I made the final audition for the directors.  They only listened to one aria and I feel terrible.  They obviously did not like me or my voice.

Answer:  Not necessarily true.  There were many singers that sang only one aria and that was enough for directors to get an idea of the artist.  Sometimes singers are asked to sing a second aria, just to see if they can sing the second aria.  Still, there many other reasons why some singers sing only one aria.  If you honestly sang poorly; if your intonation was false, if you did not make your high or low notes, if you looked visibly nervous, then of course directors will not be interested.  So, forget about it.  Go home and think about what you need to do technically and presentationally as a singer to make a better impression.  But, do not stop auditioning!!!

Question:  So, I tried this White Nights Opera Auditions.  I spent my $180 and I did not receive any contracts.  I did not even make the final tour.  Why did I spend so much money?  I would be crazy to sing this audition again.

Answer: If you are already a soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre, for example, and are being paid very well, then I would say maybe you are correct.  But, if you are not receiving a good salary and you seek for other opportunities, then I would say you must radically change your attitude.

 If you are professional singer, that is not a star or an established singer, you must audition, period!!!  If you do not wish to audition, pay the fee to audition and travel expenses, and then please become a doctor or a lawyer.  Do something else with your life!!!  It is your professional responsibility as an Artist to audition in front of directors and show yourself as a singer.  You need to prove beyond a doubt that you are a singer that the Directors MUST hire.  If you want to skip auditions that require a fee, then you are losing opportunities to advance your career.

Do you think Maria Sharapova quit playing tennis after she lost her first tournament?  Do you think she said, “This is horrible!  I spent $10,000 to enter this tennis competition and I lost. Obviously I am no good and I should just quit.”  No way.  Ms. Sharapova used the defeat to become a better tennis player.  She used the defeat to become a great champion and most of all she did not quit.  Life, in art especially, is survival of the fittest.  You must try, try, and try again.  You already won by auditioning!  That is a fact!  Those who did not audition lost!!!  However, those that auditioned and were not ready for the audition also lost; they lost, but only that day!!!  Readiness is the all and never quit.

Question:  I am terrible at auditions. I hate auditioning.  I am great in performances and in concert, but auditioning is hard.  How do I get better?

Answer:  Practice auditioning with your peers.  I received this advice from Floyd Anderson of Minnesota Opera, a man with much more experience and wisdom than I. 

Get a group of five singers together in a room and practice auditioning.  One singer will audition and the other 4 singers will critique the audition.  Start from walking in the hall, to announcing your aria, and then sing the aria.  Talk about how the singer looks on stage, how they move.  Do they move too much or too little?  Do they have singer mannerisms, or do they look comfortable on stage?  Did the singer make musical mistakes?  Was their Italian and French diction good?  Did they sing an aria from “Don Carlos” in French or Italian?  It should have been in French.  The best opera companies now use the original French version of “Don Carlos.”  These details tell the Artistic Director everything about you; your experience, education, taste, savoir faire, character, et al.

Also, if the Directors want to talk with you, you must be able to communicate in English.  No questions.  If you do not know a little English, if you are not able to answer questions that a Director asks you during the audition, then the Director will have  serious questions about whether they can work with you or not.  Sometimes with large Opera Companies, language is not an issue, because they have translators.  But, usually it makes a huge difference.

Further, if a singer receives a contract for 7 performances of “Aida” at X Opera Company, for example, but then during the course of the rehearsal, X Opera Company sees that you do not understand the stage director or the conductor, you probably will not be hired back.  Receiving the first contract with an opera company is the easy part.  Being hired back is the difficult part. 

All directors look for singers that have been hired back by companies; singers that have relationships with certain opera companies.  This is a golden sign of a high level professional singer and artist.  If you want to be hired back learn a second language.  My advice would be start with English, because it is the International language of business, then move to German, French and Italian, but not necessarily in that order.   

Question:  I was shocked that there were no warm-up rooms available for singers before the audition.  Why do you not have warm up rooms?

Answer: Cost.  It is too expense to rent extra rooms for the audition.  If we rented extra rooms so singers could warm-up, we would have to radically change the fee structure.  We are trying to keep fees low.

In New York auditions, singers are always expected to arrive for the auditions already warmed up.  Only a few opera companies, like the Metropolitan Opera provide a room for singers before an audition.  Further, we did have a piano available and there were extra rooms where singers were warming up. We always strive to be accommodating as possible.

Question:  Why do I need to sing a preliminary audition?  I already sing at the Mariinsky Theatre and have had numerous contracts in Europe?  Further, I know other singers that were admitted to the final tour without a preliminary audition.  Do you think that is fair?

Answer:  The preliminary audition is for singers that we have not heard, or for singers that we need to compare with other singers that are already singing on the final tour.  This is a question of putting the best singers in front of the Directors.  If we do not provide a high level audition for the Directors, then the Directors will not return for future auditions.  Not every singer is ready to sing for the Directors.

Regardless of your resume, if we have not heard your voice live, then you must sing a preliminary audition.  Still, there were many singers that called and emailed us numerous times saying that they would not sing a preliminary audition.  Further, some demanded that they be put on the final tour after we clearly told them that must sing the preliminary audition. This type of harassment on the part of the singers toward me and my staff is disgraceful. We clearly state the rules of the audition on our website. 

Of course, there were many singers that were not required to sing a preliminary audition and we admitted them directly to the final tour.  But, these singers have incredible biographies and/or our staff had already heard these singers sing in performance on numerous occasions. 

One other note that we would like to make clear:  If a singer was admitted to the final tour of the auditions in May 2007, that does not necessarily mean they will automatically be allowed to audition on final tour in the next White Nights Opera Auditions.  We reserve the right to hear any singers on the preliminary audition.

One last note: In the future all singers that wish to participate in the White Nights Opera Auditions, and are required to sing a preliminary audition, must sing on the preliminary audition days.  There will be no private preliminary auditions allowed.  We will provide all audition dates well in advance, so that the singers can allow time in their schedules.

Other important issues:

* Many singers finished their first aria, then the directors said ‘thank you.’  When the directors say ‘thank you,’ then your audition is over.  Please bow, smile and walk off the stage. 

There were some singers that stood on stage and had the arrogance to say, “You do not want to hear another aria?  I brought with me ‘Nabucco’ and ‘La forza del destino.’”  If the Directors wanted to hear another aria, they would have asked you.  Directors will think you are arrogant and difficult to work with if you continue to stand on stage after the audition.  Remember you are the Artist and you should be proud of your voice.  Do not ruin future opportunities by stubbornly staying on the stage when the directors have already thanked you for auditioning.

* Many of the Directors went to performances at the Mariinsky Theatre in the evenings after the auditions.  Two directors told me that some singers that sang on the White Nights Opera Auditions approached them during the performances (perhaps at the intermission or before the performance began).  Please never, ever, approach directors outside of the audition.  Only if a director approaches you and wants to speak with you personally, can you engage them in conversation.  It is unprofessional for the singer to approach the directors and engage them in conversation outside of the audition hall. 

Also, we had many short coffee breaks for the Directors during the auditions.  This is not a time to approach to directors and start speaking with them.  If you have questions for Directors you are better served by asking our staff or your agent to contact them directly.

* Dress:  Most singers dressed very appropriately for the audition.  Thank you!  However, there were some singers that wore jeans and a t-shirt for the audition.  If you wear jeans and a t-shirt to the audition, do not even sing.  You probably will not be hired by the Directors.  Opera is highest art form.  Dress accordingly.

*Many singers approached me about having a private audition; a consultation before the preliminary auditions.  In fairness to all singers this will not be allowed in future auditions.  If our staff feels that you need to sing the preliminary or we do not know your voice, then must follow our rules and sing a preliminary audition.    

If you would like a private coaching session with Mr. Peter Fleming, please contact our office at: office@whitenightsopera.com  Please note: there is a private consultation fee.  The fee is charged per hour.

*Singers that cancelled or did not show up for the auditions:

We understand that some singers cancelled from their appointed audition times, because they could not receive a VISA, were sick or had a family emergency.  We understand these difficulties; especially with receiving a VISA (this was clearly difficult for some singers from the Republic of Georgia).  However, if you are professional singer you must be extra careful with your health, days and even weeks before the audition.  If you are really sick you should never audition. Auditioning sick is not professional. But, you must inform us in advance that you will not attend, due to sickness.  But, we will not refund the preliminary audition fee if you are sick.

We had over 35 singers not show up for their appointed time at the preliminary auditions.  Very few of these singers called in advance to cancel their audition.  The cancellations were especially prevalent at the St. Petersburg preliminary auditions.  Not arriving at your specified audition time is completely unprofessional and unacceptable.  If you have doubts whether you can sing the White Nights Opera Auditions, then please do not register. 

There were also singers that did not show you for their appointed audition times on final tour!  That is horrible!!!  First, the singer that does not sing on the final tour at their appointed time, not only loses an opportunity for themselves, but also ruins an opportunity for another singer from the preliminary tour, who could have can sang on the final tour.

Dear Singers of the White Nights Opera Auditions, 

The above advises are meant to help singers.  We and all of the attending Directors want all of the singers to do well at the auditions.  With the above statements, we were deliberately frank.  All singers, directors and staff of the White Nights Opera Auditions must strive to be as professional as possible.  This will assure that everyone is successful!!!

If you have any further questions, please email us at: office@whitenightsopera.com