It's always good to hear of someone who is interested in following their passion!

Actually, before you worry about moving ANYWHERE you need to find yourself a manager and before you find yourself a manager, you need to develop an audition repertoire and then record a demo of yourself performing the repertoire. (Limit this demo recording to one aria that shows you at your best but prepare two or three others as "backups"!) You will need a piano accompanist to help you perform whatever operatic arias you consider your best. Of course, if you can afford it, you would do best to work up whatever you plan to record with your accompanist and then go to a professional studio. Otherwise, I'm sure you can find someone who has a home-recording rig, a decent vocal mic and the minimal skills to record you.

Once you have a decent demo, then you need to start contacting managers and/ or agents who specialize in operatic performers. Most of these will be listed in the 'Yellow Pages' under some variant of 'Entertainment'. Call each agent/ manager before you start mailing them your demo (which should be clearly marked with your name and accompanied with a PR photo of yourself [again: with your name printed on it] and a brief bio-sheet.) and ask if they are currently accepting new clients. Otherwise, your promo-package will, likely, end up in the trash unopened. Start with NYC, where most of the operatic managers/ agents are still located. If someone likes what they hear, you will, then, probably be required to travel to them for a live audition.

A lot of people like to sing and some even have powerful voices. However, there is a big jump from having singing...opera or otherwise...as a hobby and becoming a professional. Opera is probably one of the toughest of the tough to break into.

Be prepared for lots of hard work, probably more lessons (I assume that you're already trained, yes?), plenty of rejections and frustration before your professional debut.

That said:

Good luck to you.

Ian

Try finding a listing for "Gelsey Frothingham Management, USA". I don't know if Gelsey is still alive but her son might have taken over the business. They specialized in operatic and concert artists. Good people with lots of connections.

Ian

quote:

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Originally posted by merna16:
Hi Everyone,
I'm currently in Charlotte, NC, and been thinking about relocating to Santa Cruz, CA for the music scene and a few other reasons. I was born with a voice and been singing since I was 9 yrs. old. Opera is what I do best, but I'm pretty dynamic. It's really where my heart lies, and I'm not doing it professionally, which is what I need to change...any advice from anyone out west would be appreciated...and hey- if you're looking for a voice that belongs to someone whose heart is truly in it, I'm the gal you're looking for. Ohhh, and I'm 24 years old, 5 feet 6 inches, 125 lbs, long dark hair...Most people think large beast when someone mentions opera...I'm quite the opposite. Love and light...

Myra

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Opera is where I shine, but I'm perfectly comfortable with all types of music- except for pop.
wcmartin put it right- I'd like to live in Santa Cruz and while I'm at it maybe make a living off of music. I do understand what it takes to become professional. I know all about PR photos, demos and such and it's all very true and necessary- it's something I have been thinking about.

A lot of you pointed out that Santa Cruz is not the place to do this- agreed, but I do not want to be huge and get caught up in the glamour and glitz. I want to stay grounded and real. I'd like to play a role in local bands maybe do some opera in shows in places like SanFran, but I despise NYC and LA- not too sure about. I'm from Syracuse, NY and have grown to hate everything about NY.

As far as lessons go - I have not had a lesson in about 5 years- that's a long time, but I still have it. I'm patient by nature and have been emmersed in the scene throughout high school- I'm a hard worker by nature, so working hard on something I love- no problem.

Ian- you really sound like you know what you're talking about and I get the feeling you're highly involved in the scene.

As far as American Idol goes- haha good idea- It's just not my style.

Thank you so much everyone for the support and advice- constructive feedback is always welcomed!

Just remember what the guitar player says - "You want fries with that?"

Here's a list of clubs in Santa Cruz. Here's an entertainment calendar. Here are some interesting links from SCUM (Santa Cruz Underground Music). And Here's a list of Santa Cruz apartments from craigslist just so you know what you're getting into.

quote:

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Originally posted by Brad Bechtel:
Well, I still wish you luck. Santa Cruz is a relatively small town, so the opportunities for making a living playing music are more limited than in other areas. Still, it's a great place in which to live, and I'm sure you can find sympathetic souls with which you can make music.

Just remember what the guitar player says - "You want fries with that?"

Here's a list of clubs in Santa Cruz. Here's an entertainment calendar. Here are some interesting links from SCUM (Santa Cruz Underground Music). And Here's a list of Santa Cruz apartments from craigslist just so you know what you're getting into.

Good luck!

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merna-

Sorry: I thought that you were opera-specific. If you're just looking to sing with some band, it would STILL be a good idea to work up a demo package as I described earlier...except that the recording should be more of contemporary tunes you can do strongly...with some kind of accompaniment (anything from backing tracks to MIDI sequences you can sing against will work...and they'll be a helluva lot easier for a home-recordist to record for you!). Limit your demo to about 5 tunes and make sure you vary the types of tunes, from one to another: something really strong and up-tempo first to grab the agent's ear, followed by a ballad, etc. You'll still need to "let your fingers do the walking" and contact booking agents in the area you want to work in...as I described in my previous post. However, a lot of times these agents will put bands together for a specific gig so, as long as you have a large repertoire of popular, danceable tunes from the 70s-thru-current, you'll, likely, find work without too much of a problem. (Buy some legal "fake-books" that include lyrics and you'll be able to build your repertoire quickly: if you don't know the "right" tunes, you won't gig!) I worked with several agents who routinely would call me to put a pick-up band together for a high-paying gig ...that wouldn't even rehearse before the gig...and, usually, they had a female vocalist they wanted me to use.

One suggestion...especially if you want to stay "grounded": don't develop a snotty "star" attitude with the folks you work with. Vocalists...male and female...are NOT most musicians favorite people to get stuck with...because most of them aren't THAT good...but they think they are! Vocalists who are down-to-earth, easy to work with, flexible and who have good senses of humor are rare.

For instance: I, once got stuck with this vocalist for a fancy gig...and my "society" band was covering all genres of music: everything from the '40s big-band crap, up through Rock and show-tunes. I called "New York, New York" (which I hate...but it WAS very popular, at the time!), which was originally recorded in 'F'. The singer insisted that she couldn't sing it in 'F' and that we MUST transpose it to 'F#'. "Okay," I said while winking at the band, "We'll do it in F# just for you!" Of course, we did it in 'F' and she never knew the difference.

Do yourself a favor and don't become a foolish and laughable prima donna, like the aforementioned vocalist. (Incidentally: she only worked with each bandleader once BECAUSE of her "star" attitude!)

Food fer thought.

Ian

"Perfect pitch": another totally useless parlor trick.

I have relative pitch and that's been all I've ever needed!

Ian

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Originally posted by TheRealDeal:

"...p.s.--next new thread comin' up is right up your alley ye' old road warrior,so I think I'll be hearing from you soon,your 'Action House' partner in crime..."

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Didn't realize you played there. Thought you just went there to party. Just my senility getting in the way. Either way:

Sorry: won't be participating in your new thread about "war-stories" from the road. Most of mine are, either, too personal...or might prove to be embarrassing to folks who are still extant.

I've never been a "kiss-and-tell" kinda guy.

I'm sure the forumites, here, will be able to supply many "exciting" stories of their own, though.

Ian