One of my biggest regrets in my career was my experience with my first Verdi role. I was vocally ready to sing Germont from La Traviata but there was something else that I wasn’t fully prepared for and the worst thing was… I didn’t even know that I wasn’t prepared. I was never taught this … More The Secret to Singing Bel Canto
There’s a saying in the opera world that baritones are lazy tenors. If they simply approach their high notes differently by working their technique in a more efficient way, modify their vowels, perhaps sing more “in the mask” or some other miraculous cure-all mantra, they could be tenors. All they need is the right teacher … More Baritones are Not Lazy Tenors. Here’s Why.
For the first time in my life, I find myself a homebody for the immediate future. This is the quarantine life, my friends, and we’re practicing health, safety, and responsibility by staying inside and preventing COVID-19 from spreading. So, with our civic duty behind us, what do we do as opera singers to benefit from … More 10 Things To Do During a Quarantine as an Opera Singer
I don’t speak Russian. I’m not a language expert. Yet, I sing hours of music in languages that I don’t speak fluently for my profession. All opera singers do! As a native English speaker, I sing operas in Italian, French, and German—as well as Russian. Now, I’m not here to tell you how to sing … More What’s So Hard about Singing Russian? (And Why I Love It)
It’s common knowledge that the human voice changes over a lifetime. You barely notice the changes as they happen. It’s like looking in the mirror everyday until one day, many years later, you look back and definitively say, “whoa! Things are different than they used to be!” I often get asked by younger baritones about … More The Stages of My Vocal Development (Until Now)
Arias are like gloves: there are lots of different sizes and styles out there but finding the right ones is no easy task. On the bright side, you can switch them out as often as you like as you grow and change as a singer. Some of these arias were real winners for me during … More Top 20 Baritone Audition Arias
Because the rehearsal place is sacred ground, here are my 10 Commandments of Rehearsal. 1. Thou Shalt Not Be Late The fastest and easiest way to start a rehearsal on the right foot is to arrive on time. You immediately show respect and professionalism for the rehearsal process and everyone in the room. Plan ahead … More The Ten Commandments of Rehearsal
Four months ago, I was blessed with my first child. Cash Erickson Meachem came into our lives May 30th and our world was forever changed. Like any first-time parent, I had no clue what I was getting into. Many of my parent friends warned me about the magnitude of commitment—not to mention the sleep deprivation—it … More How Fatherhood Has Changed Me
This week was a whirlwind and I don’t say that lightly. Opera singers are often faced with tough decisions and I was hit with one of my biggest. Even now, I’m still dealing with the repercussions. As many of you know, my wife Irina and I are expecting our first child. The due date is … More The Biggest Sacrifice of My Life
High notes are notoriously the hardest thing to sing in opera. But there’s another vocal challenge that’s almost or just as hard. That’s accessing and singing in your passaggio. What is your passaggio you might ask? Simply put (and this is the best definition there is, without getting threatened by the vocal ped police!) it’s the … More My Weird (But Effective!) Trick for Singing in Your Passaggio
