Aria Frequency Lists

During the annual audition tour, WTO gathers data on the frequency with which individual arias are offered by the singers applying and auditioning for the program. Links below lead to data for each voice type in each respective audition season since 2012.

Data through 2018 represents the Filene Young Artist (emerging professional) demographic only. 2019 season data also includes the Studio Artist (typically grad school) demographic.

The 2019 data download link takes you to a Google Sheet with a tab for each voice type and tier.

Audition Advice

The WTO blog has been a repository of audition advice for over 10 years! A few collections of different types of audition wisdom:

THE PRACTICAL EDITION

Figuring Out the Playing Field

Are You Ready?

How do you know? After all, “ready” doesn’t mean “finished.” It’s all relative.

Young Artist Programs: Where to Start

Resources to find your way in the wonderfully abundant yet confusing landscape of YAP opportunities.

The Forest before the Trees

What do we listen and look for? A highly subjective list, but it’s ours and we’re sticking to it. Concentration. Focus. Authenticity. Spontaneity. Specificity. Energy. Humor. Courage. Skill.

S = (R + T) x LF

The equation. S [Success] = (R [Raw Materials] + T [Tools]) x LF [Life Force]

You Never Really Enjoy It; You Just Get Better at It

Coming to terms with this necessary evil.

Getting Ready

What (Not) To Wear

Long? Short? Dress? Pants? Tie? Coat? KPW and Rahree channel Clinton and Stacy.

Get Your Left Brain Ready

I know. You’re a singer, not a writer. I don’t care. Fix the résumé.

“There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.”

High subjective, random headshot advice from folks who see over a thousand of them every fall.

The Notebook

Music that stays splayed on the stand. Organized with tabs. Easy page turns and beautiful cut markings. Aahhh.

Cutting Corners

Practicality vs. aesthetics.

Something Old, Something New

The aria list: standard rep vs. adventurous fare.

The Day of the Event

Audition Room Protocol

Don’t obsess about this; just keep these common-sense guidelines in mind. Be efficient and pleasant, then sing. Well.

Could We Hear the [Insert Name of Aria Here], Please?

Don’t try to second-guess the panel. Stay loose. Look forward to singing anything you brought along with you on this amazing day.

Audition Room Acoustics

Stairwell? Inside of a sock? It’s not always like you think.

Your Audition Partner at the Piano

What makes a fabulous audition pianist? What responsibility can you take for the outcome of this collaboration?

Technology in the Audition Room

Laptops, databases, mp3 recorders and more: Why they are your friends and ours.

Outside the Room

No game playing or posturing allowed. It’s neither professional nor considerate, and you never know who’s watching.

Hot Topics

Audition Props?

No.

Don’t Pace & Don’t Land the Plane

Blocking, pacing, gesticulating, and communicating. It’s your body: it should work for you, not against.

Three Soapboxes

Intonation (not negotiable), coloratura (not boring, please), and text (don’t throw it away!)

Just How Versatile Can You Be?

Versatility meets mastery.

Audition Season: Forms & Fees

Playing the game and not letting the procedures get you down. And my final word on the great annual application fee debate.

Putting Yourself in the Fach Box

What are you anyway? Lyric? Dramatic? Coloratura? Mezzo or soprano? Fach talk is right up there with sex and money in its untouchability.

THE RIGHT BRAIN VERSION

If you’re looking here for some sort of clarity as you claw your way through this peculiar thing that is auditioning, these links are for you. No easy answers, no prescriptions, no guarantees; but perhaps you’ll find something that helps lift you out of the machine enough to remember why you’re doing this in the first place.

Week 1: The Beginning, Being Ready, Reframing, Wabi-sabi

Week 2: Staying Loose, Urgency, Practice, Stamina, The Toolkit

Week 3: Calm, Focus, Flexibility, Perspective, Perfectionism

Week 4: Courage, Creativity, Imagination, Optimism, Sfumato



ADVICE FROM THE ALUMNI HIVE MIND

What (Not) To Wear: The way you look does matter.

Be Your Own CEO: Run your company and your reputation like a business.

Let It Go: Say the Serenity Prayer. Then just sing.

Life: The audition is only the beginning.

The Power of Positivity: The glass is way more than half full.

Your Aria Package: Argh… What should I sing???

Navigating the Colleague Waters: Don’t let the crazy bring you down.

Audition Day Strategies: Little things can make or break you.

Be True to Yourself: And be kind to yourself. If you won’t, who will?