Week o' Opera

Madama Butterfly, Flute and Figaro this weekend.

All were fun, dramatic, inspiring, and all those other good adjectives that make you want to go home, open scores to new operas and old operas, and sing your heart out in your apt. in the middle of the day, hoping none of your neighbors are still home and think that a crazy person moved in next door.

This week I am starting to pursue my other side-gig profession--putting people's lives in order...mostly singers...mostly editing and writing-based work...mostly offering kicks in the behind to people that don't have their materials updated, their auditions mapped out, their cover letters written, their headshots photoshopped...all in the wonderful form of work called 'consulting'.

It's something that I enjoy doing. Hey, I can't sing in the apt. ALL day long, right? So what ever can I fill those hours from 10pm until bedtime--around 2-3am with?
Either way, I'm hoping to get it off the ground in this new city. Although most of the work is done via phone/email, there still is a new base of potential to work with in the city. And that requires some netective work, some google-ninja-ing work, and some cover letters to be written that offer my 'services'.

Back to my real job-
and the elusive "5"...arias that is. This has been a recent topic of discussion on "The Forum".
Here are my thoughts for this year...in no particular order..

Starter (probably) DurchZ. Pros-- Mozart. Line. High notes. Low notes. Character.
Cons- maybe sung by a lot of sopranos.

French possibilities:
Olympia verse 2- Pros: coloratura cons: Olympia verse 2. HA

Fire- pros: short, coloratura, SHORT. cons: everyone and their mom sings it for a short french piece, and the opera is not done very often.

Fee- pros: line AND coloratura...kinda. cons: not very high, not performed often

O legere Hirondelle- Pros: a bit of line and coloratura. cons: rare, a kind flitty character, repetitive!

Lakme- too long
Non monsieur non mari- long and overdone in auditions, I think.
Nixed from the line-up: Marie- due to casting tendencies for more lyric voices and fewer fun cadenzas.

Italian:
Oscar- pros: character, legato, previously performed. Cons: I feel like I get cheated out of a 2nd aria when this is asked for 2nd. I know it's so the panel can hear line, but it's just so short...wish I could have something with legato AND fireworks to replace it.

Norina- overdone and hated by many
Adina?
Amina
Rosina
---all leading ladies, arias on the long side but they are 2parters, some casting tendencies are heavier/lyric, I'd offer any one of these 2nd, with coach and teacher approval that the sound they will get will not be the full lyric-y sound, but will still cut, carry, and be lovely.

Clorinda- kind of perfect character and crazy cadenza-wise..but maybe not because it's a cut aria and because it's not a leading lady. So what does aria choice say about my audition? Does it reflect the same way as a 'rare' aria does? People go digging through everything these days to find something that's not overdone.
I'm on the fence about this one being put into that category or into the 'uhh, does this girl know that this aria is usually cut' category.

Contesse di Folleville- awesome but 10 minutes long and I don't think I can find a cut to do it justice.

OR- early guys:
Tornami
another under-done Handel of some sort.

German
Easy- after Durch- Zerbinetta.
Also can throw in at any time: Sophie, Queen

English
Glitter
a bunch of MT that is considered operetta
OR
crazy new things! that sound weird and show off crazy high notes and the ability to learn modern music and sing it with shape and presence.


Decisions, Decisions.
I don't NEED to change my rep. up, but I want to.
and all of the arias are learned and ready to go anyway.
So now it's up to the court of public opinion (coaches, teachers, etc) and my own instincts to put together a 'package'.
What I really want to make sure is that it doesn't come off as a one-trick pony--only crazy high notes, or only cutesy high energy characters.

Searching for that perfect aria in SOME language that will give depth to the rest of the 4 or 5 that I offer, that are the opera's show-stealing arias.