1. Preparation
- Know for whom you’re singing and why.
- Have all of your audition repertoire in top condition.
- Plan and practice how you’d present them to a team behind a table five feet away or to a panel in a darkened auditorium.
- Your repertoire should be appropriate to the roles you can sing today.
- Remove older roles, non-opera gigs, irrelevant listings and any roles you don’t want to sing again from your résumé, unless there is another reason to keep them (presenting organization, conductor or director, etc.)
- A singer should wear what makes him/her look good and feel confident and comfortable.
- Know exactly what you’re going to say when you enter the room.
- Have your audition binder ready. Include only those arias you want to sing today, and have your first selection first in your binder.
- Act as if you’ve already got the job.
- Keep your composure whether you nailed everything or not. And then forget about it. Move on to the next audition or performance or life experience you are preparing, and don’t worry about the audition you’ve just done.