February 2017 MID-CAREER MAGIC: Piotr Beczala Two Sides to Anne- Carolyn Bird's Story Love Story: A Chronicle of Winning the Amore Opera Universe's Lottery: Ana Maria Ugarte and Brian Landry U.S.A. $6.50 • Can $8.70 Announcing auditions for summer 2017 Two Amazing Cities Stunning performance venues along with the thrill of singing fully-staged and beautifully-costumed operas with professional orchestras in Rome and Orvieto, Italy. May 24th to June 17th. Operafestival di Roma Don Giovanni Suor Angelica w.a. Mozart | Directed by Dugg McDonough Giacomo Puccini | Directed by Tony Offerle In Italian | Principal Roles | Double Cast | Performances with Orchestra February auditions Chicago • Baton Rouge Positions available until all roles are filled. Video auditions accepted. A Complete Italian Musical Experience for $5,000 • Apartment Style Living • Voice Lessons • Two Meals A Day Provided • Coachings • Financing Options Available • Aria Concerts Faculty Dr. Todd Queen: Executive Director Dennis Jesse: General & Artistic Director Nyela Basney: Conductor Michael Borowitz & Laura Friesen: Vocal Coaches For more information please visit our site at: operafest.wixsite.com/operafest CS VOCAL COMPETITION $2,000,000 in Scholarships $20,000 Cash Prizes Competition Classical & Musical Theatre $4,000 First Place Prize and No Age Limits! High School, University, and Emerging Professional Divisions First Round - Online or Live Locations, January-May Finals - CS Convention in Chicago, May 26-28, 2017 Convention Classes Four days of masterclasses and presentations by universities, conservatories, summer programs, industry experts, and more. Free for Competition Participants The Expo More than 80 schools, summer programs, and professional companies eager to recruit top singers and offer scholarship and performance opportunities. More than $12,700,000 in Scholarships offered since 2004 Sponsored by magazine Use the $20 Coupon Code magazine www.ClassicalSinger.com/vocalcompetition ADVERTISER INDEX We have listed our advertisers in this issue by what they’ll do for you. While we cannot vouch for any advertiser’s product or service, we do not run ads from vendors with unresolved complaints. Please e-mail and tell us about your experiences with our advertisers. Competitions Barcelona Festival of Song .................54 Vol. 30 No. 2 CS Vocal Competition ..........................4 The Boston Conservatory ...................11 Publisher David Wood Gerda Lissner Foundation ..................59 California Opera Association ...............40 Jensen Foundation ...........................26 Canta in Italia ...................................45 Editor in Chief Sara Thomas Druid City Opera ...............................15 General Manager Convention Early Music Vancouver .......................57 Alex Stoddard CS Music Convention ........................58 Early Music Week at Pinewoods ..........29 Design and Layout Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar .............15 Horizon Design Education Greve Summer Opera Academy ..........21 Advertising Manager The Academy of Vocal Arts ...................2 T he Harrower Summer Dane Trimble Baldwin Wallace University .................31 Opera Workshop ............................55 Auditions Plus Manager California State University - Fullerton ....53 Highlands Opera Studio .....................47 Kimberlee Talbot Columbus State University ..................19 Lotte Lehman Summer Academy ........52 Customer Service Manager Converse College .............................16 Lingua e Canto .................................31 Mary Taylor Palm Beach Atlantic University ............12 Little Patuxent Opera Institute ..............29 Office Manager and Accounts Receivable University of Houston.........................37 McClosky Institute of Voice .................41 Marianne Johnston University of Oklahoma ......................53 M etropolitan International Final Copy Editor Deb Tokarewich Music Festival ................................43 Masterclass/Workshops Musiktheater Bavaria .........................17 Assistant Copy Editor Jenny Jenson Fawcett S ummer Workshop: John Blow's Nautilus Music Theater.......................20 Marketing Consultant 'Venus and Adonis' .........................56 New York Lyric Opera Theater .............21 Mark Stoddard Operafestival di Roma .........................3 For inquiries: [email protected] Musical Accessories Opera Viva! ......................................25 Classical Singer magazine (ISSN: 1534-276X) Pocket Opera ...................................50 Prelude to Performance .....................42 is published monthly by Classical Singer Corp, 949 East Pioneer Road, Draper, UT 84020. Sing & See ......................................52 Redwoods Opera Workshop ...............16 Periodicals postage paid at Draper, UT and at additional mailing offices. Annual subscription Song of Joy Industries, LLC................54 Shenandoah University - CCM Vocal rate is US$58.00. Pedagogy Institute ............................60 POSTMASTER: Send address change to Classical Singer, P.O. Box 1710, Draper, UT 84020- 1710. Office: (801) 254-1025, FAX (801) 254-3139. Printed Music San Miguel Institute of Bel Canto .........34 The opinions expressed in the manuscripts, editorials, and letters to the editor are not Leyerle Publications ..........................56 Si Parla, Si Canta ..............................40 necessarily the opinions of the publisher. Packard Humanities Institute ...............28 Summer Opera Institute .....................49 Missed Copies/Change of Address Report missed copies of CS magazine to T afelmusik Baroque Summer 801-254-1025, Mary Taylor or [email protected]. Missed Publication Institute ..........................................41 copies will be replaced only if notification is received within 30 days after publication date of Aria Ready! ......................................51 University of Miami at Salzburg ...........24 copy missed. Failure to report change of address at least 30 days prior to publication Marketing Singers .............................45 V.O.I.C.Experience Foundation .............39 date forfeits any claim to replacement. Vocal Artistry Art Song Festival ............35 PHOTOCOPYING: Please do not photocopy any part of this issue. Recordings Vocal Arts Society .............................56 SUBSCRIPTION RATES David Jones .....................................39 ONE YR. TWO YRS. United States: US$58 US$96 Voice Teachers Canada: US$78 US$136 International: US$88 US$154 Summer Programs Davis, Osceola ...................................56 ON THE COVER: Piotr Beczala AIMS ..........................................6, 30 Jacklin, Diana ...................................50 PHOTO BY: J Henry Fair Amherst Early Music..........................17 www.classicalsinger.com 5 American Institute of Musical Studies Celebrating 49 Years July 3 - August 14, 2017 in Graz, Austria MASTERCLASS ARTISTS Deborah Voigt Barbara Bonney Linda Watson Patricia Craig Gabriele Lechner $125,000 MAJOR SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS You CAN afford to attend AIMS! AIMS participants receive world-class instruction from FIVE $5,000 Scholarships professionals working at the top of their craft in the United SIX $4,000 Scholarships States, Europe and other countries. AIMS bridges the gap between fine musical training and a career in a unique European SEVEN $3,000 Scholarships environment. EIGHT $2,000 Scholarships To be considered for these merit-based scholarships, a live or $1,500 Scholarships recorded audition is required. We welcome singers from all NINE countries who are 18 years of age and older to audition. View live TEN $1,000 Scholarships and recorded audition information and requirements here THIRTY under $1,000 awards www.aimsgraz.com/audition Sarah Halley, General Director We are committed to helping you reach your goals! February 2017 Vol. 30 No. 2 Mid-Career Magic: Piotr Beczala 22 BY LISA HOUSTON Tenor Piotr Beczala is having a meaning- ful career, built over decades of consis- tent excellence that keeps him in high demand at the world’s most illustrious houses, as he continues to benefit greatly from the support of his wife, Katarzyna, who gave up her own successful career as a singer two decades ago to support and travel with him. But his career also stands on a foundation of respect and serious attention paid to the lineage of COLUMNS singers that preceded him. Perhaps it's that awe for both the past and present The Music Major Minute: Interns, that has helped Beczala find a remark- 10 Volunteers, and Apprentices—Oh My! able sense of balance in his personal and BY CHRISTI AMONSON professional life, all of which he discusses Even if you know your long-term goal is a in this exclusive interview. career on the stage, taking a look at some other Piotr Beczala jobs in the music industry is never a bad idea, and an internship can be a great place to start. FEATURES 14 Musings on Mechanics: Why Can’t Two Sides to Anne-Carolyn We All Get a Song? The Perils and Paradoxes of Auditions 18 Bird’s Story BY CLAUDIA FRIEDLANDER BY GREG WAXBERG Auditions can sometimes bring out the worst One year after featuring Anne-Carolyn Bird on in singers, even though every singer goes in the cover, we catch up with the singer to find hoping to show their best. Claudia Friedlander out how her family’s changing needs led to an takes a look at this and other contradictions of unexpected but perfect career change. the audition scene. Love Story: A Chronicle of The Singer’s Library: 32 Amore