Chicago

Chicago

This past weekend was the big audition in Chicago. I have been practicing and preparing for this one audition for a long time and now it is over. With all honesty I can say that I sang my best and am very happy with the way I performed. Below is the verbose run-through of the weekend, while the digest version can be found on my Twitter site.

The nerves started to hit me last week around Monday. Mentally, I was prepared. The problem came when everyone at work starting coming down with bad colds and strep throat. Needless to say I could not take any chance in getting sick so I got my work together and took off starting Wednesday. Had a few relaxing days at home which helped me get rested and finish my preparations.

Friday consisted of getting the wife and me to the airport, catching the flight to Chicago and navigating the train to the hotel. Luckily the only train at O’Hare is the blue line which had a stop 2 blocks from our hotel. After checking in and finding some dinner at one of the many Corner Cafes of Chicago, I had to do some finagling with the hotel staff. After speaking with the Concierge, front desk staff and the on-duty manager, I was able to procure a conference room to warm up in on Saturday morning. Even though I was on a floor with no rooms, the people on the 4^th floor may not have been too happy with me. Better those few then the entire east sides of the 14^th-16^th floor hearing me warm up in our room.

Saturday began with a run at the gym to get the blood flowing, because a tenor trying to sing at 6:30am is like an F1 car trying to qualify with no oil and rusty pistons. After warming up in the conference room we were able to get back to the fine establishment that is the Corner Cafe for a hearty breakfast of chilled Swiss oatmeal. Back in the hotel a little more singing occurred and then I had to dress for success. The wife got me a fancy new green tie to help me stand out. About an hour before my audition I headed out to the Civic Opera House, gave a final tweet, turned off my cell and headed into the stage door.

After checking in with the office worker I was directed to the 2^nd floor, where the main rehearsal room is. I checked in at the audition room and was told that I could warm up on the 5^th floor. That just happens to be the floor where some of the main dressing rooms are. It was pretty cool to be warming up in these dressing rooms where some of the greatest opera singers have been. With my voice feeling great I headed down 10 minutes before my time and began the waiting. All of the other singers waiting for their auditions were very nice and we all had some good conversation which relaxed us all I think. Only one other tenor in the entire time I was there as well... :)

When my turn finally came I walked in with all the tenor swagger I could muster. When I presented which piece I would be opening with I had a ‘Gregory’ moment and announced “My name is Gregory Hanson and I will be singing Puccini’s La Boheme”. Immediately correcting myself, I let them know I would only be singing one song from that opera, Che Gelida Manina, which garnered a chuckle from one of the two auditors. An excellent way to hide the nerves, tell the auditor that you will be performing an entire opera. That turned out to be the low point in the audition, it all went uphill afterwards.

The Boheme went extremely well. All of the inflection was there, emotion, slight gestures, etc. At the end of the aria I was silently hoping they would choose a second piece and not dismiss me right off the bat. Expecting either the Gounod or Tchaikovsky, they surprised me by picking Una Furtiva Lagrima. At the time I was happy they picked one of my more solid arias, but my good friend Dan posits that they liked what they heard and wanted to hear something similar instead of a completely different style. Who cares if he can sing the French if he sings the romantic Italian so well?

After singing the Donizetti one of the auditors gave me a big smile, a hearty laugh and said “Well thank you very much”. This made me feel like my singing was well received. When I walked out of the audition room, all the singers waiting gave me a big smile and started congratulating me. One bass even remarked “Wow man, you are ****ing awesome!” and then proceeded to not believe that I had just turned 26. The reaction added to my excitement, solidifying my take on the results. I nailed that audition.

The next few hours were a haze as the adrenalin and endorphins wore off. It definitely consisted of walking 3 miles to the wrong museum before taking a taxi 7 miles to the real museum we had tickets for. We went through the Harry Potter exhibition, which was incredibly fun and fascinating. It consisted of loads of props, costumes and sets from the movies. Being tired from hiking around all day, we went back to the hotel and rested before going to The Berghoff for a great German dinner. We walked off the calories through the Grant and Millennium parks, enjoying the sites and view of Lake Michigan. A nice way to unwind after a (potentially) successful audition.

All in all it was a great trip and I feel very solid about my performance. Now the hard part is continuing to practice and prepare while waiting up to 6 weeks for them to call back. One day down.......

- Gregory -

¶ 9:26 AM 0 comments

Off to Chicago Tomorrow Cara and I will be boarding the plane to Chicago. This is going to be one grand adventure. Once we leave I will not have any time to practice, just time to look over my music one last time. I am as ready as I can be and hopefully my best is what they are looking for.

That idea, hoping my best is what they are looking for, is one that has only dawned on me in the past few days. After numerous auditions, some eventful and some I never heard from, I realize that I do my best at each one. My level of performance doesn't change. Some can hear me and think I have a great big voice that is perfect for Puccini. Others can hear the same thing and think that I should be singing lighter rep for many more years before touching the 'heavy stuff'. What I do will never change someones mind on what they like or what they perceive as being the 'right' sound. So, I will go to my audition on Saturday and sing exactly the way I know how. It is my hope that Chicago is looking for my sound, because that is all I have to give and it is out of my hands if they aren't. That does not mean they don't like what they hear, just that it was not what they were looking for.

On a side note I will be doing a live Twitter session starting tomorrow to chronicle this big audition. See you there!

- Gregory -
¶ 8:29 PM 0 comments

Surprise Lesson So my voice teacher, Craig Hart, gave me a call on Sunday which resulted in a 3 hour drive to CT for a lesson. He and his wife Susan worked with me for a full 3 hours until my voice was sufficiently shot. During this time they were able to pick apart my arias and give me some great stylistic insight. You are never as prepared as you think you are. There will always be things you can improve on. Never let yourself be fooled into thinking that you are done practicing and preparing until the audition is done.

One of my favorite things about lessons with Craig is the fact that he is so patient. No matter how many times I do the wrong thing he just explains it a different way and helps me to understand and remember. Craig, this audition is for you. To all who say we should never sing the rep that we do, I will be doing my best to prove that my teacher is not just some crazy bass, but a great teacher as well.

- Gregory -
¶ 7:48 PM 0 comments