one would think

One would think that if one were to be auditioning at a professional opera house in Berlin that one would be familiar with audition procedures of some sort. I know we are more formal about this process in the US, but STILL.

This is what I saw from stage right after my own audition had just finished and the stage manager could not bring me back to my warm up room until the first half of the candidate’s aria that was next.

Walk out onstage…wander around aimlessly, as if waiting for instructions on how to do everything. Pianist meets her to get music. BUTT to the audience. Turn around when asked what she would like to start with. She says I don’t know. What would you like. They ask for the first Queen aria. She bends down three times to touch her toes, stretches her arms to the side, does some windmills, some lunges in each direction as if she were about to do a warm up jog at the gym, and THEN begins the aria.

WHAT?
Did I really just see that...on THIS stage? At THIS audition?

I certainly did.