You just walked into the ever-familiar audition hallway and singers are everywhere. Everyone seems to feel the usual combination of nerves and excitement as the audition draws closer. To pass a little time, you and a couple other singers start talking and, inevitably, the topic of your current audition repertoire comes up. You may or may not choose to list your five required audition arias. Then… wait… there’s more? You detail the one or two additional pieces you’ve chosen to offer from outside of the standard operatic repertoire. “Ooooh,” the singer next to you exclaims. “You sing musical theatre.” You smile and reply with the polite, yet direct answer, “I sing musical theater, too.”

Does this situation sound familiar? Like everyone sitting in these audition hallways, I am a classically trained singer with experience in the standard repertoire of opera, oratorio, and art song. That being said, I find it very sad that a young opera singer who pursues crossover opportunities like musical theatre, cabaret concerts, or jazz is somehow “breaking the mold”. All sorts of opera companies ranging from Lyric Opera of Chicago and Houston Grand Opera to summer festivals like The Glimmerglass Festival, Chautauqua Opera, and several others, frequently offer operetta or musical theatre selections. Each time someone shows concern over my choice to offer a musical theater song, I can’t help but ask “why not?” If I have confidently coached and prepared a song from the musical theatre repertoire, why not offer it at auditions? If a song from a classic musical such as Showboat, Sweeney Todd, The Music Man, or Carousel display some of my vocal strengths, why not? If the company for which I’m auditioning has a regular habit of producing at least one musical in their operatic season, why not? Most importantly, if performing a song from a crossover genre allows me to tell a meaningful story, why not?

Every singer measures the success of an audition or performance differently. Yes, I am disappointed in myself if I sing a wrong note, miss a word, don’t set the exact tempo I wanted, don’t prepare a phrase with a proper and relaxed breath, etc. Yet, the biggest regret I’ve ever had walking out of an audition or performance is not showing my audience exactly who I am as an artist. I, like many singers, am a constant work in progress, but at every step in this journey I have continued to strive to be a storyteller. I aim to give the character on the page a voice. I attempt to sympathize and celebrate with her. I am determined to do justice to the writer who gave her life. I do my best to breathe life into her joys and sorrows. I labor to let her story move the spirits of the audience. Telling the stories of these characters brings much joy and fulfillment into my life. If I fail to expose the character's story to the audience, I have not truly revealed who I am and why I sing. In an audition situation, we singers absolutely must respect and adhere to the repertoire requirements a company sets forth. However, if a singer feels he or she has more to say after those requirements have been met, I simply do not see the harm in offering a song slightly outside of the standard operatic repertoire.

Looking to add a song like this to your repertoire? I'd start by listening to singers whose technique and career you respect. Watch videos of them in non-operatic settings such as orchestral concerts. Once you've found and potentially decide to offer a crossover selection at an audition, who knows? Perhaps the company directors have a non-operatic selection in mind for the following season and they find you are just the singer they want. Whether it’s a musical theatre ingenue or the comic relief in an operetta, never fear they might be too far “outside the mold”. All music tells a story. How lucky we are to bring those stories life!