Opera audition package: how many arias, which languages, what to prepare

An audition package is the short list of arias you can sing on request. Panels pick from it, so every piece on it must be ready. This page combines what conservatories require with what coaches advise. It is part of the roles section.

The core package

Collect five arias you can sing really well, and vary the language and style⁴. It is always more important to have quality of arias than quantity⁴. Three comfortable arias go much farther than a padded aria package of five⁴.

Clear Lake Voices gives the same advice to young professionals starting out: the package for an opera production is a little easier to plan than one for a musical⁵. For language, each singer needs arias in English, Italian, German, French and one more language⁵. The fifth language should be one their voice type specializes in; a low basso profundo would want a Russian aria⁵. You want more contrast than that: several different tempos and a variety of acting scenarios for each language⁵.

Once you have established the type of work you do, you can specialize your repertoire accordingly⁵.

Language versus repertoire

Do not choose a piece only to tick a language box. Singing the right kind of repertoire is more important than covering all the language bases⁴. Young mezzo-sopranos might have a hard time finding anything to sing in Russian⁴. Match each language to a piece your voice can carry, and use your Fach as the filter.

Singers under 25 will have a very hard time convincing an audition panel that their voice suits the Countess but not Susanna⁴. Your first couple of auditions will likely be for a summer opera workshop or something similar, not for an opera company or an agent⁴. The young artist programs comparison shows where those auditions are held.

What conservatories require

University requirements are the clearest numbers available. The UCLA rows below come from its 2021 audition requirements, revised August 2020¹; the UNCSA rows come from its audition process page².

UCLA’s list of sample repertoire is grouped by language and composer, for example Italian songs and arias by Mozart, Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini and Donaudy¹. It is intended merely as a guide: present only pieces that are suited to your level and voice type¹. UNCSA auditions also test sight singing and diction².

How to pick the arias

Start from contrast. UCLA asks that the selections contrast in language, historical period, musical style, tempo and mood¹. Then work down the list.

• Fit first. Present only pieces that are suited to your level and voice type¹.
• Spread the languages. Italian and English come first for a first-year; add French, German and one more as the package grows^1,5.
• Spread the centuries. When a school asks for it, cover each period it names: before 1800, 1800 to 1899 and after 1900¹.
• Spread the mood. Offer several different tempos and a variety of acting scenarios for each language⁵.

To understand what you are choosing, know the types. Arias in ternary form (A-B-A) were known as da capo arias³. Types of aria were named by character, for example aria di bravura, typically given to a heroine³.

Plan by audition type

A summer workshop, a conservatory entrance audition and a graduate audition ask for different things, so keep the package flexible. For a first-year university audition, UCLA asks for at least three pieces from memory, and the three selections must represent contrasting languages, historical periods and musical styles, tempi and moods¹. For an upper-level audition, UCLA asks for five pieces from memory, two of them opera arias¹.

At graduate level the numbers grow. UNCSA asks for six selections of contrasting style in four languages for the Master of Music in Voice, and for the Graduate Certificate four of the selections must be opera arias². Applicants may have to send a pre-screening video of two contrasting arias in two languages before the live audition². Record those two arias first and keep them in your daily practice.

Do not forget the musicianship test. UNCSA tests sight singing and diction at its auditions². Start with the Italian diction guide, because UCLA asks every first-year applicant for an Italian piece¹.

After you choose

An aria is not ready until the text is. Write the translation and the IPA into the score and speak the text before you sing it. For that work, see how to learn a role.