If you are interested in covering a role with Worcester Opera Works, please read these two article excerpts, and then the following message from the director.  Thank you for your interest.

Cover singers are opera's equivalent of the Broadway understudy, and like replacement artists in most forms of live performance, they are an essential but unseen part of the process. Without them, an incapacitated star can send a production scrambling, as when the San Francisco Opera had to fly Plácido Domingo out from the East Coast to replace Carlo Cossuta as "Otello." (He made it, but the performance didn't start until 10:30 p.m.) Even worse, they can bring it to a grinding halt. In the early 1990's, the Bavarian State Opera had to cancel a production of "Aida" when the bass cast as Ramfis took ill. Ramfis is only a secondary lead, but the opera would look mighty foolish without him.

But the work of a cover singer is not usually so glamorous as to include a prominent premiere. Covering is about arriving at the theater prepared to sing a role, then sitting around for hours watching the principals rehearse. It's about blocking out a chunk of time on your calendar in which you can't accept other, more visible jobs. It's about being ready to go onstage without ever having had an actual stage rehearsal.

Jeff Mattsey, a baritone, has had cover contracts at the Met for the last 10 seasons. Yet in all that time, he said, "I have never, ever gone on as a cover at the Met." The closest he came was when Mariusz Kwiecien was sick during two performances of the recent Così Fan Tutte.  "I was on call at the theater, costume at the ready, sitting in the green room," Mr. Mattsey said, "knowing that at any point he may come off stage and say, 'I can't go on.'" But Mr. Kwiecien soldiered through.

No singer studies to become a cover. But for a young singer, a cover contract is a way to get a foot in the door, work with leading professionals and learn how the house functions.

Whether they see it as a springboard to future work or a way of ensuring a more comfortable life, nearly all singers agree that covering is nerve-racking. "I was much more nervous to cover than to actually have a performance," Ms. Graham said, "because covering is so uncertain." In a complicated ensemble piece like an opera, one person's misstep can throw everyone off. And while covers sit in on rehearsals, they may not actually have stepped onto the set before they go on. At the critical moment, Mr. Mattsey said, a cover must focus on essentials: "Your main question is, 'Does the door open in or out?' so when you enter you don't smash your head."
 

In retrospect, she believes that Santa Fe Opera did an excellent job of preparing the covers by offering extra coaching as well as a week of staging. The covers also met with the conductor and sang through the opera with him. “It was great to be able to work with him and experience exactly what he wanted,” Forni says.

Although she did not have time to rehearse with the principals, Forni considered that lack of interaction a plus. “It was awesome to be thrown in as a cover, without ever really rehearsing with the principals, because everything was so fresh and real. Nothing was preplanned or stale,” she says, adding that all of the principals were welcoming, professional, and respectful.

No matter where she covers—Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, or Portland Opera—Forni approaches her assignment as if she were going on stage. That means doing her background studying for each role and ensuring that she appears professional and prepared upon arriving for rehearsals. Those characteristics made an impression on Glenn Lewis, head of music for Pittsburgh Opera and a regular coach for Santa Fe Opera, who worked with her on diction and musical precision, in addition to Nannetta’s place in the final fugue.

“She was well prepared and had definite ideas about phrasing and the meaning of the text, so the coaching became a dialogue, which is a much more satisfying experience,” he says. It became obvious to Lewis that Forni takes her cover assignments seriously because she attended all staging and orchestral rehearsals, fastidiously studied the staging and, when she knew she might go on stage, secured extra coaching and drilling.

Two other attributes that especially impressed Lewis were Forni’s patience and discipline. “She was at ease leaving her comfort zone and trying things that take a few attempts to learn. She is very patient to try and finesse what she’s doing,” he says. “When we finally heard her on stage, [her voice] felt almost luxurious for a Nannetta. We think it won’t be long before she moves into a more substantial repertoire.”

Worcester Opera Works often utilizes covers in its mainstage productions.  WOW’s reasons include 1. having a prepared singer ready to take his/her role in the mainstage performance if a principal becomes ill or unable to perform, 2. having a prepared singer fill in at rehearsal if a principal performer is not able to attend a rehearsal due to illness or an excused absence, and 3. providing a qualified singer the opportunity to learn a complete role, to both have the role in his/her repertoire, and to be able to list the role on their resume as a covered role, which is of great value on a resume. 

Cover singers are expected to attend all principal rehearsals, take blocking and musical notes during these rehearsals, and when possible practice offstage with their cover counterparts if applicable.  They are expected to have their music and blocking memorized and performance-ready at the same time that principals are, to achieve the same level of preparedness.  Additionally, covers are expected to perform in the chorus of the opera, attending these rehearsals and memorizing this music and blocking as well.

Singers covering roles will be listed in the program as “covers”.  Because of the limited time for rehearsal, covers will not be guaranteed rehearsal time, but will be responsible for learning and integrating music and blocking through observation during rehearsal, and in private practice time, and will get corporate rehearsal only if time allows.

Thank you again for your interest in Worcester Opera Works.