CCCIV: Spectator

Seven hours, 35 singers, 70 arias, and 3 judges later, I am incredibly relieved that I didn't try out for The Met's National Council Auditions this year. To have done so would have made me look a fool amidst all of that professional talent, which is easy upon the realization that I am only wading in the shallow end of the operatic pool, while these people are diving, doing breast-strokes, and Olympian swimming feats--things I can't do both literally and figuratively.

Yes, I sat down for that long of a time in a heated room with poor visibility. And at some points I am sure I dozed off for a few minutes at a time, especially after the lunch break and towards the end.

Armed with program and pen in hand, the purpose of my solo excursion was to scope out the level of talent in the region. I wanted to know how I compared with others my age (not well). I was surprised to see such a supportive and friendly group of young singers, most of whom I learned attend UBC together; and not so surprised to see the possession of incredible stage presence among most--rich tones, powerful voices, and poignantly clear high notes. I would say that only a couple of people were out of their element, but as I took notes in the margins of my program, I realized that any critique I had was mostly positive. I starred the competitors whose performances I enjoyed most--probably about a third of the entire group--and by the time the 32nd singer graced the stage, I had to surrender to neutrality and sleep. The arias were starting to repeat themselves, the differences became blurred.

I ended up staying until the very end to hear the judges' picks. It was men's night. They gave an encouragement award to a tenor, and the five quarterfinalists they chose consisted of three males (a tenor,  a baritone, and a bass-baritone) and two females (mezzo-sopranos). The only one I correctly called was the baritone who was both an excellent actor and singer--I felt he could easily star in an opera already. So a definite judging failure on my part, but given how high the bar was set, and how many people were up there, you can see why my choices didn't fare so well.

But in a group where women outnumbered men, it was a bit disheartening that they didn't get more representation to proceed.

I think that if I want to audition for this in the future (age limit is 30 years), it will have to be after making the decision to make singing my career. American Idol rules do not apply here--opera can't just be a hobby that I tremendously enjoy; it has to be a life choice. I will need to give up the delight in solely being a spectator...and I'm not sure if I'm ready for that yet.