Lifestyle of an opera singer?

Can anyone describe to me life as a professional opera singer, in as much detail as possible? What is it like getting started? What is it like when your career gets into full swing? I want to know all the details :)

I'm thinking of becoming an opera singer myself, so I just want to know what to expect.

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here in Germany, the style is very different depending on what size opera house you are hired by. If you h ave the great good fortune to be hired by an "A" house ( Berlin, Munich, Cologne, D眉sseldorf, Mannheim, Weimar, Dresden)

you will be thrown into the pool at the deep end- they have shows in performance that run over years, and if you are joining the cast, you will probably have only a few rehearsals before your opening night. Depending on your voice category, you might be triple cast in alot of different operas. thisis where your learned musicianship comes to be a great aid. you won't get many rehearsals with the coach, and the quicker you are at learning notes and text, the easier it will be. There will be lots of people around, ready to give you all sorts of (uneeded) advice and help ( and criticism)

If you are hired by a "B" house or smaller, the pace is much slower, although the work load might not be. ost smaller houses take 6 weeks to prepare a production, and not many are carried over from season to season. Again, you won't get more than 7 or 8 hours of solo coaching, so be prepared to learn in your sleep. Once staging rehearsals start, you will generally be worked to the bone- you will have morning rehearsals from 10 till 2, and then be back on at 6 till 10 at night. For the final production week, you might want to invest in bringing a sleeping bag to the theater ( ok, that's over the top, but there are weeks where you don't know your own apartment or house anymore). Once the show is on the boards, you may get one day off before preparation for the next show begins ( if the musical rehearsals haven't started already) In between will be all the LiederAbende, oratorio concerts, benefits concerts, gala evenings, Opera-in-the-park concerts, etc. that you will do for free. You may put in for a vacation day if you really need it, but they generally limit you to the six-week general holiday in summer. Of course, then there are all the workshops, summer festivals, competitions, etc. that you will want to participate in before you turn 32 ( cut-off age for all except the deep basses. their age limit is all of 35.)

After 2 years, your contract is up for renewal. Don't count on it! You need to go auditioning all over again. ( an agent told me recently that even the agencies don't start accepting singers as marketable soloists until they've reached their third 2-year contract: anyone can have beginner's luck on the first one, there may be a business connection ( or personal one?!?) for the 2nd one, but the third one is a definite sign of artistic marketability)

so, after 2 years of learning to trust the people in your theater, you get to pull up stakes and move elsewhere ( at your own cost) and start all over again. Of course, there are those who come in with such high skills that they are immediately noticed. If you are one of the Chosen, you don't really need to attach yourself to one theater, you can remain free-lance, choosing only those roles that you care to take on. You'll be travelling quite a lot, and will have to decide whether you want/need a permanent residence somewhere. you'll also do without those glorious benefits that you get in a contract job- medical insurance, dental insurance, pension plan, etc. Once you are freelance, you get to take care of this all by yourself. OH, and taxes! As an American citizen working abroad, you will be filling out not only your American tax forms, but German ones as well.

I could carry on for a couple more years with this, but it's a start. ( I've been at the City Theater of Aachen, Germany for 22 years now.)

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I am a fan of all genres of music including opera. I know three opera singers (2 sopranos and 1 tenor) who are just starting their careers.

Two have completed their University degrees in Bachelor of Performing Arts in Voice and Performance and have graduated with First Class Honours at University. The other is still at Uni completing his Honours degree.

Two are currently in London furthering their studies and career opportunities. One is studying at the Royal Academy of Music and the other is at the Royal College of Music.

It requires long hours of hard work to become an opera singer, as you need to learn lines like an actor and understand music like a composer and sing the highest art form written for the human voice. Sometimes you are required to dance, so you need to take a few dance lessons as well.

It would be strongly advised that you learn a musical instrument as that would add to your musical knowledge and help you sight read quickly and efficiently.

You need to be exposed to all forms of classical music (Romantic, Baroque) and understand how opera is performed. Understand how recitals, oratorios, operas and concerts are performed. Listen to operas on the radio or on DVDs or CDs and go to see operas as often as you can afford to. Some operas are very expensive, but you can go to student operas at the local university.

This is where upcoming and talented young opera singers gain attention and get valuable experience. Never turn your nose down at other genres of music as you need to appreciate and respect pop/rock and jazz to be a great operatic artist.

Most of all, you need to look after your voice, which means no smoking, no drinking alcohol and no dairy as that brings on mucus. No chocolate before performing as that will also bring up mucus. Drink water at room temperature or apple juice or orange juice. Some people don't like orange juice because it's too pulpy.

Some of the best opera stars you can listen to include Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, Tito Gobbi, Guiseppi Di Stefano, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and many more. Or just search for them on YouTube.

Hope this helps make up your mind.
I concur with ChameleonGirl. I'm a multigenre musician myself, so I understand what goes on in several musical fields. As I understand things, the Classical music field is a world all by itself, and that is true, in spades, of Opera. Everything the Classical, and especially the Opera, musician does is focused on the most consistent possible delivery of the Composer's intentions, including lifestyle out-of-music.

A previous question I fielded concerned a female pianist-in-training, spec. the use of nail paints, which I understand to be the exception in the Classical music field--it's just another variable to be stabilized or eliminated:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

(Of course, in the Pop/Rock, Country, and Jazz worlds, painted nails are a non-issue.)

In Opera, occasionally the singer-actress needs her nails in a specific color in order to approach the character description for the part she is assigned (somewhat of a rarity, as few Classical- and Romantic-era character descriptions would need it, excepting certain roles in the Giuseppe Verdi tragedy Aida, set during the Golden Age of the Middle Kingdom in Egypt). The cosmetics manufacturers are doing what they can to reduce the VOCs in their enamels and lacquers (not an easy task), a side benefit being reduced exposure to the solvent vapors therein (a non-issue in most manicurists' salons nowadays, as ventilation hoods are necessary to satisfy recent amendments to Code).
Visit this opera singer's site:

http://www.danielledeniese.com/

Contact her promotions manager with your questions, and perhaps they will be forwarded to her.

linda.siemon@umusic.com

Also contact the IU Jacobs School of Music, one of the best in the world for opera singers. I'm sure you'll get some answers there.

http://www.music.indiana.edu/department/...

You may e-mail:

voicedep@indiana.edu

Good luck, and go for it!