I got it covered...

When I first had the idea to start blogging, I thought it would be interesting to talk about my experiences as a "Cover Girl": that is to say, to relate my experiences as a professional singer, and understudy, at the Metropolitan Opera. This summer has been fraught with personal triumphs and tragedies, and I've strayed a bit from my initial intent, but after giving a master class in Princeton this week, it reminded me of why I embarked on this journey.

"What is a cover?" is a question I get asked a lot, especially by my family and other lay-people. Essentially, a cover is someone who is able to step into a role at a moment's notice when your lead singer cancels, is fired, or cannot perform, whatever the reason. A cover's job is to know the role better than the person performing, simply because AS a cover, you get half the rehearsal time and twice the stress (i.e. being asked to sing a rehearsal at 10am without prior notice, without the updated staging, with or without health problems of your own). But that's the job you signed up for. Your job is to learn and sing the role if your counterpart can't perform. That's it.

In my master class, while covering the 'covering' issues, there were a series of questions regarding it's job description and responsibilities. So in a nutshell, I thought I'd lay it out for you:

1. Learn the role better than you would if you were scheduled to perform (i.e.Show up with music memorized and as close to off book as possible)

2. Be kind, silent and respectful in rehearsals (even if you hate what is going on)

3. If you have questions, ask the director or AD first, your counterpart is the LAST resort

4. Be respectful of the rehearsal process- which means, understand that stagings will change sometimes. Sometimes daily, sometimes several times a day.

5. Be a good colleague: Don't come to rehearsal sick. I know you want to make a good impression and be diligent, but if you are sick, you run the risk of infecting everyone around you.


It is NOT your job to

1. Hum along or PROMPT your counterpart- The reason for this is simple: if your colleague asks you to prompt them one day, when does prompting stop becoming your job? If your counterpart really needs to be prompted, that job should, by default, fall to the conductor or assistant director. As a cover, you should be busy enough, writing down blocking of your counterpart and learning the pitfalls of the staging.

2. Correct words, pronunciation, staging and/or general interpretation of role

3. Inform the director of counterpart's mistakes. Trust me, they know.

4. Direct or otherwise inform another colleague you are singing with

5. Record, using audio or video, your colleagues' rehearsal

6. Read a book, magazine or play on the computer during a sitzprobe- this rehearsal is for you, too, even though you are not singing. Learn from the orchestration, listen for musical pitfalls, and study the conductor's pattern. Frequently, cues will change, once he or she is in front of the instrumentalists.

Everything can be a learning experience, even if you're only learning how to hold your tongue. As a cover, your director may have time set aside to stage the covers alone, OR, you may be asked to 'mirror' the movements behind the singers action in lieu of a private staging. Either way, the way you are utilized in rehearsal is up to the conductor, or director's discretion, and we as covers must adapt accordingly.

Of course, if we DO get to go on- it's a blast. Sometimes a cover can bring new life to a show that has had several performances already, keeping the other singers on their toes. Sometimes a cover can bring a new interpretation to a recitative, or aria, and inspire their colleagues to take new risks as well. A cover going on, is headline news- i.e. a young artist "saves the day!", or "young artist makes good!", and that's good for the opera company in general. As they say, press is press. Everyone loves an underdog. So good luck out there, all you would-be covers! It's stressful work sometimes, but ultimately, you've learned a new role and gained experience. Isn't that what singing is all about?