Relocating!

Hi All,

I've been totally MIA for two years, but I have not been idle! I have decided to resurrect my blog, but on my website.

From now on, you can find me blogging at saracrigger.com

Hope to see you there!

Finally, I've heard back from the first of the auditions I did back in November!

Granted, the answer was a no (albeit, an encouraging no), but it's nice to have an answer one way or another.

This answer came from Opera Theater Pittsburgh, one of the auditions I felt like went really well. I guess its probably a good thing that I got my "no" so late. It sounded like they waited until they knew they had all of the roles filled before contacting me, so maybe they had me on their backup list? Who knows...

I do have another audition scheduled for the first week of February, and have yet to hear from the other two auditions I did before the holidays, so hopefully there will be something for me. I only need one yes!

The Big Tease

Hi all, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I certainly did. My husband and I traveled with my MIL to spend the week with my parents in South Carolina. My brother-in-law also came up from Atlanta, so we had our first blended family Christmas. It was great!

So all those auditions I did back in November and December? I'm still waiting to hear back with a final word. What I did get (the two days before Christmas!) was emails telling me I could expect to hear something after the holidays. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to know I'm still in the running, but what a tease!

Nothing Like a Quick Turnaround!

If I thought a Thursday notification for a Saturday audition was quick, I've now learned that the turnarounds get even faster.

Last Monday, I got an email at 5pm asking me to come to Cincinnati for an audition Tuesday at 1pm. Fortunately, I was able to work a way to miss my Tuesday morning class and my rehearsal with my accompanist so I could head up there. I also made arrangements to move back my audition for the spring opera at school.

I made the four hour drive from Nashville. It was significantly colder in Cincinnati than it was in Nashville. There was literally nowhere I could warm up once I got there. Not even the bathroom. I should have warmed up in the car. I was told I could go outside (in the freezing cold) to warm up. So what did I do? I learned from my teacher how to warm up my voice very quietly, with a series of barely audible slides, arpeggios, etc., but I had never done that in a situation like this, so I wasn't sure it would work.

The auditions started late. I was the first person of the day. When I was told they were ready, I took the elevator up a few floors to the audition room. There were three judges. I hadn't experienced that before in a YAP audition, though they somehow managed to not make it feel like an inquisition. They were very open and friendly. 

The pianist was, thankfully, very good. I started with Faites-lui (those super quiet warm ups worked!), then they asked for my musical theater piece (People Will Say We're in Love). One of the judges actually said he really liked my handling of musical theater! That same judge also wanted to know how on earth I ended up singing opera after doing my undergraduate at Berklee (long story....maybe I'll share sometime). As I was waiting for the elevator to take me back down, I could hear them talking about me....all good things!

The drive back to school took a little longer than I would have liked. I had to run straight into my audition for the spring opera, and then straight into a three hour orchestra rehearsal. I think I got through it by sheer adrenaline.

Negatives aside, I felt like this was one of the more successful auditions I have done. Hopefully I will hear something from them and the other auditions soon!

Audition Experiences

It has certainly been a busy couple of weeks!

On top of the audition I was already preparing for last time I wrote, I got a surprise...that Thursday, I heard from a company who wanted me in Cincinnati that Saturday for the audition. Nothing like a quick turnaround!

Fortunately, I could use the exact same material that I was already planning to sing for the audition last Wednesday.

I have to say, I have a better feelin about the one I did last Saturday than about the one last Wednesday. On Saturday, the auditioner seemed to have a much more positive response, asking me for all three of my offered pieces, and giving me a hearty "Well done!" at the end of my audition. Wednesday, I was only asked for two of my three pieces, and rather than sitting and watching me, the auditioner wandered around the room looking everywhere BUT at me! It was really strange. It seemed like he was listening, because he was taking notes, and I recognize that some people find it easier to give their full attention of they are moving around, but this was distracting and quite frankly, rude. Has anyone else had an experience like this? 

Audition Repertoire: What Should I Sing?

I have been emailing back and forth with my teacher since I found out I had been granted an audition for a YAP. This particular audition isn't asking for a standard five aria audition package.

Because of the works they are doing this summer (I wrote about it here), they are specifically asking for a German aria in order to be considered for Abduction, and aria in English, and they are also suggesting (though not requiring) a work from American musical theater. Three arias in total.

Can I just say how hard it is to find a German aria for a light lyric mezzo? The Sandman aria from Hänsel und Gretel is a possibility (it's technically a lyric soprano role, but is sung by both lyric sopranos and lyric mezzos), and of course, Prince Orlofsky's aria from Die Fledermaus (I bet there will be a LOT of people doing this one), but after that, the only other aria that has been suggested to me is Nancy's aria from Martha. None of these pieces are currently in my rep, and since there are only chorus roles for mezzos in Abduction, I will probably begin learning the Sandman aria for future auditions, but not offer it for this one. I'm thinking I will sing one of the Cherubino arias to show that I can sing Mozart and not worry so much about the German part.

The next conundrum is the English aria. I have an English aria in my regular audition package ("I have dreamt" from Wuthering Heights), but I also have "Laurie's Song" in my repertoire. It might make sense to do something from the opera they are planning to do, but that aria has so much rubato that I'm not sure how I feel about doing it with a pianist I have never met or rehearsed with. I'm wondering if it's ok to do an aria from an opera you know is planned, and also whether it's advisable to an aria that complex in an audition?

Lastly, the third aria...I don't have much musical theater in my rep. However, I have been working on an aria from Trouble in Tahiti by Leonard Bernstein that comes pretty close to musical theater style. The only thing is, it's on the long side for an audition, and I'm wondering if there is a way for me to cut it? I will figure it out this week!

Auditions for Auditions

I have an audition! Woo hoo!

I received my audition notification from Opera North today. I'm pretty excited about it. They are planning Abduction from the Seraglio, The Tender Land, and West Side Story for this coming summer, which are (amazingly enough) all works that are NOT too heavy for my voice (I am a light lyric mezzo...Verdi would sound ridiculous coming from me), though Abduction does not have a mezzo role that I am aware of.

My excitement over my upcoming audition was tempered by yet another email saying I was not needed for a live audition (though they did at least offer to put me on a wait list should an audition slot open up).

So far, that makes for two granted auditions and 5 or 6 rejections (I've mostly stopped counting).

I'm keeping in mind that I only need one yes.