Do you have to continue your musical / vocal education to the highest degree to be an opera singer?

Question

Okay so I previously asked this question in the "Singing" section but I only got 2 responses and I still haven't satisfied yet so I wanna ask again here. Hopefully I can get some good reply here.

I know that u have to go to college/university to study vocal/opera. But do you have to be on post-graduate degree to be an opera singer? Can't someone just have an undergraduate diploma and have a successful opera career? Or even doesn't have any music academic degree at all yet still able to become a famous opera star?

Coz I notice that most opera stars continue their vocal/musical education AT LEAST until post-graduate degree. Is it a necessary thing in order to get jobs in major opera houses/companies? Do those opera houses/companies pay significant attention to that sort of thing? Supposedly an opera singer, despite how talented he/she is, doesn't have a high music degree, will he/she experience difficulty/problems finding singing jobs in opera houses esp the major houses/companies?

Answer 1

IF you want to be a GREAT opera singer, then you will simply start today doing EVERYTHING you can to achieve your dream.



IF you are looking for some sort of equation (X-years+Y-Courses=Opera Singer) then have fun frustrating yourself.



Above all, Opera singing is an ART, and ART defies concrete analysis.



There are WONDERFUL Opera singers who never set foot on a university campus.



You need at least six things to "learn" to sing opera:



1. A personal voice coach.



I seem to recall you posting before and saying something about taking lessons.



Obviously you didn't like the advice or answers given by your teacher, or you wouldn't be wasting your time asking for the opinions of strangers here.



IF you do not have a personal voice coach who you are willing to OBEY, then your dream is over before it ever started.



It sounds to me as if you are asking people to justify your distaste for YEARS of schooling.



Look at it this way: IF you don't have the talent, schools of higher education won't accept you for their advanced degree programs.



Instead of wondering how you can get around the need for higher education, you should be focusing on learning how to do MORE than your competition.



2. A foreign language coach. This may be your voice coach, or someone else recommended by her/him. In any case, they should be "on the same page" so that they don't contradict each other in your lessons.



3. Hours and hours and hours of listening to great opera recordings.



4. Regular attendance at "World Class" opera performances.



5. Piano lessons. This is the best way for you to learn your music theory and become your own accompanist.



6. DISCIPLINE: YOU are going to have to suck it up and simply do as much as you can every day to improve yourself.



IF you do all these things, and IF you have a natural gift and/or talent, then MAYBE you won't need a degree.



You can perform everywhere possible.



Those who direct your performances will let you know if they think you have more promise.

Answer 2

You can sing all you want AT HOME with as little education as you care to have. However, if you ever wish to be IN a good opera company, make a dollar doing this, or ever be taken seriously, OF COURSE you would get all the education you can! People ask all the time if they can learn to play the (whatever) without lessons. Sure! But you will be awful!!!



Obviously, you KNOW the answer to this already - you just wnat someone to AGREE with you! The whole fairy-tale "you are going to be discovered" baloney even WITHOUT any decent education is very misleading. People think that *reality* shows are REAL - when they are rigged from the first day. To reach the top, you must be the best. If you want to be in a field of music where you are HOT one day, and the FBI cannot find you the next - like rap music, or pop - you can get a hit sometimes by being audacious, naked, or arrested - never mind how badly you sing, dance, or rap. But in LEGITIMATE music, theater, dance, etc, - you better be the BEST - or you go to the end of the line.

Answer 3

Im currently in a small group that takes part in productions regularly. I have been in this group for two years, using previous performances as a part of my resume, which I hand in when I intend to audition for a new production. After about 10 performances with chorus or very minor parts, I got my first big break. I appeared in my schools production of the magic flute playing the queen of the night, and was spotted by a director of an agency. I recieved an invitation to RSM a week later, and have been having lessons every saturday for a year now, and have performed the lead in several productions including Joshua and Dido and Aeneas. I am 18, have been having singing lessons for 5 years, and have been in choirs from the age of 6. I have no intention of studying music at university, but have every intention of singing in my own time. I dont feel that it is necessary to have a degree in music to be a professional singer, but more a case of being in the right place at the right time and trying your hardest to get spotted

Answer 4

Another thing to consider is that most opera singer's voices don't really reach their full potential until the late 20's. They have got to do something with all that time!!

You may have a career as a singer with out post-grad training but I doubt it. Competition is tough. You need every advantage you can. That includes as much training with the best teachers you can. The ability to sing in many languages and many styles is vital. The knowledge of stagecraft and acting is vital.

There are no shortcuts. If you have lesser experience and training than another singer in an audition, the panel will know. Even if it is a blind audition with no details available to them, they will know. You may not understand that, but they will know the difference.

Don't delude yourself. Do the work. Stop trying to avoid the obvious. To succeed in the business you need to have the skills. If you don't you won't get the work, certainly not anywhere of note.

Simple.

Answer 5

I was in the Lyric Opera Theater at the University, and I can tell you, it would be very wise to continue vocal education throughout, because competition is tough, and if you're not 125%, some noob fresh out of All-State choir can come snatch up your spot. Also, as with most things, age affects the voice differently. Women's voices can actually change in their early 20's. I went from a lyric soprano to a mezzo. >.< I was officially type-cast the villain in all future productions.

Good luck to you, and always always continue the vocal education and private instruction.