WHY WRITE TO 29 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES DIRECTLY
YOURSELF?
Writing directly to agents and opera houses in 28 European
countries puts your fate into your hands. While Germany is still the number one place to
write to and audition in, from personal experience and research we have discovered that
other countries in Europe will offer you work as well.
TWO STRATEGIES FOR FINDING
WORK IN EUROPE
1. Writing Directly to European Agents
Unlike in America, in Europe you are allowed to have as many agents
as you can get to represent you. Having many agents working for you is very important as
it is always better to be sent by an agent to a house audition. However, it is risky
to rely on the representation of just one or two agents because an agent's contacts and
knowledge of available house auditions could be limited. Also, if you write to and
audition for only a few agents expecting one to find you work, you could be disappointed.
If you are just starting out, have little performance experience on your résumé, and
your fach (voice type) is not that marketable (i.e. you are not a tenor, or a dramatic
soprano), you may find it very difficult to get even one agent to help you.
As Rick Hartung (president of Hartung Artist's Management in New
York City and the American representative for the International Opera Center in Zurich)
states:
| "Since agents are very selective
due to the abundance of available talent--including their own roster to be taken care of,
it becomes necessary to audition for as many agents that can be found with the object of
any one of them arranging for specific auditions." |
...From Planning a European Audition Tour This Fall?, The
New York Opera Newsletter, June 1996
Thus logically, the more agents you write to, the more you increase
your chance of finding more agents to represent you and to find you work.
2. Writing Directly to Opera Houses in Europe
Even with a number of agents representing you, you still may not be
able to get house auditions due to the previously mentioned limitations of the agents.
Therefore it becomes necessary to write to as many opera houses as possible.
Opera houses in Europe are much more accessible than in America, and
almost all of the houses WILL write you back whether they can offer you an audition
in your fach or not. So, if you plan to stay in Europe for three months, and you choose to
write to all the opera houses in 29 European countries, you will be able to set up your
own audition schedule choosing from a large selection of audition offers. This will
maximize your auditions thereby increasing your odds of finding a contract. You also will
gain valuable audition experience and make your time spent in Europe more efficient.
MATERIALS AVAILABLE FOR
SALE
The following materials are available:
-
Model letters in the right
language to the right contact for all opera houses in 28 European countries
(281 letters).
-
Model letters in the right
language to the right contact for select agents in 28 European countries
(173 letters).
-
Mailing labels to all
opera houses in 28 European countries
-
Mailing labels to select
agents in 28 European countries
-
Mailing labels with
your return address
-
Opera House Audition organizer booklet
with all opera house contact information (Addresses, Tel, Fax, Email, Web)
-
Agent
Audition organizer booklet
with all agent contact information (Addresses, Tel., Fax, Email, Web)
-
German business letter
vocabulary translations
-
Special bonus: faxes to
all international singing competitions and competition organizer booklet
The 28 countries are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, The
Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Serbia & Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
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