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 4th floor may not have been too happy with me. Better those few then the entire east sides of the 14th-16th 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 2nd floor, where the main rehearsal room is. I checked in at the audition room and was told that I could warm up on the 5th 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 -
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