Isabelle, thanks very much for your observations. How very interesting for those of us hoping to teach rather than push good voices.
May I propose another topic: What do the later (30 to 40) maturing voices do to build a career without the Met?
D. Moore vocaltech@i... N. CA
Isabelle Bracamonte wrote:
> Sarah, > > Good topic. I haven't competed in them yet, but I > have gone to the Regional finals in San Francisco a > couple of times. > > Could you share what you've observed about your > friends who have won? I'm very curious to hear what > happens to these winners afterward. > > I have a friend who won the Finals and became a Met > apprentice (he was, I believe, 24). He received > excellent training, mainstage performance > opportunities (small parts), and is now in the process > of building a career. It didn't rocket him to > stardom, but it gave him polishing and a boost, so now > he is singing large parts in small cities. > > The competition I observed this year in SF was > strange. There were six or seven singers, most of > whom were sopranos, and they were mostly in their > mid-twenties, polished although not perfect vocally, > and boring, boring, boring to listen to. There was > only one voice there that had an exciting bite to it, > an edge -- and she was a 22-year-old soprano, singing > two fachs too big for her, with what sounded like not > enough technical training or physical stage presence. > She won. The judges, who took a LONG time to decide, > included Runnicles (maestro for SFO) and Jonathan > Friend (stage director for the Met), and someone else. > > The singer chooses an aria, and then the panel > requests one. They almost always asked for a Mozart. > Every single person was asked to sing something that > showed agility. > > The rumor is that the Met apprenticeships take only > the youngest, most precocious superstars. Early > twenties is good; naturally big, early-maturing voices > are good. Although I think this serves a small, > promising segment of the singing population well, it > unfortunately overlooks the dramatic voices, the > spinto voices, the voices who fully mature in the late > twenties and early thirties... in other words, the Met > competition have the reputation of favoring the babies > in the field. Which is great if you're a 23-year-old > Violetta, but not very realistic in terms of the > singing population as a whole. > > Just my observations. I look forward to hearing what > Sarah's friends' experiences with the program were. > > Isabelle B. > > ===== > Isabelle Bracamonte > San Francisco, CA > ibracamonte@y... > > __________________________________________________ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Avoid the lines and visit avis.com for quick and easy online > reservations. Enjoy a compact car nationwide for only $29 a day! > Click here for more details. > http://click.egroups.com/1/3011/3/_/843894/_/957378423/ > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > vocalist-temporary-unsubscribe@o...
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