Rise to the Occasion of Your Opera Career with Chandler Johnson, Director of the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for Singers
Rise to the Occasion of Your Opera Career with Chandler Johnson, Director of the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for Singers
We love an encore! And this one’s got it all: audition trends, future casting, and pragmatic advice for young opera talent. Key Change co-hosts Anna Garcia and Olga Perez Flora also serve up plenty of musical memories, behind-the-scenes intel, and a little love for the Santa Fe Opera as a venue as they continue their visit with Chandler Johnson.
When we last met Chandler, he had introduced us to career paths less traveled. “There’s more to this business than just singing,” he continues. Chandler knows this truth better than most. After discovering opera in his early teens, he pivoted from singing to arts administration. Chandler credits his years spent auditioning and performing for exposing him to career opportunities beyond the stage.
“Singing was my path to get to this place,” he confides, before launching into an impressive list of creative, collaborative opportunities within the opera ecosystem. “You can go into development, marketing and PR, media and AV. You can go into costuming and set design,” he says, adding, “Having the experience of being a singer informs where you pivot in your life and in this art form.”
As for the art form in question, Chandler is not one to tinker with what works. “I wouldn’t change anything about opera. I truly love the glitz, the glamor, the opulence, the stories, the chaos. I love it all!” he muses before offering one final piece of advice. “We just have to keep doing good art –– keep doing good opera! –– and the people will come.”
FEATURING
Chandler Johnson, Director, Apprentice Program for Singers | Santa Fe Opera
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Apprentice Program For Singers | Santa Fe Opera
Preview Dinners | Santa Fe Opera
University Of New Mexico Opera Theatre | UNM Music Department
Cincinnati Opera
The Maryland State Boychoir
Atlanta Public Schools Choir
The Baltimore County Honor Choir
Leontyne Price
Messa di requiem | Giuseppe Verdi
The Defiant Requiem Foundation
Fach System
Rigoletto
Lohengrin
Verdi’s Macbeth
Berlin State Opera
Bavarian State Opera
KEY CHANGE RECOMMENDED PLAYLIST
Taking Care of the Art with Chandler Johnson
What’s Opera to a Bunch of High School Students? Young Voices, “The New Crop”
Harmony in Process: The Young Voices of the Santa Fe Opera with Amy “Process” Owens
QUOTES
Chandler Johnson
“I think sometimes we don’t realize that there’s more to opera than singing.”
“There’s so much that goes into getting the art form on stage that’s not singing and we need more people to be willing to do that, and having the experience of being a singer, I feel, only informs where you pivot your life in this art form.”
“Humanity in singing is the way that this art form survives.”
“I think what makes opera so special is it’s an outpour of what’s in you.”
“I want everyone to do well. I want the choice to be so hard, and I think for young singers, they should know that the panel wants you to do an exceptional job.”
“One of my notes to singers is take peace in knowing that we’re rooting for you as well. You have panelists on the other side of the table really cheering you on.”
“I’m a firm believer in your path is already designed for you. You just have to stay the course.”
“Opera is so special and it is so unique. I don’t want to change this industry at all!”
“If we keep humanity in this art form, it will survive. You know? It will carry on for centuries.”
“Opera is opera. We can’t be afraid of that, and we can’t be afraid to advocate for opera being opera. That’s what it is.”
“I came to opera because it found me in a time when I really needed it.”
CREDITS
Key Change is a production of The Santa Fe Opera, Department of Community Engagement & Education.
Produced & Edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios
Hosted by Anna Garcia & Olga Perez Flora
Audio Engineer Collin Ungerleider & Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe
Technical Director Edwin R. Ruiz
Production Support from Alex Riegler
Show Notes by Lisa Widder
Theme Music by Rene Orth with Corrie Stallings, mezzo-soprano, and Joe Becktell, cello
Cover Art by Dylan Crouch
This podcast is made possible due to the generous funding from the Hankins Foundation, Principal Education Sponsor of the Santa Fe Opera.