Monday, December 08, 2008

Nella testa ho un campanello che suonando fa din din...

We are struggling with summer repertoire and calendars that refuse to bend to our will. This is business as usual for anyone who's insane enough to choose singers simultaneously with repertoire. But it's worsened by the severe limitations of our two venues - one that's so small and specific that you have to be very careful not to overextend it, and one that so huge and busy that it's hard to carve out just the right niche.

We're used to this masochistic December exercise, but this year is one of the more challenging I can remember. The whole puzzle is never complete until well after the new year, but by this point the number of variables should be on the decline. Sadly, the options are increasingly daily, and my head just might explode.

Anyway, this too shall pass. I'm just trolling for sympathy (and impunity for the dearth of blog postings....)

Short Attention Span

In the meantime, here's some interesting surfing:

If you're looking for a sartorial summary of this fall's audition tour, visit Rahree's Audition Recap: Fashion Edition.

Chicago Opera Theatre's Brian Dickie has a host of on-the-money comments in his recent "mock" audition blog post.

From Seth Godin, a short post that I read at least five times: The Noise. As attracted as I am to all things Web 2.0, I often feel as if I'm drowning. "The thing is, not all data is equal, and measuring the truth based on volume is almost certain to get you in trouble."

And finally, if you haven't yet stumbled on the YouTube Symphony, you should check it out. I'm curious, skeptical, and jazzed all at the same time. I wish I didn't have a day job (well, not really... that's not something you can joke about these days... but you know what I mean), and I would kick off a YouTube Opera. I can already imagine it. That is, minus the couple thousand hours it would take to implement it...

Since You've Asked

I'm also derelict on responses to blog comments/questions. Let's try to remedy that.

Just curious: if you have a doubts about "real" fach of mezzo, do you ever mentioned in your feedback your doubts? What is the proportions of "true" or "doubtful" mezzo? Voce di donna, seems, impossible to sing being not a true mezzo (as it should be a contralto). If you have to choose, would you prefer for your studio the "true" one but less polished or zwischen with a better technique?

I will only mention our doubts about Fach if asked. We can have our opinions, but we'd be fools to believe that we have the definitive answers based on a 10-minute audition once a year. And the whole thing is a sliding scale. There are plenty of successful mezzos out there who are considered by some to be sopranos-in-disguise. It's a combination of the relative size and projection of the voice in its various registers, where the natural breaks lie, the subjective "color" of the sound, and the way in which it handles the extremes of the mezzo tessitura. As for choices for the Studio, we try not to get too bound up in this with undergraduates. But because our Studio does sing some chorus roles in our operas, we need women who will sing the mezzo line. All we care is that these ladies are self-described mezzos who are singing comfortably and effectively in that register at this moment. What they will become, and whether or not they are emergent lyric or dramatic sopranos doesn't matter.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Who is Singing What: The Aria Frequency List

The fall 2008 version of the List is here. Please forgive any typos/inconsistencies. I'm a little distracted by trying to put together next summer's rep while in a general state of post-audition-tour frazzledness. (OK, I made that up, but it's a good word to have. Frazzlidity? Frazzlation?)

The Framework

315 singers were scheduled for an audition this year.

  • 39% sopranos
  • 16% mezzo-sopranos
  • 2% countertenors
  • 17% tenors
  • 19% baritones
  • 7% basses or bass-baritones
Each singer offers 4 arias in his/her audition, resulting in a sample of 1,260 arias. This list summarizes the frequency with which these selections were offered - not the frequency with which they were chosen during the actual audition.

We require one aria by either Mozart, Handel or Rossini; and one aria in English.


SOPRANO

Popular Pamina
Ach ich fühl's (27X)

Blondchen in Second Place
Durch Zärtlichkeit (15X)

10-15 X
Caro nome
Deh vieni
Je veux vivre
No word from Tom / I go to him
Quando m'en vo

5-10 X
Ach ich liebte
Adieu notre petite table
Ah je ris (Jewel Song)
Ain't it a pretty night
Amour ranime mon courage
Be kind and courteous
Chacun le sait
Chi il bel sogno di Doretta
Come scoglio
Da tempeste
Dearest Mama
Depuis le jour
Der Hölle Rache
Embroidery aria
Glitter and be gay
How beautiful it is
Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante
Je marche / Obéissons (Gavotte)
Je suis encor
O wär' ich schon
Oh! quante volte
Piangerò
Porgi amor
Prendi per me
Presentation of the Rose
Quel guardo / So anch'io
Regnava nel silenzio
Song to the Moon (Rusalka)
Tornami a vagghegiar
Willow song

2-4 X
Adele's Audition aria
Ah fors'è lui / Sempre libera
Ah! fuggi il traditor
Ah! non credea / Ah non giunge
Batti batti
Come now a roundel
Comme autrefois
D’Oreste d’Ajace
Das war sehr gut
Dich teure Halle
Dove sono
Du gai soleil
Einst träumte / Trübe Augen
Elle a fui
Ernani involami
Es gibt ein Reich
Fire aria
Il est doux
In uomini
Joy Beyond Measure, Mother
Klänge der Heimat (Czàrdàs)
Kommt ein schlanker Bursch' gegangen
Lady with a hand mirror
Love me big
Mein Herr Marquis (Laughing song)
Mi tradì
Myself I shall adore
Non mi dir
Nun eilt herbei
O luce di quest'anima
Ombre pallide
Ou va la jeune Hindoue? (Bell song)
Padre germani addio
Par le rang / Salut à la France
Qui la voce
Sì mi chiamano Mimì
Silver Aria
Steal me
Stridono lassù
Sul fil d'un soffio
Tacea la notte / Di tale amor
Tatiana’s letter scene
Tiger! wetze nur die Klauen
To this we've come
Trees on the mountain
Tu che di gel
Un bel dì vedremo
Welche Wonne welche Lust

Once
A vos jeux
All that I ask (Beauty and the Beast - Giannini)
Always through the changing
Barbara! io ben lo so
Bel piacere
Bel raggio
Bester Jüngling
But you do not know this man
Cathedral Aria
Ch’io mi scordi di te...non temer amato bene
Come per me sereno
Cruda sorte
Di, cor mio
Divinités du Styx
E ben altro il mio sogno
Ebben! ne andrò lontana
Emily's Aria from Our Town
Entre l'amour, Teresa (Benvenuto Cellini)
Fair Robin
Fear to the Sinner, Ades, The Tempest
Furie terribili
Gluck das mir verbliebt (Marietta's Lied)
I want magic
I yearn so t' know things (Cold Sassy Tree)
I'm full of happiness
In quelle trine morbide
Injurious Hermia
Iolanta's aria
Je suis Titania
La Petenera (La Marchenera - Torroba)
Lagrimas Mias- Zarzuela
Laurie's Song
Les oiseaux dans la charmille
Lisa’s Aria (Queen of Spades)
Marie's Lullaby - Wozzeck
Meine Lippen Sie Kuessen So Heiss
No solo soy mi nombre
Non disperar
Non, monsieur mon marie
Now then, notebook Florence!
O mio babbino caro
O toi qui prolongeas mes jours
O zittre nicht
Och jaky zal... Ten lasky sen (Bartered Bride)
Or sai
Pleurez mes yeux
Plus de depit, plus de tristesse (Les deux Avares - Gretry)
Sabrina's Aria (Colonel Jonathan the Saint - Argento)
Se tanto piace al cor
Senza mamma
Summertime
Sventurata (Clorinda)
Tanto amore segreto; Tu che di gel sei cinta
The Fairy Godmother's Aria - Cendrillon
Traurigkeit
V'adoro pupille
Viljalied
Volta la terrea
What good would the moon be
What is man - The Mother of Us All
Zeffiretti lusinghieri
Zerbinetta's aria


MEZZO

Dorabella & the Composer
Smanie implacabili (16X)
Sein wir wieder gut (13X)

5-10 X
Give him this orchid
Must the winter come so soon
Nobles Seigneurs salut
Non più mesta
Non so più
Parto parto
Que fais-tu
Svegliatevi nel core
Things change Jo
Una voce poco fa
Va! laisse couler mes larmes
Voi che sapete

2-4 X
All'afflitto è dolce il pianto
Connais-tu le pays
Cruda sorte
Deh per questo istante
È amore un ladroncello
Enfin je suis ici
Faites-lui mes aveux
I shall find for you (Lullaby)
Je vous ecris (Letter scene)
L'amour est un ouiseau rebelle (Habanera)
O mio Fernando
Pauline's aria (Podrugi milïye)
Pres des remparts (Seguidilla)
Priva son d'ogni conforto
There is a garden
Thy hand Belinda / When I am laid in earth
Vois sous l'archet (Violin aria)
What a movie
Wie du warst

Once
Acerba voluttà
Ah quel diner (Tipsy Waltz)
Ah! mon fils
Amour! viens aider ma faiblesse
As I was saying
Begbick's Act 1 Aria (Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny)
Che farò
Con l'ali di costanza
Cruda furie
Di tanti palpiti
Disprezzata Regina
E destin! Debbo andarmene coraggio! (Musetta's Aria from Leoncavallo's Boheme)
Empio dirò tu sei
I am an actress (Nina's aria)
I do not judge you John
I was standing in a garden
Iris hence away
L'angue offeso mai riposa
Lyubasha's Aria from The Tsar's Bride
Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix
Nimmermehr wird mein Herze
Non ha piu che temere
O ma lyre immortelle
O Pallida
Pensa alla patria
Per questa fiamma indomita
Presti omai
Printemps qui commence
Puppet, Why So?
Scherza infida
Sgombra è la sacra selva / Deh! Proteggimi
Spero per voi
Stella del marinar
The empty handed traveler
The Witch's Aria - Haensel und Gretel
Torna di Tito al lato
Tu sola..Deh! tu, deh! tu, bell'anima


COUNTERTENOR

2-3 X
I know a bank
J'ai perdu mon Euridice/Che farò senza Euridice
Venti, turbini

Once
Al lampo dell'armi
Barbara!
Chacun à son goût
Cielo! se tu il consenti
Di tanti palpiti
Dolce d'amor compagna
Domero la tua fierezza
Il Padre Adorato
Lucidissima face
Rompo i Lacci
Stille Amare
Svegliatevi nel core
Torna di Tito a lato


TENOR

Tamino Takes All
Dies Bildnis (23X)

5-10 X
Ah lève-toi soleil
Here I stand
Il mio tesoro
Kuda kuda (Lenski)
Lonely House
New York Lights
O Colombina
O wie ängstlich
Un aura amorosa
Una furtiva lagrima

2-4 X
Addio fiorito asil
Ah fuyez
Ah mes amis
Albert the Good
Alles fühlt der Liebe Freuden
Che gelida manina
Dal labbro il canto
De' miei bollenti spiriti
Dein is mein ganzes Herz
Ecco ridente
En fermant les yeux (La Rêve)
Firenze è come un albero
Frisch zum Kampfe
I must with speed amuse her
Ich baue ganz
Im Gegenteil (Tanzmeister)
Jour et nuit
Kleinzach
La donna è mobile
La fleur (Flower song)
Miles! (Quint's aria)
Outside this house
Parmi veder le lagrime
Pourquoi me reveiller
Povero Ernesto
Quanto è bella
Questa o quella
Recondita armonia
Salut! demeure chaste e pure
Sì ritrovarla
Tarquinius does not wait
Un momento di contento
Vainement ma bien aimée

Once
Ah la paterna mano
Ah! Je vais l'aimer
Amor ti vieta
Aria of the Worm
Au mont Ida (Judgment of Paris)
Avant de quitter ces lieux
Celeste Aida
Cessa di più resistere
Ch’ella mi creda
Ciel e terra armidi ?
De este apacible rincon de Madrid
Del Destino (Florencia en el Amazonas)
Dentro il mio petto
Di ad Irene
Donna non vidi mai
È la solita storia
Fantaisie aux divins mensonges
Fatto inferno...Pastorello d'un povero armento
Forte e lieto
Fra poco a me ricoverò
Gott! Welch Dunkel hier!
It Ain’t Necessarily so
It's about the way people is made
Je l'ai vue
Love sounds th’alarm
Nessun dorma
Se all'impero
Sotto una quercia parvemi
Svegliatevi nel core
Total Eclipse
Tra sospetti
Tradito schernito
Tu vivi, e punito
Warm as the autumn light
Where e'er you walk


BARITONE

Baritone National Anthems
Hai già vinta la causa (23X)
Avant de quitter ces lieux (17X)

10-15 X
Ah! per sempre
Billy in the Darbies
Largo al factotum
Mein Sehnen (Pierrot's Tanzlied)
Papageno's suicide aria
5-9 times
Come Paride vezzose
E fra quest'ansie (Silvio)
Lieben Hassen
Mab
O du mein holder Abendstern
O Nadir
Onegin's aria
Per me giunto / Io morrò
Questo amor
Rivolgete
Yeletsky's aria (Ya vas lyublu)

2-4 X
Aprite un po quegli occhi
Bella siccome un angelo
Come un' ape
Deh, vieni alla finestra
Der Vogelfänger
Di Provenza
É sogno?
In youth the panting slave
Madamina
Maxim’s
O vin dissipe la tristesse
Onegin's Second Aria
Schaunard's aria
Sois immobile
Vien Leonora
Warm as the autumn light
When the air sings of summer
Within this frail crucible

Once
Ah! Je Meurs - Don Carlos - Verdi
Blick ich umher'
C'est mon jour supreme
Choa En-lai's aria (Nixon in China)
Clayton McAllister’s aria (Cold Sassy Tree)
Credo in un Dio crudel
Cruda funesta smania
Dieux qui me poursuivez
Do you know the land?
Donne mie
Ein Mädchen
Era eguale la voce (Gianni Schicchi)
Ha! Welch ein Augenblick
Heiterkeit und Fröhlichkeit - Der Wildschütz (Lorzing)
I Can't Tell You (Grapes of Wrath)
Il balen
I'll be there (Grapes of Wrath)
Joseph’s confession
L'onore! Ladri!
Minnie, dalla mia casa son partito
My Friends
News has a kind of mystery
Non più andrai
Non siate ritrosi
Raimbaud's Aria from Le Comte Ory
Riez, Allez, Riez Du Pauvre Ideologue
Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo
Scintille, diamant
See the raging flames arise
Si corre dal notaio (Gianni Schicchi)
Single bed blanket (Willie Stark - Floyd)
Snooks Aria from A Wedding (Bolcom)
Soliloquy from Carousel
Spectre infernal
Tomsky's Ballad from The Queen of Spades
Tower Scene Aria from Pelleas et Melisande
Tu sei il cor
Vision fugitive
Voici des roses
Votre toast (Toreador)
Woman, I'll not have your suspicion
Wouldn't you like to be on Broadway


BASS & BASS-BARITONE

5-7 X
Aprite un po'
Madamina (Catalogue aria)
Vi ravviso
Vous qui faites l'endormie

2-4 X
Arise ye subterranean winds
Come dal ciel
Come Master!
Hear me O Lord
Il lacerato spirito
I'm a lonely man Susannah
In diesen heil'gen Hallen
La calunnia
Non più andrai
O Isis und Osiris
Quand la flamme
Se vuol ballare
Sorge infausta
Vecchia zimarra
Votre Toast

Once
A un dottor della mia sorte
Abendlich strahlt
Boris' Monologue
Dalle stanze ove Lucia
Deh ti ferma
Épouse quelque brave fille
Ha! welch' ein Augenblick!
I miei rampolli femminini
King René’s aria (Gospod' moy)
La vendetta
Le Tambour-Major
Leave me loathsome light
Let things be like they always was
Mein Herr und Gott
O du mein holder Abendstern
O ruddier than the cherry
O tu Palermo
O! du mein holder Abendstern
Pyramus’ monologue
Scintille diamant
Seigneur, rempart et seul soutien
Si la rigeur
Sibilar
Tu Sei il Cor
Udite o rustici
When my cue comes call me
Wie schoen ist doch die Musik