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Young, Gifted, and Operatic
By
November 8, 2009
For up-and-coming singers, there’s may be no better training ground
than the Metropolitan Opera' Lindemann program. Susan Froemke’s acclaimed documentary The Audition details the Met's star-making machinery.
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When Lisette Oropesa sang Susanna
in the Met’s Le Nozze di Figaro for the
first time two seasons ago, she replaced
another singer on short notice, had just
turned 24 a few weeks before, and had
only minor roles in Idomeneo and Suor
Angelica on her Met resume. And yet,
she was ready. As a 2005 winner of the Met’s National Council Auditions and a
participant in the company’s Lindemann
Young Artist Development Program
(she’s since graduated), Oropesa had
received extraordinary musical and
theatrical training at the Met. This
month she returns to the role of Susanna
already a young star, with a Live in HD
movie-theater transmission and a run in
Wagner’s Ring under her belt.
“You get unbelievable training,”
Oropesa says of working at the Met
as a young artist. “The thing about
the Lindemann program is that every
member of the Met staff is so good at
what they do. It’s specifically targeted to
helping you become the best performer
you can be, and the things you learn,
you keep with you forever.”
Indeed, it’s a great time to be a young
singer at the Met. The company just
released a DVD of The Audition, director
Susan Froemke’s acclaimed documentary
about the National Council
Auditions and its star-making machinery
(Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Ben
Heppner, and Deborah Voigt are just
a few winners who have gone on to
operatic superstardom). This season
also marks the 30th anniversary of the
Met’s young artists program, founded by Music Director James Levine and generously
supported since 1997 by Frayda
and George Lindemann. The program
recently joined forces with the vocal arts
department at Juilliard.
“It is essential for us to be constantly
on the lookout for talented young artists,”
Levine says. “And when we find them, we
have to nurture them. One of the things
I’m most proud of is the Met’s commitment
to developing future generations
of extraordinary singers.” Training these
young artists involves music coaching,
language classes, acting lessons, even
strength-training and meditation.
Filmmaker Froemke got an up-close
look at this process when she filmed the
National Council Auditions finalists
as they prepared for the Grand Finals
Concert in 2007. Her film, The Audition,
was seen in movie theaters last April
and is now available on DVD in the
Met Opera Shop. “I was continually
amazed at how hard it is to become a
professional opera singer,” she says. “It requires years of study. It’s a huge investment.
I’ve heard that it’s more expensive
than medical school, and with less of a
chance of success.”
That’s why the Lindemann program
provides such an extraordinary opportunity.
Each year about a dozen singers
participate. Oropesa was offered a
slot in the program after she won the
Auditions. “I called my college vocal
teacher and I said, I got an invitation to
the Lindemann program,” she recalls. “He said, ‘Take it!’ And I said, “What
about grad school?’ He said, ‘This is
grad school! It’s the best grad school in
the world!’”
Oropesa is grateful for the support
of legions of Met artists, from stage
directors to language coaches to music
teachers, and others. But she singles
out Levine as the most inspiring mentor
throughout her artistic maturation.
“His whole thing is getting singers to
break out of their shells,” Oropesa says
of the maestro. “He can listen to you
one time, one aria, and know if you’re
sick, or if you need to talk to your voice
teacher about something, or if your
voice has changed in some way. He
remembers everything you’ve ever done
for him. He’s like a psychologist and a
father and a voice teacher all at the same
time.”
**
The Audition DVD is now available in the Met
Opera Shop. Le Nozze
di Figaro returned to the repertory on
November 23. The Met will celebrate the 30th
anniversary of the Lindemann Young Artist
Development Program with an “On Stage at
the Met” dinner on March 21, 2010.
Visit metopera.org
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