PODCAST · arts
My So-Called Opera Life
by Elise Mark & Marcelle McGuirk
Welcome to My So-Called Opera Life, a podcast for opera singers by opera singers, where we work to connect, inform, inspire and empower musicians at all levels and stages of their career. Each episode, Elise and Marcelle will explore a piece of the never-ending puzzle of the so-called “opera life," through interviews with inspiring singers who are making the career work for them, as well as segments with practical information about how the business works, all to help you on your journey to success, which we believe should really mean HAPPINESS!
Episodes
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Episode 39: Fear, Visibility, & Finding Your Why!
Our conversation on this episode kicks off talking about an essay from David Taylor’s ‘The Future of Classical Music’. In the essay, David asks why the CEOs/heads of classical music organizations aren’t visible the way CEOs are in the business world? It’s a provocative question that kicks off a...
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Episode 38: Connection Through Collaboration w/ Elise & Marcelle
Young opera singers are often advised to “make your own opportunities,” especially while getting their careers established. But what does that actually mean and how do you do that? Elise and Marcelle talk about the importance that collaborations have had in their paths so far, get into the nitty...
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Episode 37: Inside Katrina Thurman’s Multi-Passionate Opera Life
We’re so happy to welcome soprano Katrina Thurman (she/her/hers) to the podcast! Katrina is a fellow Philly-based opera singer and the founder and artistic director of one of Philadelphia’s newest arts organizations East Passyunk Opera Project (ePOP)! Katrina gives us a peek into her...
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Episode 36: Collaboration in the Voice Studio with Susan Eichhorn Young
Susan Eichhorn Young (she/her) joins us on the podcast today for an incredible conversation about developing the voice! A versatile singer, speaker, and teacher, Susan talks with us about the importance of collaboration between a voice student and their teacher(s), and how she strives to build a...
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Episode 35: Opera is Making a Comeback… Thanks to TikTok?! 🧐
Elise and Marcelle share the mic today to discuss a recent BBC Article, ‘Gen Z and young millennials’ surprising new obsession’. Spoiler alert: it’s classical music! 🥳 The real surprise is the vehicle supporting this “new obsession”: social media platforms. We take a deep dive on today’s episode...
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Episode 34: Behind the Microphone w/ Singer & Voice Actor Nadia Marshall 🎙️💃🏻
We are so excited to welcome fellow singer and voice-over artist, Nadia Marshall (she/her/hers), to the podcast! Nadia recounts for us how voice acting went from being a simple suggestion from a colleague into being a correlating career. Her story is full of practical advice on how to get…
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Episode 33: Elly Kace’s Intentional Flexibility While Building A Label Defying Career
Episode 33: Elly Kace’s Intentional Flexibility While Building A Label Defying Career Today’s episode features a thought-provoking and heart-opening conversation with Elly Kace. Elly is an opera singer, meditation practitioner, sound healer, and co-founder of Frisson Films. During the pandemic…
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Episode 32: Say Hello to Opera’s Eternal Hype Girl: Kerriann Otaño 💅🏽
We are psyched to share this conversation with Kerriann Otaño (she/her/hers), who self-describes as a ‘Former opera singer. Eternal opera hype girl.’ In addition to always sporting immaculate nails, Kerriann is working hard to change the vibe in opera. She envisions an industry where our…
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Episode 31: Catching Up with Your Fav Hosts, Elise & Marcelle 😘
You asked for more of us chatting on the podcast and we listened! Marcelle and Elise share some updates about what they’ve been up to since we wrapped on Season 3 and also give their takes on the current news in the opera world. They talk about: Learn more about Marcelle’s work here and here,...
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Episode 30: The Creative Vision Behind Jennie Moser’s New Tool- Stagetime
Season Four! Let’s Gooooooo! We’re back and so excited to kick off the new season with Jennie Moser, the creative mind behind Stagetime! As a singer herself, Jennie was often frustrated with how networking tools like LinkedIn don’t quite serve a freelancer’s needs, and saw how her colleagues...
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Episode 29: Caring for Your Vocal Health with Erin Donahue, Voice Pathologist & Singing Voice Specialist
Today we welcome a very special guest to the podcast: Erin Nicole Donahue, BM, MA, CCC-SLP, Voice Pathologist & Singing Voice Specialist. Erin is a voice pathologist and singing voice specialist at the Blaine Block Institute for Voice Analysis and Rehabilitation (BBIVAR – in Dayton, OH) and the...
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Episode 28: Keeping Collaboration Real with Bea Goodwin & Felix Jarrar
We are so thrilled to welcome two amazing creators to the podcast today! They are incredible artists in their own right, but also make a dream composer/librettist team! Bea Goodwin is a librettist and director, and Felix Jarrar is a pianist and a very prolific composer. They both wear many hats…
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Episode 27: Marketing the Modern Opera Singer with Daniel Welch
We are so glad to continue our third season with this incredible conversation with Daniel Welch of Ideodyssey, New Classical Artist Management (NCAM) and the Opera Biz Podcast. Daniel is a multi-passionate mover and shaker in the opera industry, who is looking to marry modern marketing techniques...
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✨Mid-Season Update!✨
Hello podcast listeners! Here’s a quick update from us about the short hiatus that we are on at the moment. Marcelle needs to go in for some vocal surgery which will prevent us from recording for a short while. In the update, she fills us in on how she’s feeling and what’s going on, and...
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Episode 26: Envisioning an Equitable Future in Opera w/ Veronica Chapman-Smith
We are honored to welcome Veronica Chapman-Smith to the podcast today! Veronica is a Philly-based singer, who is a member of the Opera Philadelphia chorus and is also their Vice President of Community Initiatives. Veronica shares with us her thoughts on what building an equitable future in opera...
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Episode 25: Intentional & Brave Stagecraft w/ Directors Brandon McShaffrey & Rose Freeman
We are SO delighted to share our interview with directors Brandon McShaffrey (he/they) and Rose Freeman (zie/zir)! Brandon and Rose share their thoughts with us about all things acting and stagecraft: They also offer their practical advice on the importance of creating pre- and post-performance...
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Episode 24: Cultivating “Op Culture” with OSSIA: Op[era] Culture🧑🏼🎤
We are so excited for today’s conversation with Patricia Westley and Joseph Lattanzi of OSSIA! Patricia and Joseph are two of the founding members of OSSIA: Op[era] Culture, a new media production company, consulting firm, and think tank committed to providing an alternate way to enjoy opera.…
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Episode 23: Creating a Multi-Faceted Career with Zachary James💎
CW: there is mention of abuse/sexual assault in this episode. On today’s episode, we are thrilled to welcome bass Zachary James to the podcast! Zach is living the epitome of a multi-faceted career, with credits that include singing at the Metropolitan Opera and on Broadway, acting for film and...
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Episode 22: Finding Your Path with Tracy Friedlander of ‘Crushing Classical’
We are so delighted to have one of our favorite podcasters on today’s episode – Tracy Friedlander of Crushing Classical! Tracy shares her amazing story with us: how she started her podcast to learn more about the musicians she saw forging their own way in the classical music world, how…
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BONUS EPISODE: COVID 😷 Part 2
10 days later…. And all sense of time has evaporated. 🤔 We check back in with each other after Philadelphia’s “stay-at-home” protocol goes into effect to talk about how things have changed professionally, personally, and emotionally. We also announce the release of the first episode of Season 2:...
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Episode 9: Jessica Fishenfeld Keeps Opera ‘Alive & Kicking’ 🏋🏼♀️💪
On today’s show we interview Jessica Fishenfeld, a soprano who isn’t afraid to make things happen! In addition to building her career in opera, she has a branded parallel career in personal training — JecaFit — where she helps clients to discover and achieve their own health and fitness goals. If...
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Episode 8: Hacking the Side Hustle🏃🏼♀️🏃🏻♀️🏃🏾♀️
Day Job. Parallel Career. Side Hustle. As creatives, we’ve all heard about them and probably have had one (or many). However, we can often be made to feel like we’re not serious about our art if we have to take a day job. A successful singer should be able to make a living only with...
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Episode 7: Getting After Those #DivaGoals 🙌🏻
Sometimes our dreams can seem impossible to achieve. Sometimes we’re working hard to achieve them and we’re still feeling like we’re just running in place. So, how do we get off the treadmill and actually join the race? We pull back the curtain in today’s episode and reveal the nitty-gritty of…
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BONUS EPISODE- 6.5: Revising the YAP Process
Not ones to feel defeated by rejection, Marcelle and Elise have a candid conversation about the problems with the current YAP application process and share their ideas for how it can be revised. Opera America’s Guide to Choosing a YAP Are you someone on the other side of the table (admin…
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Episode 6: Rethinking Rejection
Audition season can be an exciting time of year, but it also comes with a lot of rejection. And let’s face it, while rejection in any form sucks, somehow form-letter rejections (aka PFOs) double suck. 😩 So let’s get down and dirty about REJECTION: (00:50) What is a PFO anyway? (02:25) The many...
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Episode 5: Kristen Seikaly of Operaversity
Kristen Seikaly is a blogger, content writer, and creative writer. She also happens to be an ex-opera singer. She’s got a MM from Westminster Choir College in Voice Performance and Pedagogy and has performed in venues such as the Kimmel Center and Academy of Music, and has participated in…
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Episode 4: Rock Your Recordings!🎙🎶
The hardest part of audition season can be making those pesky pre-screening recordings! How good does the audio have to be? Do they need to see my shoes? Should I spend hundreds of dollars on them? Short answers: good enough that it sounds like you; yes, if they’re fab; and NO. On this episode,...
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Episode 3: Eugenia Forteza of 360 of Opera
On today’s episode we chat with the amazing Eugenia Forteza! In addition to being a fabulous soprano, Eugenia runs 360 of Opera, a blog where she highlights the many facets of the opera world. She’s passionate about sharing her love of the art form, but also works to prioritize her own artistic...
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Episode 2: Do you data?
Audition season is gearing up and application deadlines are fast approaching! On today’s episode we chat about how we sift through the mounds (a literal f*ckton, amirite?) of audition notices on YAP Tracker and find the opportunities that are right for us. Mostly, we geek out over the…
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Episode 1: Just be YOU
On today’s episode we talk about a blog post on the Wolf Trap Opera website that addressed what singers “should” wear to an audition. It caused quite a stir in the opera community recently, though the post was a few years old. We, too, had some strong reactions to the post and discuss the...
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Getting to Know You- Episode 0
Welcome to the My So-called Opera Life Podcast! In today’s episode, meet our hosts, Elise and Marcelle, and learn a little about all the operatic realness to come in future episodes! They talk about their musical backgrounds and their hopes to build a supportive community for opera singers!
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Welcome to My So-Called Opera Life, a podcast for opera singers by opera singers, where we work to connect, inform, inspire and empower musicians at all levels and stages of their career. Each episode, Elise and Marcelle will explore a piece of the never-ending puzzle of the so-called “opera life," through interviews with inspiring singers who are making the career work for them, as well as segments with practical information about how the business works, all to help you on your journey to success, which we believe should really mean HAPPINESS!
HOSTED BY
Elise Mark & Marcelle McGuirk
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does My So-Called Opera Life have?
My So-Called Opera Life currently has 45 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is My So-Called Opera Life about?
Welcome to My So-Called Opera Life, a podcast for opera singers by opera singers, where we work to connect, inform, inspire and empower musicians at all levels and stages of their career. Each episode, Elise and Marcelle will explore a piece of the never-ending puzzle of the so-called “opera life,"...
How often does My So-Called Opera Life release new episodes?
My So-Called Opera Life has 45 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to My So-Called Opera Life?
You can listen to My So-Called Opera Life on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts My So-Called Opera Life?
My So-Called Opera Life is created and hosted by Elise Mark & Marcelle McGuirk.
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