Over the past two weeks I had the good fortune to visit two extraordinary groups of aspiring and inspiring opera singers. I gave master classes, heard a lot of auditions, discussed how to get ahead in the business of classical music, and talked (probably too much) about my own experiences. All in all I heard more than forty singers, aged twenty-two to thirty, most of them in either master degree … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2015
A TRAGEDY AVERTED
General Director Kasper Holten's statement that the new sound system at the Royal Opera Covent Garden will never be used to amplify singers could not be more welcome. A great sound system in an opera house asks for trouble. Considering what I think are fine acoustics in the Royal Opera, the whole idea seemed hard to believe. Though not a problem now in London, the possibility of amplification … [Read more...]