Expert Friday: Enjoy Yourself!

A few choice words of audition advice from Darren Keith Woods, General Director, Fort Worth Opera & Artistic Director, Seagle Music Colony. (And, it just so happens, an alumnus of the WTOC!)

The main piece of advice I would give to a young singer is to sing what they sing best and do not play to the repertoire. Learning an aria for an audition that you haven’t lived with for awhile can be treacherous. You will never sing it as well as something you have coached and worked out – musically and dramatically.

I also like the artist to give me a sense of the dramatic arch of the aria. Don’t just stand and sing – this is not a concert we are hiring you for, we need to see what you bring to the aria dramatically so that we can adequately judge the artist’s ability to put a character across on stage.

Lastly – enjoy yourself. Opera is an amazing, wonderful thing and we are all fortunate to make our livings this way. Perform, enjoy and show us your gifts! That’s all we want.

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Enjoy your weekend! If you're applying for an audition spot in LA, Chicago, Cincinnati, or Houston, the deadline is midnight tonight!