Audition Tips Series – Part 2

How Do I Prepare for an Opera Audition?

In my last blog, I talked about some general audition expectations and provided some tips on how to prepare for auditions. Today, I will be sharing tips on how to prepare for an opera audition.

For opera auditions, generally each company or program will have a similar audition format, where you will select your first aria and then the panel will select your second aria because they will want to hear you sing in a different language, a different composer and are looking for aspects of musicianship of on your second elected aria.

I want to emphasize these 3 points for an opera audition.

Dress professionally – you want to dress your best and if appropriate, dress for the role you would like to be casted in for the upcoming production.

Show up early – Showing up early is important because you want to not only be professional, but also be prepared for logistics of the audition process

Warmup really well – Warming up your voice is a critical part to your audition success! Give yourself enough time to warm up and stretch. Warm up for at least 10-15 minutes and stay hydrated!

Here are some additional tips in being well-prepared for an opera audition:

-Introduce yourself (remember to be yourself too!)

–Provide your binder of sheet music prepared for the accompanist at the audition.

-Or provide your own accompanist to the audition room. Depending on if you have one already or if they don’t provide one.

–Have a variety of music prepared consisting of different composers, vocal range, and languages in French, Italian, English and German.

-Sing your heart out!

-Important, be kind to the panel and be sure to thank the panel for the opportunity to audition.

Check out these additional opera audition tips from Pensacola Opera

Best of luck on your audition journey! I hope these tips are helpful!

In my next blog, I will talk about how to prepare for a musical theatre audition. Please comment below your opera audition experiences and be sure to subscribe to my blogs! Thank you for reading my blog!

Photo by Gabriel Varaljay on Unsplash