Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Chuckee's Evil Twin Sister

As I mentioned, I went the the local Met Auditions on Saturday at the Birch North Park Theater.

I want to make it clear, this is NOT an audition. It is a competition that is called an audition. Nobody knows why.

The judges select 5 singers to receive encouragement awards and 3 singers to move on the Regional Round in Los Angeles.

This event is for singers with "operatic potential" ages 20 to 30.

The range of operatic potential appears to be quite wide.

2 singers stood out to me during the competition, no, they didn't go through to L.A.

Both singers happened to be sopranos but since 99 percent of young singers seem to be sopranos, its not really a surprise.

One was not ready to sing at that level. The other was quite possible insane.

At first blush you may think these are negative comments.I am not intending to be mean spirited.

These two sopranos merely represent one end of the wide spectrum of operatic potential. I'm going to address the other end of the spectrum next time.

Soprano number one: She came on when the stage manager told her to but the judges were not ready. They asked her to wait.

There she stood, 21 years old, not a whisper in the house and everyone staring at her. This went on for, let's say, a while.

She introduced herself and announced her first aria, Madama Butterfly's un bel di vedremo.

Every single person in the audience had the same thought, "Well, we'll see about that." We were all correct. It was inappropriate for her both emotionally and vocally. Listen to it from the 20,000 seat Arena di Verona

The judges picked the second aria for her, she sang it and walked off the stage in a daze.

She stood out for me because of all the singers, her experience was probably the most intense.

The Butterfly aria swallowed her whole. She knew it, the judges knew it, we all knew it.

That kind of exposure makes your body go into survival mode. Blood flowed out of the face to the vital organs, hands trembled, sweat ducts flowed. We all watched it happen and that's an intense experience to share with a theater full of strangers.

However, my heart did not go out to her. I was reminded of a line from August Wilson's Two Trains Running, "You livin' in the world now baby."

Soprano number two: The judges asked her to sing "The Doll Aria" from The Tales of Hoffmann.

This is a very stylized aria that is sung by a clock work doll. It cannot be sung without the doll motions, even in concert.

Soprano number two did the movements, kind of.

She moved but in a way I've never seen a human move before. Instead of a doll, it was more like a reanimated corpse. I can't think of another way to put it.

Halfway through I realized I was enjoying her performance because she could have been Chuckee's evil twin sister. Put a knife in her hand and it would've been perfect. Joan Sutherland singing The Doll's Aria

Soprano number two has put some of her stuff up on youtube and it's actually pretty good. I'm not sure what was going on with her during the competition but it was incredible to watch.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Woodpeckers are stocking away acorns, Amorous tarantulas

Stunning sycamores, Mars rising
Next Article

Pie pleasure at Queenstown Public House

A taste of New Zealand brings back happy memories

As I mentioned, I went the the local Met Auditions on Saturday at the Birch North Park Theater.

I want to make it clear, this is NOT an audition. It is a competition that is called an audition. Nobody knows why.

The judges select 5 singers to receive encouragement awards and 3 singers to move on the Regional Round in Los Angeles.

This event is for singers with "operatic potential" ages 20 to 30.

The range of operatic potential appears to be quite wide.

2 singers stood out to me during the competition, no, they didn't go through to L.A.

Both singers happened to be sopranos but since 99 percent of young singers seem to be sopranos, its not really a surprise.

One was not ready to sing at that level. The other was quite possible insane.

At first blush you may think these are negative comments.I am not intending to be mean spirited.

These two sopranos merely represent one end of the wide spectrum of operatic potential. I'm going to address the other end of the spectrum next time.

Soprano number one: She came on when the stage manager told her to but the judges were not ready. They asked her to wait.

There she stood, 21 years old, not a whisper in the house and everyone staring at her. This went on for, let's say, a while.

She introduced herself and announced her first aria, Madama Butterfly's un bel di vedremo.

Every single person in the audience had the same thought, "Well, we'll see about that." We were all correct. It was inappropriate for her both emotionally and vocally. Listen to it from the 20,000 seat Arena di Verona

The judges picked the second aria for her, she sang it and walked off the stage in a daze.

She stood out for me because of all the singers, her experience was probably the most intense.

The Butterfly aria swallowed her whole. She knew it, the judges knew it, we all knew it.

That kind of exposure makes your body go into survival mode. Blood flowed out of the face to the vital organs, hands trembled, sweat ducts flowed. We all watched it happen and that's an intense experience to share with a theater full of strangers.

However, my heart did not go out to her. I was reminded of a line from August Wilson's Two Trains Running, "You livin' in the world now baby."

Soprano number two: The judges asked her to sing "The Doll Aria" from The Tales of Hoffmann.

This is a very stylized aria that is sung by a clock work doll. It cannot be sung without the doll motions, even in concert.

Soprano number two did the movements, kind of.

She moved but in a way I've never seen a human move before. Instead of a doll, it was more like a reanimated corpse. I can't think of another way to put it.

Halfway through I realized I was enjoying her performance because she could have been Chuckee's evil twin sister. Put a knife in her hand and it would've been perfect. Joan Sutherland singing The Doll's Aria

Soprano number two has put some of her stuff up on youtube and it's actually pretty good. I'm not sure what was going on with her during the competition but it was incredible to watch.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Arias and Appetizers

Next Article

Small concert, big sound

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader