I have a friend who is now singing major roles at regional houses, and
secondary roles in the Ring at Lyric Opera of Chicago. The only "pay to
sing" she ever did was to produce her own LE NOZZE DI FIGARO a few years
ago, so she would get her first role on her resume. She's been supporting
herself as a singer for several years now, between opera chorus and a
well-paying church section leader/cantor/wedding-and-funeral soloist gig.
She does say the world changes when one finally gets an agent. She no
longer has to send tapes to make the "first cut" in auditions. Instead of
sending a tape, she has her agent call.
From what I've observed, it's not a matter of where you do the
performances at the beginning of your career - but the fact that you do
them. Doing one's own production of a chamber opera seems to be a good
(and cheaper) alternative to forking out $3K for the privilege of flying
to an expensive exotic destination to sing a secondary role in an opera
you might just as easily produce yourself at home and sing the lead in.
I would, however, strongly urge you to seek out good workshops that can
actually teach you skills you will use. The Crittenden Workshop, which
only costs about $400 for two intense weeks of long days (veterans refer
to it as "opera boot-camp") of coaching, classes, and preparing several
scenes from operas for performance, is probably one of the best deals
around for the aspiring singer who wants to learn about operatic
stagecraft.
Karen Mercedes
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
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One must be something if one
wishes to put on appearances.
- Ludwig von Beethoven
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