The idea behind a singing career is really simple. You sing, and people like it, and pay you to do it. Enough to make a living, which gives you time to maintain and maybe improve your singing abilities, which gets you more jobs. But getting there and staying there is tricky. This isn’t my first time having a career as an opera singer. I managed to fail at it despite having the game somewhat rigged in my favor. Embarrassing!
I left college before finishing my undergraduate degree, because I was offered a position in the Metropolitan Opera’s YAP. “YAP” is an acronym used in the opera world for a type of training program. YAPs are divided into two main types: “pay to sing” and programs in which students participate at no cost or with an accompanying stipend. As a student, I had the privilege of a position in the third type. I got to live in New York City, and while I wasn’t exactly rich, the MET took care of me very well. I was better off than the vast majority of people from my background who wanted to get a start singing opera. And I was already IN at the MET. All I needed to do was keep my head down and perform reasonably well, and everything was pretty much guaranteed.
By my early 30’s, I was no longer calling myself a singer. I had given up completely on making a career on the stage, and nobody was rushing to convince me I should stick around. I was finished. Sure, I had some rough patches on the way, and the level of my performances had taken a dive. I was in rough shape with my technique, and under the sway of yet another “old school” messiah. But a lot of singers have rough patches and are able to weather the storm until things improve (usually not by accident!). So what happened to me?
Money. I ran out of money. My marriage had broken up, and the divorce wound up being expensive and complicated. With hope fading of ever getting back on stage, I lost the will to fight for myself. Once you stop getting enough work to support yourself, the downward spiral is unstoppable. If you manage to get an offer, you find yourself unable to take it because it clashes with whatever work you found so you can eat. There were some tough times after that. And obviously, I caught some breaks because I’m writing this in the morning to pass the time until rehearsal this afternoon. I did get back on stage. But a lot of singers have rough patches, get pushed out, and then can’t get back up there. So what happened to me?
Money. I made two attempts at a comeback. The first was after a stray job came my way due to old contacts not realizing I was a quitter! I hopped from that gig onto a Germany-bound plane, and did German Audition Tour™ ritual for getting rid of excess income. It worked perfectly! I got no jobs in the 90 days my tourist visa gave me, and I also got rid of all my money. This of course, was followed up by more hard times, but again I caught some breaks! And I decided to make one last attempt.
The third time I tried to make a career singing, I decided to try a totally new approach. I disregarded completely the idea of getting “discovered”, and the idea that I would make a difference by being a better singer. I would try to be a better singer ANYWAY just because, so this took away nothing from my singing. But it did give me a question: “what, then?”. Money. And time. I made my entire plan around the concept of making my “seed” money last as long as possible, reasoning that if you stick around long enough, people eventually just accept that you work here. That, so far, has worked. It almost failed because of official permit issues adding some waiting time to my first engagement, but I used the classic strategy of killing time by getting a master’s degree. Student loans come with much better terms than other types of loan, and although it’s better to avoid them entirely, I had few options, and the price tag to do it in my native Canada is quite reasonable.
I see so many aspiring singers buying into this idea that they need to sing for the right people and they will hear the right advice, and that will unlock their next achievement. I was one of them. But let’s think about this for a second. If that audition panel really could do that for you, why are they advertising and selling that for 50 bucks a pop, instead of finding someone with money who really wants to be on stage? If that teacher really knows all the secrets, why are only people in her studio aware of her greatness? And if this is going on everywhere, where are all the signs of success? Where is the army of improved singers?
I find requests along these lines in my inbox as well, from people asking for voice lessons. They are often disappointed to find out that although something I published destroyed their certainty about this or that vocal method, I don’t have anything to replace it. It’s just a bunch of suggestions to help people make their own system, which will only ever be as good as they are. There isn’t anything honest that can comfort someone about the uncertainty involved when it comes to developing a sustainable singing career. Nobody can fix it for you or change the reality: you are taking a gamble with your future, and it’s impossible to say with certainty when or if it will pay off. You SHOULD worry! But an honest person who has been down that road can at least tell you about that bridge that’s out, the speed traps, and the tolls.
Look at your assets. Your bank account, your family connections, everything that will be realistically contributing to your survival, assuming you make little to no income at all for 2-4 years. Yes, go to Germany! Or somewhere close enough! But again – plan on 2-4 years, not 90 days. If you start thinking this way, those 50 euro “audition” fees and the endless and astronomically expensive voice lessons that produce no detectable changes become unthinkable. You can NOT afford that!
This is hard to watch people, so let’s get it together. Share this. Write your own articles. Spread the word. You don’t need to keep paying people to feel like you’re in this, and you never did.
copyright 2021 Mister Opera