Wien, audition, Macbeth…
Hi there! I hope you are well and having a nice week. This week I prepared for an audition in Vienna for Hollander Calix. An agency with certain prestige, specially in the past. Now days I do not know how influential or strong is this agency on working with theatres. I sang for them many years ago and it went well at that time, now after few years, I contacted them again. The way the audition was organized gave me a feeling of just like routine audition and not that they are really taking singers, but who knows, that was only my impression, and often we are not completely right or completely wrong about our impressions about the world around us.
I prepared during the week, and I had a coaching with Ansi, where I sang Nemorino, Faust, Lensky, Don Ottavio and Prince Sou-Chong ( Dein ist mein ganzes Herz). From these arias, there is lacking one with some quick tempo or more allegro in character. So, I was thinking in Hoffmann, or La donna e mobile from Rigoletto which is quick and shows the high tessitura and charm. I will consider it for next time and work on it again, since it is a long time since I sing both of these last 2 arias.
In Vienna I stayed with my friend Carlos Osuna, he works at the theatre there and has been singing for many years as a soloist. We met in Mexico perhaps almost 20 years ago and we crossed paths in Mexico and in a course in Italy (Solti Accademia) back in 2010 I believe. When I was studying at the Royal Academy he was studying in Wales. So somehow, we stayed in contact and every time I go to Vienna we meet most of the times. This time staying with him and his wife was a blessing. The wife cooked for us some delicious Mexican food and I had plenty of tortillas which is food for my soul. Speaking Spanish was also a big hug to my heart. It was so nice to just speak my own language nonstop for over 24 hours. Carlos and I spoke a lot about life and career, and we sang over 3 hours at this apartment sharing ideas and helping each other out and giving opinions without any ego in between, just to tenors trying to improve and share concepts and how we both understand differently the same idea or how we come to the same understanding. For me these moments are precious, not so often I get the chance to share with another tenor this kind of time, just both devoted to our singing. I also met a Chilean baritone who is Carlos friend, and we had a lot of fun walking the streets of the centre of Vienna. An evening with two Latinos was great and I could feel my soul at rest. As I am going through the challenge of being freelancer, these 2 days in Vienna were a pause and a charge of energy much needed in the last few weeks.
My audition went well, I sang Salut demeure and Dein ist mein ganzes Herz, both arias I sang well and I did my best, now I have only to wait to get either feedback or some offer or nothing at all. I did mostly this audition to keep me busy and to keep training this type of performance, which is the most stressful for me, more than performances or concerts. Auditioning is such a weird thing, especially for me that I spent many years working in a theatre without having to constantly audition so I must get again on the shape for auditions, normally the more you do constantly the more you get used to it. In my case if I do like 5 auditions in a row, I feel by audition number 5 that I finally got the mental balance to do a successful one hehehe.
After my audition today I went to see Macbeth to the theatre. I thought it was a very boring staging and too dark, even the costumes were dark and the staging was black and the huge theatre was dark. Beyond concepts and getting intellectual, a very simple question came to my mind, very clearly, is the director not wanting the audience to understand and enjoy and evening at the opera? Did he consider people is paying a lot of money to come and see the opera? Was only his ego he wanted to show the audience? Has he not sympathy for other human beings so one can enjoy? It was a pity that in such a theatre they allow such concepts that clearly do not work, neither to understand the actual story nor enjoy the possibilities of great stagings in a place like Vienna Staatstheater.
I keep doing my exercise routine and daily reading and writing. I hope you are well and please take care. See you next week.
