The Singer’s Audition & Career Handbook

Claudia Friedlander is a voice teacher and fitness expert based in New York City. She has presented workshops on vocal fitness for The Voice Foundation and the Performing Arts Medicine Association, and was an invited panel discussant on health and wellness for OPERA America. Her students have performed on Broadway, and at leading opera houses including The Santa Fe Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. She is the author of the monthly column "Musings on Mechanics" for Classical Singer Magazine as well as a widely read and cited blog on vocal technique and fitness, The Liberated Voice. In 2008, she joined the faculty of the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall, where her most recent project was the development, in collaboration with Joyce DiDonato, of The Singer's Audition Handbook, an interactive online career development guide for young singers.

The Singer's Audition & Career Handbook is a comprehensive guide to the training, audition technique, and professional development essential for launching and sustaining a rewarding career in classical singing. Expanding on author Claudia Friedlander's online collaboration with mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall, the book brings together insights from nearly seventy prominent performers, educators, and opera industry professionals.Whether you are a young singer preparing for conservatory auditions, a professional opera singer, or an avocational singer seeking to improve your technique and pursue local performance opportunities, this book will help you take inventory of your skills and achieve the next stages of your musical journey.

Forward by Joyce DiDonatoPreface: Why Do You Sing?AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: A Lifelong JourneyPART ONE: Learning the CraftChapter 1: The Complete PackageChapter 2: Training ProgramsChapter 3: TechniqueChapter 4: MusicianshipChapter 5: Languages and DictionChapter 6: Dramatic InterpretationChapter 7: Choosing Audition RepertoireChapter 8: Audition Preparation, Technique and EtiquetteChapter 9: Performance OpportunitiesChapter 10: Investing in Your TrainingPART TWO: The Apprenticeship PhaseChapter 11: Resident Artist ProgramsChapter 12: Promotional MaterialsChapter 13: Public Master ClassesChapter 14: CompetitionsChapter 15: Keeping AfloatPART THREE: Going ProChapter 16: From Contract to Closing Night: The Opera Singer at WorkChapter 17: Crafting Your Public PersonaChapter 18: ManagementChapter 19: Choose Your Own AdventureChapter 20: Running Your BusinessConclusion: A Lifetime of Song