Opera has been around for millions of years, and is humanity’s oldest art form. An opera is defined as a dramatic work combining text and music, and was started by cavemen, back when they were riding pet dinosaurs to work. An early example is the unnamed opera that Fred and Barney try desperately to get […]
Category Archives: Opera
Setting Opera Goals
So the other night my wife and I started our semi-annual discussion about goals and what we want for the future. She always has a much better idea of what she wants than I do (she wants to go to grad school, she wants Ruby to take music lessons, etc.), but we both do well […]
How to Sing with Vibrato
Some of you out there may be wondering what the difference is between opera singing and the normal singing done by people like Taylor Swift and your drunk cousin at your wedding four years ago. Well, the answer to that is vibrato. Vibrato is an Italian word, meaning to vocally wobble uncontrollably, and it is […]
How I Fell Off the Stage
So there I was, backstage after the end of Act 2, waiting to run out for the curtain call. The stage went black, and we all started running out in a line, up the stairs and onto the platform. The problem was a complete lack of light, no glow tape on the platform edges, and […]
The Perks of Being an Opera Singer
Every once in a while, some poor person uses google to find my blog using some bizarre search term that is not going to get them what they are looking for. In fact, that happens every day. But every once in a while, I decide to fill their need and give them what they want, […]
La Rondine
The story of Puccini’s “La Rondine” may be familiar to those of you who have seen Puccini’s “La Traviata,” (written by Verdi) as they have identical plots. However, I will describe the plot in great detail to you here anyway, because Puccini did at least have the decency to change the characters’ names, which can […]
The Cost of Singing
In your regular life, you may know some musicians. You know, the ones who are always broke? Yes, them. The poor starving musician is so prevalent that it has become cliche. However, you may also have heard what musicians get paid. Sometimes it is a lot, and you think, “Why don’t these guys have any […]
The Difference Between an Opera Job and an Office Job
For those of you thinking of quitting your 9-5 office job and becoming an opera singer (and I know there are a lot of you), you should be prepared for the many subtle differences between the two careers. It’s true, they seem similar on the surface, but, just so that you are not surprised on […]
43 Hours – 4 Shows
So here I am feeling like I’m at the end of this Gianni Schicchi production, when the maestro announces last evening that we are over the hump. 5 shows down, 4 to go. Wait a minute! 4 to go? 2 days from now I’m going to be hanging out with my family! How can there […]
Reviews
So the reviews are coming in for Gianni “Johnny” Schicchi, which means I have to read them, and then decide if I care about them or not. Reviews are a double-edged sword in many ways. A wise voice teacher once told me, “If you believe the good ones, then you have to believe the bad […]