AUDITION SPACES
Some of the most often used audition spaces, reviewed by singers who've sung there!
BAY AREA
San Francisco Opera Chorus Room at War Memorial Opera House (5th floor)
301 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 861-4008
Lori Decter Purcell: "Long skinny room...usually piano/singer at one end and the panel across about 15 yards or so. There are chairs in the hall outside and a water fountain as well as bathrooms. No place to really warm-up...so come ready to sing (although you can hear humming, etc. from the bathrooms)! The hall itself is a decent place to audition...not terrible live but again not so dry that you feel like you're in a vacuum!"
Zellerbach Rehearsal Hall
401 Van Ness Ave # 110
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 6231-6600
Lori Decter Purcell: "There are three halls...A, B, and C. Quite similar.....linoleum floored rehearsal halls on the larger side...often used for staging and big chorus rehearsals by San Francisco Opera. There is a bathroom and a little waiting area with vending machines, tables and chairs. The space is often filled with non-auditionees who are using the other studios (i.e. parents of the children's chorus etc.). If SFO is in one of the other studios then there is usually hot water and tea available. The place tends to be chilly so bring a coat and maybe even gloves. When auditions are in Hall C the other singers waiting tend to congregate on the stairs rather than the waiting area since it is closer....so it is crowded, cold and no where to sit. There also isn't any place to warm-up (other that the bathroom) so come prepared. The halls for my taste tend to be on the drier side and I always feel like I could use an extra bottle of water when I have auditions there."
Montgomery Theater (home of Opera San Jose)
150 W San Carlos St at Market
San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 277-5277
Lori Decter Purcell: "Nice little theater (about 500 seats with a balcony). House auditions are on the stage with the current production's set, with an upright piano. Once I auditioned there and the piano was in the pit, which made coordinating with the accompanist a challenge. There are bathrooms in the lobby and although there is no where to warm-up the bathrooms are far enough away from the hall that one could warm up in there in a pinch! (San Jose State University is a few blocks away and one could always slip into a practice room in the Music School before heading an audition). The coordinator will usually meet the scheduled singer in the foyer and lead them through the house to the stage right wing, where you'll just step out on stage with the accompanist. The stage lights as well as the house lights are up. The space itself is pretty singer friendly since it is so small and not difficult to be heard."
CHICAGO
Comments supplied by Daniel Plummer:
The Chicago Music Mart at DePaul Center
333 South State Street
Classical Symphony Hall
(Basement)
"They said it was the basement, but the lower level is more accurate. The room is a small, carpeted nightmare, with a big support beam in it. Great piano, though."
Fine Arts Building
410 S. Michigan
Curtis Hall, Ste. 904
"Very live sounding (lots of wood, hardwood floors), piano sounded great, and you look over Lake Michigan as you sing. All in all a great space."
NYC
CAMI Hall
165 W 57th St between 7th and 8th Aves.
New York, NY 10019
(212) 397-6900
"A convenient location for most people, but there is no place to sit (people will be lined up on the stairs waiting their turn) or warm up. You will be singing on a rather high stage, close to the ceiling, looking down on the auditioners."
Catholic Kolping Society
East Side
"No warm up space; there is a place to wait; room is large and elevator opens into it so take the stairs or you might interrupt an audition. Bathrooms are in the basement; you may do a lot of climbing up and down. The room is on the 3rd floor. I seem to remember one side being lined with mirrors. Acoustics are poor."
DiCapo Opera Theater
184 E 76th St between 3rd and Lexington
New York, NY 10021
(212) 288-9438
"… even with the remodeling it's a bit dead, though better than it used to be. You're on a stage, but you're singing to people sitting in bleachers. There is no warm-up area but there is a place to sit while you wait. They have a grand piano."
Hunter College
Lang Recital Hall
East 69th St. between Park and Lexington
4th floor
"The recital hall is intimate, with a low stage, good piano, and stadium-style seating. The lighting ans acoustics are good and you won't have to crane your neck to address your audience. Warm-up rooms are available if the opera company rents them; otherwise, they are locked."
Kaufman Cultural Center/ Merkin Hall
W. 67th and Broadway
(212) 362-8060
"Kaufman is next door to Merkin Hall. Nice, clean space. The audition space is usually downstairs in a long, rectangular room with grand piano. Bathrooms are available; and you can rent warm-up space. But reserve early!"
Liederkrantz
6 E. 87th
New York, NY
(212) 534-0880
"Nice surroundings, place to sit, sometimes they will let you warm up downstairs in their owl-decorated (!) lodge room. There is a long, rectangular room upstairs where you audition. They do have a grand piano. The ceiling is rather low but the acoustics aren't terrible."
Nola Studios
250 W 54th St at 7th Ave.
New York, NY 10019
(212) 582-1417
"Not the cleanest or nicest space, but well-used. They have two large rooms which are used for auditions. It's usually too hot or too cold, and the acoustics are so-so, but you have space and a grand piano. A lot of YAPS hold auditions here."
Riverside Church
490 Riverside Dr at 121st St.
New York, NY 10027
(212) 870-6700
"I have auditioned in the chapel downstairs, which was very echo-y and wierd, and upstairs in a long, narrow room that was dead as a doorknob. No warm up space, but both had grand pianos."
Turtle Bay Music School
244 E 52nd St at 2nd Ave.
New York, NY 10022
(212) 753-8811
"I have no experience with this space, but I've heard of auditions being held there."