The Met in Minneapolis? Drop-in on the Met Opera Regional Auditions this Saturday

Join some of your fellow Tempo opera-phites anytime between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2:30 this Saturday, December 3 at the McKnight Theatre in the Ordway Center for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Auditions. Different auditions will be taking place during this time-span, and you are free to come and go as you please!

What are the Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Auditions? They are the preliminary rounds for the National Council Auditions that will lead to fame, success and glory. Many of the world’s foremost singers, among them Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Thomas Hampson, Ben Heppner, Jessye Norman, Samuel Ramey, Frederica von Stade, Deborah Voigt and Dolora Zajick have received awards from the National Council. Annually, approximately 100 former auditioners appear in Metropolitan Opera productions. For more information on the auditions, visit: http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/auditions/national/index.aspx

Special appearances from friends of Minnesota Opera will take place at 11:05, 11.25, 12:25 and 12:45.

11:05AM- Victoria Vargas, mezzo soprano – Victoria is a resident artist with Minnesota Opera and a featured performer at Opera Tasting 2011.

11:25AM- Angela Mortellaro, soprano – Angela is a resident artist with Minnesota Opera and was featured this season as Despina in Cosi fan tutte and Madeleine in Silent Night.

12:25PM- Rudolfo Nieto, bass baritone – Rudy was a resident artist with Minnesota Opera during the 09-10 and 10-11 seasons, as well as a featured performer at OT 2011.

12:45PM- Brad Benoit, tenor – Brad was a resident artist with Minnesota Opera during the 08-09, 09-10 and 10-11 seasons, as well as a featured performer at OT 2011. If you attended opening night of Silent Night, you will remember Brad’s brilliant tenor voice filling in for a sick William Burden.

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Opera 101: Singers and Voice Types

Nuestra publica!  Tempo is proud to present a new series:  Opera 101.  Learn the basics of Opera (capital O, please) in our short and insightful articles.


We promise not to take up too much of your time, but leave you lasting impressions with which to impress your friends at the next cocktail party or Twin's game.  As this is a new series, please leave comments as to what you would like to see in future articles.


Today's lesson:  Voice types!

Soprano

Sopranos sing the highest notes in Opera, and usually play sweet (or deranged) heroines.  The soprano range is from ~Middle C to ~High F.  Don't forget:  great $opranos also get paid the mo$t!


Famous sopranos include:  Renée Fleming, Natalie Dessay, Joan Sutherland, Maria Callas, and Leontyne Price.


Watch Natalie Dessay in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor:

Mezzo-Soprano

Mezzo-sopranos sing lower than sopranos, and often play evil characters or even young men (a "trouser role").

Famous mezzo-sopranos include Joyce DiDonato, Dolora Zajick, and Frederica von Stade.

Watch Dolora Zajick sing "Strida la vampa" from Verdi's Il Trovatore.

Counter-tenor

Counter-tenors are "male sopranos".  In old-school Italia, counter tenors were castrati.  Don't know what a castrato is?  My friend Ken will show you.


Watch David Daniels sing "Barbaro Traditor" from Vivaldi's Bajazet.

Tenor

On the High Cs, anyone?  After counter-tenors, a tenor is the highest of the male vocal "fach."  Just like sopranos, tenors get paid LOTS of moola, playing heros and hot lovers.

Famous tenors?  Pavarotti is considered the greatest.  His successors?  Juan Diego Florez and Lawrence Brownlee.  Jonas Kauffman ist sehr gut too, ja.

Watch Juan Diego Florez (or JDF, as I affectionately call him) sing "Ah mes amis" in Donizetti's La fille du régiment.

Bass-Baritone

Bass-baritone's are the "middle" male voice type, not quite being able to hit either the High Cs that tenors can hit or the low basso profondo notes of basses.  The men are usually quite hunky.

Current famous bass baritones include James Morris and Bryn Terfel.  Although watch out for Ryan McKinny ...

Watch Ryan McKinny sing "Die Frist ist um" from Wagner's Der Fliegende Holländer.

Bass

Basses are the lowest of the low.  And that's pretty low.  So low that the Devil in Boito's Mefistofele and Gounod's Faust are both basses.

Watch René Pape sing "Le veau d'or" from Gounod's Faust.

That's all for today, folks.  Be sure to check back often for upcoming Opera 101's!

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