Opera Auditions and Excerpts
Auditions for Lawrence Opera’s 2014 production of Kurt Weill’s “Street Scene” will take place on Monday and Tuesday, September 30 and October 1. This is a big work with an exceptionally large number of roles for all voice types, and features a variety of musical styles from opera to blues to Broadway. Weill described it as “an American opera.” Everyone who can sing, dance or act is encouraged to try out, whether or not you are a voice major.
Please read all of the following information completely and carefully. If you still have questions after you have done this, please direct them to bonnie.koestner@lawrence.edu.
Because there are so many roles, they are broken down into general voice categories. In the case of baritones/second tenors, please note that you should select from among the excerpts. (Read the instructions.) Tenors might also have a choice of excerpts. (Read the instructions.)
Students often ask whether auditions need to be memorized. The purpose of auditioning is to present your best effort and to convince people that you should be selected for a role. You will certainly make the best impression if your audition is memorized. A limited amount of pre-audition coaching will be available in the fall, but you are strongly encouraged to print out the audition excerpts for your voice type and prepare in advance this summer.
Two different recordings of “Street Scene” are on reserve in the Seeley G. Mudd Library under MUEN 284. You will notice, however, that the audition excerpts cannot, for the most part, be learned well from a recording. Part of what we want to assess is whether you can learn music accurately from the page.
Here are the descriptions of the audition excerpts and the roles connected with them. Please note that the “neighbors” roles: Mr. & Mrs. Fiorentino, Jones, Olsen are big roles that require solid musicians. The excerpts have been selected to demonstrate your ability to sing accurate rhythms with good intonation and clear, expressive text.
MEN
Big voice bass-baritone – Frank Maurrant pp. 92-95 (PDF) and 256-257 (PDF)
Strong, dramatic bass-baritone. This role requires powerful singing and acting. Range A-F. Anyone interested in this role should prepare just the excerpts for Maurrant, not for other roles.
Bass – Carl Olsen pp. 79-83 (PDF) and 87-90 (PDF)
The foundation of all of the “neighbors” ensembles. Range low F to D flat. Needs a solid singer and musician.
Tenor – Both roles require operatic singing. If you feel that you are clearly more likely for one role or the other, learn all excerpts for the single specific role. Otherwise, tenors may learn TWO Sam excerpts plus ONE Lippo excerpt.
Sam Kaplan pp. 118-119 (PDF), 155-157 (PDF), 228-230 (PDF). Upper range A (B flat quasi-falsetto in aria). Sam has full lyric passages. He is the potential love interest of Rose Maurrant.
Lippo Fiorentino pp. 74-76 (PDF), 78-80 (PDF). “Italian tenor” type with some comic flair. Has a B flat and several A’s.
Baritone/Tenor II – There are several roles of various types that fall into this category. Some roles are listed in the score as “baritone,” others as “tenor,” though they all have similar ranges. Please read the descriptions below, look at the excerpts, and choose at least two (or three if you wish). If you are a good jazz/swing dancer and can deliver a song Broadway-style, you should definitely include the excerpt for Dick McGann. If you have a good top range, please select at least one excerpt that displays that. Please do not be discouraged because an isolated high note may be currently out of your range. Do what you can in a healthy way, including use of falsetto as needed.
Henry pp. 25-26 (PDF), 81-84 (PDF). Low B flat to high F# (one G# in ensemble). Needs a rich baritonal timbre, but has the equivalent of a tenor II part in ensembles. Sings a “blues” ballad.
Daniel Buchanan pp. 38-43 (PDF). Sings a quasi-Broadway style song about his anticipated fatherhood. Needs a solid voice and good upper range. Lots of D. F#, G.
Abraham Kaplan pp. 16-19 (PDF). A somewhat “talky” solo, and a role needing a good character actor. High note is F# in ensemble.
Harry Easter pp. 125-127 (PDF). Broadway-style charmer. Range D to F.
George Jones pp. 79-83 (PDF). Most of the role is mid-range baritone. High note is F.
Dick McGann pp. 139-141 (PDF). Broadway song and dance man. All men who are strong jazz/swing dancers should include this excerpt.
WOMEN
Women should, in most cases, prepare the excerpts for just one role. Exception: Women auditioning for Mae Jones (the dancing role) who also want to be heard for a non-dancing role may prepare both excerpts.
Big voice operatic soprano (or high mezzo) – Anna Maurrant pp. 51-54 (PDF), 200-201 (PDF), and 207-208 (PDF) (learn all three). Needs a singer with both dramatic power and warmth.
Lyric (operatic) soprano (or high mezzo) – Rose Maurrant pp. 128-129 (PDF), 164-167 (PDF), and 267-268 (PDF) (learn all three). Rose has both Rogers and Hammerstein-style ballad and full lyric Puccini-esque music.
High coloratura soprano – Greta Fiorentino pp. 79-84 (PDF) and 87-90 (PDF). Has a high D flat.
Middle range mezzo (or soprano) – Emma Jones pp. 30-35 (PDF).
Lower voice mezzo or contralto – Olga Olsen pp. 79-84 (PDF) and 87-90 (PDF).
Broadway singer/dancer – Mae Jones pp. 144-146 (PDF).
Young, midrange soprano or mezzo – Jenny Hildebrand pp. 101-103 (PDF). Young-looking woman with a bright, natural sounding voice.
EVERYONE – MEN & WOMEN
Students who only want to be considered for chorus or minor roles may sing an art song in English or Broadway standard of their choice, though they are encouraged to prepare role excerpts if appropriate for their voice. There are numerous small solos and minor roles that will be cast from the chorus.
There may be line reading incorporated into the audition process at the discretion of Prof. Troy. Specific excerpts are not available at this time. Dance auditions will also occur for those interested in the Dick McGann/Mae Jones roles.
Auditioning for the opera constitutes an agreement to participate in the production as a whole. You may be cast in a role for which you did not audition, including chorus.
