Hot on the heels of the announcement of Toronto's Dora Awards I feel the need to comment on competitions. I've been percolating on the subject for awhile and the topic certainly is an important one for singers. What is the function of competition and whom do they serve... particularly in the arts? With the World Cup of Soccer in full cry at the moment it gives one pause. Are we, in the arts, trying to compete to compete? Is it a basic human need to see who is the fastest, highest, or- heaven forbid- loudest? Ack!
This brings to the fore the main flaw in arts competitions. Aren't we all trying to create and when we focus our attention on competing for a prize isn't the natural inclination to be distracted by that quest? The Dora Awards , like the Oscars, award the prizes after the season is completed so that when the show is on it is simply an act of creation and not trying to 'win' anything other than the audiences appreciation and attendance. Is that, in and of itself, a competition?
Singing competitions…sigh. We've all been in them, many of us since our tender years in the local music festival. God bless the Kiwanis Club of Canada for perpetuating these and the many other organizations who support music festivals. I, myself, first competed with the allure of winning…a ribbon as big as my head when I was at the tender age of eight. A local farmer , and friend of my parents, heard me sing in church and told me that if I simply entered the music festival that he would give me the largest of his prize heifer ribbons( I hear you sniggering!). I succumbed to the challenge, won the class and won the ribbon that I still have to this day. The beginning for me. I realized that I had an ability that might be perceived, on a particular day, as being exceptional or at the very least ( shudder) somehow superior to those of my peers. I would be lying if I said that this music festival experience in Harvey Station, NB was not formative. I eventually 'graduated' to the Fredericton Festival and onwards. The goal of the spring music festival and the possibility of winning some money and trophies was appealing and certainly kept me motivated toward something tangible.
I returned to adjudicate the Fredericton Festival this year. It was a very interesting experience as my former voice teacher is still teaching voice there. How well I remember her observations of me in festival. She recognized that I had a competitive nature she said when she saw my side long glances when others received praise. She was right though I tried my best to hide it. Perhaps one has to have a competitive urge in order to improve but could it exist in a vacuum, that is without others to spur you on to better them?
I would like to think that with maturity I learned to compete with myself but I can't say that I always resisted the urge to see what and where other sopranos of my ilk were singing. I didn't do particularly well in the few big competitions that I did enter with a couple of exceptions. I didn't take part in the Met competition but then they didn't seem to be at the forefront as they do now. One year, when I was singing at the Met, I attended the finals and wondered how I would have fared in such a high pressure competitive situation. I have heard it said that there are certain personalities that really thrive in the competition atmosphere, I was not one of those people so I avoided most of them. I preferred to do my work and hope that I would be hired based on an audition or better yet, someone seeing and hearing me in performance.
And yet…these big competitions can be a fantastic launch for singers! Several of my students have participated in some big national and international competitions in the past year. When we discussed them afterward, both those that won and those that didn't, seemed to be aware of a certain 'it is out of my hands' kind of circumstance. There are so many factors that go into the decision making. I have a bit of insight into this now that I have been on the COC jury for the COC Ensemble Studio Competition. Several of my Canadian colleagues and former Ensemble members as well as some very recent alumni felt that they would not have fared well in such a spotlight. Indeed! On stage, at the opera house, with orchestra and not a lot of rehearsal…it takes nerves of steel and a lot of preparation to thrive. This is a typical competition scenario.
I don't think I have any particularly new insight on this topic but I will say that I council my students to focus on their own artistry and performance knowing that the outcome of the competition is a crap shoot. BUT, these competitions are often a terrific means to be heard by a wide range of people. Many a singer has not won the competition but ended up being offered work as a result of their appearance in this high profile platform.
