• FAQ  • Search  • Memberlist  • Usergroups   • Register   • Profile  • Log in to check your private messages  • Log in 

Opera Audition List



 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    trumpetherald.com Forum Index -> Orchestral/Chamber Music/Solo
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
BStrad43
Veteran Member


Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 294
Location: Southern California

PostPosted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 6:47 pm    Post subject: Opera Audition List Reply with quote

What would the top 20 excerpts be for auditioning for an opera orchestra?

Kevin
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail AIM Address
WildCat
Heavyweight Member


Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Posts: 1820

PostPosted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think there was talk of ballet orchestra auditions a while back in this section of the forum. The idea behind "hat to expect" on the lists of non-conventional orchestras was to be ready for all types of literature, and perform all of it like you know what you're doing. Sometimes things are pulled that don't seem to fit into the job description, but the people behind the screen are going for that "what if?" factor.
Really, we have to understand their intentions in doing these things. Sure, a lot of people could sit in an orchestra and play the parts just fine. I know plenty people I'd love to hear in better positions than where they are now, as I'm sure we all do. The thing is, though, that they're looking for someone who'll have the least amount of issues with the music, the required flexibility of musicianship and more, and be the most maintinence free person available for the gig. Any employer would do the same thing, although the job requirments for let's say, an accountant might not be as rigorous. As well, there are plenty more accounting firms than orchestras in the world.

That's about all I can ramble about in this topic, as my opera experience in limited. If any of the Met guys want to chime in, that'd be grand. Peter? Dave? Whoever else pokes their head in here?
_________________
Vince K.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
tptfrbrains
Heavyweight Member


Joined: 05 Jan 2007
Posts: 1375
Location: Moers, Germany

PostPosted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Opera excerpts in german opera orchestras might look like this:
Bizet - Carmen call. Maybe backstage duett, and /or end of piece backstage.
Humperdinck - Hänsel and Gretel.
Wagner - Walküre - Sword solo 1st Act, Act II beginning, Flying Dutchman, Meistersinger, Parsifal prelude
Strauss - Frau ohne Schatten, Arabella, Salome, Rosenkavalier
Verdi - Rigoletto beginning, very end Act I, Act II beginning. Il Trovatore solo, Forza del Destino, Il Ballo en Masquera solo..
Donizetti - Don Pasquale Act II.
Leoncavallo - Bajazzo (the "No More Rice Crispies" opera).
(Sorry about some of the italian mis-spellings - we usually use the german titles, even when sung in italian.)
Since all large opera houses in Germany have ballett companies and concert seasons one would have to expect excerpts from these things too including Petrouchka, Firebird, Swan Lake, and all of the orchestral literature you're bound to see on an american audition.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
BStrad43
Veteran Member


Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 294
Location: Southern California

PostPosted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 10:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Where would the best place to get a couple of these excerpts? I have some, but not all.

Kevin
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail AIM Address
tptfrbrains
Heavyweight Member


Joined: 05 Jan 2007
Posts: 1375
Location: Moers, Germany

PostPosted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 12:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There's a book entitled "Orchesterprobespiel" or "Test Pieces for Orchestral Auditions" for Trumpet (Trompete) published by Edition Peters.
This book has many errors, and is not everything, but it is a very good place to start, as it is recommended by the union here for auditions and as study material. Another good source would be the four volumes entitled "Ausfühliche Orchesterstudien für Trompete" edited by Hermann Neuhaus for the Musikverlag Hans Gerig (Köln)
Good luck, and if you need any further help don't hesitate to ask.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
BStrad43
Veteran Member


Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 294
Location: Southern California

PostPosted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 1:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I own the "Orchesterprobespiel" and really enjoy it a lot. I will check the others. Thanks again.

Kevin
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail AIM Address
jcdob
Veteran Member


Joined: 18 Sep 2002
Posts: 248
Location: West Chester, PA

PostPosted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 1:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am working on a new set of opera excerpts that will be available at Hickman Music Editions. I am with the Peter Bond's help putting together some very cool books. Check later

JC
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
BStrad43
Veteran Member


Joined: 15 Oct 2004
Posts: 294
Location: Southern California

PostPosted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 2:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

JC,

Could you put me on a waiting list of when the opera project will be down?

Kevin
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail AIM Address
jcdob
Veteran Member


Joined: 18 Sep 2002
Posts: 248
Location: West Chester, PA

PostPosted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 4:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

No problem. This will be another major project. I am very excited about it and want to thank Pete Bond for all his help.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Peter Bond
Heavyweight Member


Joined: 08 Feb 2004
Posts: 1455
Location: Metropolitan Opera

PostPosted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 7:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[quote="tptfrbrains"]
Leoncavallo - Bajazzo (the "No More Rice Crispies" opera).
(Sorry about some of the italian mis-spellings - we usually use the german titles, even when sung in italian.)

Bajazzo. Wow. Here, that's Pagliacci. Excerpts would probably include the first scene chorus, the stage call(s), and very ending.
BTW, we use a German edition of Cavalleria Rusticana (which usually shares the bill with Pagliacci), and the word cues in the part are 'auf Deutsch,' while the cast sings in Italian; it drove me crazy for my first couple of years.

The Met trumpet lists of past years would include most of those mentioned, plus:
Bizet: Carmen Prelude (and the aforementioned spots)
Beethoven: Leonore call #3
Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor (opening)
Wagner: Gotterdammerung ( Siegfried's Funeral Music ), Lohengrin (stage calls and big tutti passages)
Berg: Wozzek
Strauss: Elektra, Arabella, Ariadne auf Naxos
Verdi: Rigoletto, act I banda; Nabucco (Va pensiero), Aida, act II duet.
Britten: Peter Grimes (3rd tpt)
Shostakivich: Lady Macbeth
The principal tpt auditions also included some less commonly heard works like Britten's Midsummernights Dream, and Schoenberg's Moses & Aron.
Peter Bond
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
robert_white
Heavyweight Member


Joined: 19 Feb 2003
Posts: 1582

PostPosted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 10:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Peter, would you tell us where in Shostakovich's "Lady Macbeth" that particular excerpt occurs? The excerpt, as I've seen it, doesn't indicate which act, scene, etc.

Thanks!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Athos
Heavyweight Member


Joined: 09 May 2004
Posts: 805
Location: St Louis

PostPosted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 10:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don't forget (though I wish I could!) the Berlioz "Les Troyens" lick.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
sandytpt
Veteran Member


Joined: 22 Mar 2006
Posts: 161
Location: New York

PostPosted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 9:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The usual section from Lady MacBeth is in Act III - roughly reh. 384 - 388/389.

(On the Rostropovich recording, it is on CD 2, Track 4, about 5 minutes in.)


Sandy
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
robert_white
Heavyweight Member


Joined: 19 Feb 2003
Posts: 1582

PostPosted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 10:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks, Sandy!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
trumpet_cop
Veteran Member


Joined: 18 Jun 2013
Posts: 242

PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 9:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

jcdob wrote:
No problem. This will be another major project. I am very excited about it and want to thank Pete Bond for all his help.


Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but has there been any more on this collection? I like the HME orchestra books and I have been trying to expose my students to more Opera lit so they don't have that gap in their education.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
trpt.hick
Rafael Méndez Forum Moderator


Joined: 16 Jul 2004
Posts: 2630

PostPosted: Thu Oct 12, 2017 9:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Because JC is now the head of each year's ITG conference, he has not been able to find time to work with Peter Bond on the excerpts, so Peter and I have been doing them together. Volume one is almost ready for release. It will have many of the "must have" excerpts from operas by Leoncavallo, Mascagni, Bizet, Wagner, Verdi, Mozart, Puccini, and Donizettti.

Opera excerpts have been a bit under the radar, but they are important and difficult things to know. I researched and found some interesting statistics. In the United States alone, there are currently 286 professional chamber and symphony orchestras that pay a partial or full annual salary. However, there are currently 349 opera orchestras that do the same!

I will make an announcement in about 3-4 weeks.

Dave Hickman
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    trumpetherald.com Forum Index -> Orchestral/Chamber Music/Solo All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group