Real talk: the unspoken realities of a professional artistic life

Op-ed

Is it okay for us to talk about this openly? Can we be honest for a minute about how difficult this is? After a while I started to notice that I wasn’t the only one feeling the strain, and I definitely am not the only one wondering if it's alright to talk about it. So I'm here to talk about it. Openly, honestly, and publicly. And to invite others to be part of the real talk surrounding our endlessly difficult and confusing line of work.

I'm a singer and it's Christmas

Op-ed

I'm a singer and it's Christmas. It feels like I have a rehearsal or performance every single day. My Facebook feed is full of spam about performances (half of which I'm in) and memories of past statuses congratulating my fellow performers on a job well done. My partner and I are like ships in the night. My Mom guilt is at record levels. So many babysitters, late nights, and not enough sleep for my little guy who still needs Mommy to fall asleep.

It's beginning to look a lot like **SUB NEEDED**

Op-ed

The past few weeks every time I log on to my social media feeds, or open my inboxes, I find the same messages. "Sub needed for Dec 23, 24, 25," etc., outlining the money made per call. This doesn't just happen at Christmas either. I see the same barrage of posts happening during Lent/Easter as well.

What I learned about money from Enrico Caruso

Op-ed

The voice in my head wants me to be a brilliant actor, an incredible singer, the best blogger, a life changing financial planner, and everyone's favourite friend. I want all the things. You see… I'm not the kind of guy who can do just 'one thing'. I like having multiple focuses… focusi? And so I'm constantly in conflict with my want to do all of things, and my want to be great at all those things. The smaller the focus, the larger the voice.

Oh look, it's the "elitist" argument again...

Op-ed

But here's the kicker in my eyes: no one bats an eye when someone says, "Oh, she's a Susanna, not an Ariadne," but thinking that this Susanna would also sound great as Lucy in The Secret Garden garners a completely different response.

In defense of the "day" job

Op-ed

But for real...for some reason, I have found that the "day job" has a negative connotation within the performing arts/musician community. As if accepting the day job is a form of "giving up," a "distraction." That because I am focusing my attentions on this alternative to support myself, (and you know… feed myself,) that somehow I have lost focus and am not giving the dream my all, that I am in a sense... throwing in the towel, or "not working hard enough."

Why 'mezza voce' and budgets really don't matter

Op-ed

There are a million ways to communicate an awesome idea. I sing opera. Maybe you paint on canvas, or channel your soul through the words of Shakespeare. There are also a million ways to make peace with money. I use financial planning and teach it to others, but that doesn't mean it's the right tool for you.

Tenors' redemption at an historic Grey Cup in Toronto

Op-ed

“I don’t think we can see ourselves performing with Remigio again,” fellow Tenor Fraser Walters said in July of this year. Rightly so. The backlash received by the quartet immediately after Pereira's "going rogue" prompted the decision back in the summer, and no amount of back-pedalling by Pereira was able to save his spot in the roster - imagine. Not even this non-apology released on Soundcloud was enough to save him.

A diction lesson: French Canadian swearing

Op-ed

Words like tabarnak, câlisse, criss, simonaque, ciboire, calvaire, viarge and esti are nouns, so they generally require a "de" after them when they are used to describe something. A few of them were used as adjectives on a few occasions, which sounds off to a native speaker. For example, you can't say "that tabarnak chair". A connector word is missing: "that tabarnak de chair", "cette tabarnak de chaise". It's like saying "that f*ck chair", it just doesn't work, it has to be "f*cking" for it to make grammatical sense.

Don't miss: yoga & mindfulness for singers

Op-ed

On December 15th, opera singers will come together for a yoga and meditation practice specifically designed for their profession. We are Opera Yogis Madison Arsenault and Danielle Simpson, and we have designed a 2-hour workshop for singers who want to carry the benefits of yoga into their singing.