Audition Top Five

These days, any singer going to auditions has a "top five" arias, usually in several different languages. Even though I'm not a "real" singer, I keep mine polished and they have changed over time. (Back in the days when I auditioned for the "Opera Underground" I don't ever remember having to sing more than one or two at the most.)

For the audition I'm preparing for now, since it's for a Handel opera, I have learned one of the arias that this particular characters sings. It's a new one for me, but I am at home with Handel and in fact one of the things I sing very well is "Rejoice Greatly" from the Messiah, which surprises people since I'm not a high soprano. I do have exceptionally good breath control, however, which I attribute to having had my very first singing lessons while I was still a smoker. So if I had to be able to sing certain phrases with my constricted lungs, once they were able to expand normally, the sky reall was the limit. Also, I've heard through the grapevine that many light sopranos think "Rejoice" is too low and find the runs uncomfortable. Actually, the highest note actually written in the piece is an A flat, which is no big deal for me as a mezzo.

Other than this Handel aria, what I will be bringing will be:

"Acerba Volutta" from Adriana Lecouvreur. This is the aria I consider to be my best at this point. It has a comfortable range (although if I'm not in top form I always worry about having the stamina to nail that ending, which has a big climactic high A in it), and allows me to display a variety of vocal colors. The Principessa is one of those "baby dramatic" roles that suits my voice really well and that I am going to figure out a way to perform somewhere somehow.

"Stella del Marinar" from La Gioconda. I have always found this very easy to sing, probably because I sang the role of Laura when I was 30 and had a lot of chutzpah. So it's just always sort of been there for me.

"Dido's Lament". Auditions always want you to bring something in English. It was a toss up between this and "Must the Winter Come So Soon" (perfect for someone my age and believe me, people cry when I sing this it so comes from my gut) from Vanessa. But since Purcell and Handel are in the same ballpark I opted for Dido. The hard thing with this aria is trying to sing a pianissimo high G at the end but actually the note has no dynamic markings so if I'm worried it might crack I can just sing it full voice.

Last but not least, my signature aria, Dalila's Mon Coeur. If you excerpt this, there's always the agonizing issue of "To B (flat) or not to B". (Many mezzos coopt Samson's High B flat and sing it at the end of the aria if it's taken out of the opera.) Since although I vocalize up to a B natural or a High C, I would really rather have a root canal than have to sing above an A natural in public (although I am making myself do so more and more) I have decided (with my teacher's full approval), not to. He assures me since the note is not written, it is not necessary. If I want to tack an ending on the aria I can sing an F. That's what's written in the mezzo aria book. The entire aria is a seduction (which is why I love it) so if you can't make the high note a soft purr, don't do it. I actually have sung a creditable B flat at the end of Sappho's "O My Lyre Immortelle" which I added to my repertoire this winter to sing at an LGBT-themed fundraiser, but she's about to jump into the ocean, so if the note is a well-anchored full-throated scream, that's fine.

So wish me luck everyone!

Now I'm off at this unGodly hour to sing some Durufle at a 9 am church service. Getting up early isn't my favorite thing, but if I want to conduct myself like someone with a professional church job, this is what one does. As I said in my earlier post, "You Don't Have to Feel Like".