“Really make sure you’re ready for your auditions.” Being a good colleague will get you back.” Your talent got you hired in the first place. Rule number two is always be a good colleague. “Rule number one is always do your homework. It’s really committing yourself to the art form.”Įarly on in their careers, aspiring Opera Singers will spend lots of time freelancing and doing artist-in-residency gigs. It’s about how you present yourself and how you communicate. “It’s more than just how beautifully you sing. She stayed in touch after graduation, sending a “quarterly email, about this is what I’m doing” and when a position as a Teaching Artist opened up, they remembered her. Getting a Manager will expand a young Singer’s career opportunities, but when you’re starting out, Singers will have to “be your own Manager for a period of time.” Spend this time on auditions and studying and just “getting your feet wet” after graduation.īaker got her start thanks in part to an internship with the Minnesota Opera. Take heart if you don’t get hired right away.” “Many times a company will want to hear you sing a few times. “When you sing for somebody, just because they don’t hire you” doesn’t mean they won’t eventually hire you, Baker says. To land that first opera singing gig, audition and network as much as possible. Then there are stars like Renee Fleming, who earn millions. In general, for an Opera Singer, advancement means working with more and more prestigious companies, becoming well-known and earning more money.įor a part-time Singer, salary can be as low as $15,000 a year, but a high-earning performer will make around $250,000. Opera Singers work with the company’s Artistic Director, Music Director, Conductor, Stage Managers, Stage Directors, Assistant Stage Directors, Orchestra Musicians, Cantors, Accompanists, and of course, other Singers and Copyist.Īdvancement really “depends on what kind of artist you want to be,” Baker says. Opera Singers will get one musical rehearsal with the orchestra where they sing the whole opera through, then they get two dress rehearsals, and then the production opens for two to three weeks of performances. On the fourth week, they move into the theatre for tech week, when they move around on the stage for the first time in costume, using props, and experimenting with lighting. Then the company works on staging the opera, a two to three-week process that sees them working generally from 10 am to 10 pm. Everyone will already know the whole piece. On the first day, the whole cast (minus the chorus) joins the Maestro for a sing-through. When Opera Singers are booked for a performance, their schedule is packed. I’m always doing some sort of research, always learning.” I’m always working, even when I’m not getting paid for it.” Like all Opera Singers, she spends a lot of time studying. “I have a Pianist who will come over and work through some things. She has a weekly voice lesson and spends time preparing for recitals, attending rehearsals, or singing on her own for a few hours each day.

I work out, check work emails, and schedule rehearsals.” Baker says that when she’s not part of a performance, she tries to “keep as regular of a schedule as I can.

They also perform in capacities outside the opera setting. I’ll have weeks where it’s a little bit lighter, with one rehearsal a day, or if I’m on a gig that’s a really intense rehearsal period.”ĭuring their downtime, Opera Singers are always studying for their next gig.

Mezzo-soprano Bergen Baker says, “It’s totally an entrepreneurial business. If cast in a production, a Singer’s typical day will be quite different than that of a Singer who’s not currently in the midst of rehearsals. The opera season lasts from September through May and is a varied and intense period for Singers. These performances incorporate costumes, scenery, stage acting, and sometimes dancing. Opera Singers perform pieces that combine a libretto (text) and a musical score accompanied by an orchestra.

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