I have finally started making vlogs! This first installment is my adventures on Sunday, 29 April. So excited to share this first video with you!

I had the privilege of attending the Met Opera National Council Finals and learned a lot. If you are a singer, I highly recommend watching as many competitions as you can. It teaches you about, in no particular order:

• stage presence,
• how to move,
  • Lots of movement only works on a big stage if you are completely calm. Otherwise it comes off as nervous and makes it hard for the audience to focus. Make any movement large and decisive. I realized while watching that I should stage all of my arias with varying degrees of motion - bold (chew that scenery!), moderate (a few moves), and still (mostly hands and angles) - so that I can select staging based on the space, circumstance, and audience. I want staging because I have a tendency to move a lot and taking away that autonomy will prevent any self-sabotage.
• where to stand,
• what repertoire works for which stage of the competition,
  • It was interesting - there was one woman who sang what was essentially audition rep, but it didn't work for this final stage. The pieces were too short and not contrasting enough. They were perfect for the first round, or for a role audition where you have less time in the room, and she sounded great (legit one of the best "Sein wir wieder gut"s I've ever heard), but amidst the other singers' fireworks and slow-burn drama the pieces just didn't make as much of an impression. (She's totally going to get cast in someone's Ariadne immediately, though!)
• which clothes look best onstage,
  • One singer wore a mermaid gown, and while it was beautiful, I was worried that she was hobbled and might fall over or rip it. One singer had a sparkly, shimmery gown with a bajillion rhinestones on it that was gorgeous, but was distracting and a little bit dizzying to me until I got used to looking at it.
• that pushing never works (relax into your voice and trust that you have enough ring and overtones to cut),
• how important it is to sync with your conductor, 
• your personal artistic style preferences and how they relate to the judges'.
  • Oddly enough, a lot my preferences were in line with the judges', which never happens. And this is the first time I was able to pick out who was going to win. Good to know I'm getting better at these things - maybe it will help my choices in the future.

That's what I got out of attending this, and I'm sure I missed a couple more things that I learned. The knowledge will come to me when I need it.

In case you were wondering (and didn't just click on the MONC link above), the winners are:
Ashley Dixon, Mezzo-Soprano, Northwest Region
Jessica Faselt, Soprano, Upper Midwest Region
Madison Leonard, Soprano, Middle Atlantic Region
Carlos Santelli, Tenor, Western Region
Hongni Wu, Mezzo-Soprano, Eastern Region

I had a lot of fun making my first MezzoNerd video. Please subscribe to my youtube channel - there will be more vlogs in the future!