This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Nov. 10, 2010 - Each year, up to five of the most promising operatic singers in the United States win the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions. Finalists compete on the Met's New York stage for prestige, cash prizes and publicity. Approximately 50 former winners of the annual auditions appear in the Met's productions each year.
The path to multiple ovations and steady employment as a Met singer is long and begins months before the finalists take the stage in New York. The road for the eventual winners starts at one of the 41 district auditions held throughout the U.S. and Canada. One of the district auditions takes place in St. Louis this Saturday, Nov. 13, at Ladue Chapel.
From the district auditions, winners go to regional competitions, then to New York where they are further winnowed to 10 finalists who compete for the five awards. It is a long road, indeed. At every level, former singers, opera company managers, singing teachers serve as judges rating singers and choosing winners.
One of the judges for the St. Louis district auditions is Erie Mills. Mills' opera singing career stretched for nearly 25 years, taking her last performance bow in 2003. She has appeared on stages throughout the world including at the Met as well as with the St. Louis Symphony, the St. Louis Municipal Opera, Opera Theater St. Louis and the Bach Society of St. Louis.
According to Mills, the National Council Auditions are special for a number of reasons. Besides the cachet and publicity that comes from winning the Met's competition, the Met encourages its judges at all levels to share their notes with the singers after that level's winners have been announced.
"At the end of the day, after the announcements have been made, many of the singers will stay and go around to the judges who will give comments. Judges can be brutal, but also, hopefully, helpful," Mills said.
Mills' extensive experience as a singing teacher has helped her give advice and feedback to singers. From 1998-2008, Mills taught singing at San Jose State University. In 2004, at the request of Charles MacKay, then general director of Opera Theater of St. Louis, Mills began working with singers to improve their English diction, helping them to pronounce the words they were singing more clearly. She has worked with singers on diction both in St. Louis and New York.
The Beacon recently talked with Mills from her home in San Francisco about her career as a singing teacher and her insights into the National Council Auditions.
How did you first move from being an opera singer to being a singing teacher?
Mills: I love opera. It's very moving, uplifting. When I (knew I) would not be singing as much as I once had, the alternatives were to stay in the business in some way or to completely change what I wanted to do. Some teaching opportunities opened up, and I started teaching full time.
What kind of qualifications does one need to have to become an English diction teacher for singers?
Mills: Charles McKay asked me if I wanted to teach English diction, and I said, 'Well, I don't know if I can, I might not be very good at this.' But I had taught some diction to students, and I had taught the International Phonetic Alphabet so I knew the sounds. I knew how to proceed because I had taught students at a much lower level. So, I thought I'll give English diction teaching a try and see if I can do it. That was 2004. As the time has gone on, I've gotten better at it in getting what needs to be gotten out of the singers.
The real work of an English diction teacher happens at the rehearsal period for the singers. My pre-work before rehearsal is to know what I want them to sound like, and then in the rehearsals I try to get that out of them. If I can't understand something, it's my job to say "I don't understand it" first and then tell them how to sing it to be understood.
Why do you need to coach English diction? Don't most singers already know how to speak English?
Mills: All you have to do is listen to some politicians speak and you say, "I didn't understand a word they just said. I know they're speaking English, but I don't understand it!" Singing English adds another dynamic; and many singers have been trained to phonate sounds but not necessarily to say words. I have to get them to think more about the word and less about their singing although that's the opposite of what they've been trained to do.
I care about what the words are in every language. What separates an opera singer or an art-song singer from an instrumentalist is that we deal with text. If the poem is not understood, if the libretto is not understood, what good is it?
The biggest challenges I have had with English diction is when I deal with a non-native speaker. Most non-native speakers speak English quite well. But when they're singing they sometimes put emphasis on the wrong syllable or they stress too many things or not enough things. I think about the person who is hearing the opera for the very first time. I don't want them confused by what they hear.
What do you look for when judging the National Council Auditions?
Mills: The day we judges arrive we get a sheet of paper that tells us what the Met is looking for. We get a set of things to consider. Primarily, the Met wants us to look at the innate vocal talent of a person, the beauty of the voice. In addition to that, how does that person with an innately beautiful voice sing? Are their languages good? Do they know what they're saying? Can they convey the aria? Do they have a bit of sparkle when they sing? Do I want to hear more? That is what most people judge singers on all the time. But the Met makes it quite clear that first criterion is the actual beauty of the voice.
Can you tell us about a memorable singer you heard as a judge during a past Met audition?
Mills: Two years ago, I judged the Met regional auditions in Boston. There was a young, beautiful woman who sang beautifully. Of the three judges, two had her in first place. I had her in second. So I was outvoted. That woman went on to New York and was one of the big winners at the Met. So I can't take full credit cause I had her in second, but I am glad she got to New York and did so well.
The wonderful thing about singing is that everybody has a different opinion about singers. The very-greats, everybody decides the same thing about them: they're very great and that is just it.
But the next level of singers, the-not-so-very-great-but-still-great, everybody's got a different idea about what makes a great singer. One judge will be more for language. One judge will be judging for performance. One judge will solely focus on the voice. And that's like audience members.
A lot of people go to the opera who don't know anything about music, but they love the drama part. They love it if a person looks like the part they're playing. Some people could care less about the looks. They just care about the sound. It's great because everybody has a different opinion. This makes room for a lot of different kinds of singers in opera.
Alex Sciuto is a Beacon intern.