Opera singing is an athletic pursuit. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Opera singers, athletes?” This question is also the opening salvo of a 1979 Sports Illustrated article titled “Like Hitting Homers, Hitting High Notes in Opera Takes Athletic Skill.” The article begins by painting a stereotypical, and genuinely unflattering, picture of opera singers as “paranoid, over-pampered, overweight bags of air” who have a panic attack at the slightest atmospheric perturbation that might adversely affect their voice.
Although, of course, a singer will avoid risking their voice as much as a violinist will refrain from using their instrument as a cricket bat, the production and maintenance of the operatic noises we call singing take incredible physical strength and stamina. (The Sports Illustrated article does proceed to give singers their due, noting their robust physical capabilities and comparing four popular and larger-bodied singers of the time to the front four of an enviable football team.)
So, opera singers are no delicate flowers, and the Taos Opera Institute (TOI) knows this. Founded as a way for aspiring singers to bridge the gap between academia and a professional career in opera, TOI seeks to create well-rounded performers in every aspect of the craft. This June, as they do every summer, a new cohort of up-and-coming opera singers will descend on — or rather ascend to — Taos Ski Valley for training that encompasses everything from vocal capabilities to career management to, yes, mental and physical fitness.
Mountain hikes accompany vocal lessons as the singers build lung capacity and endurance. (Have you ever tried to sing an aria at 9,000 feet? It takes a lot of “puff,” as my grandfather used to say.) Yoga complements training in dealing with performance anxiety. And we, as residents and visitors in Taos, have a part to play in the education of these performers as well — as their audience. Throughout the month of June, the singers will be putting their talent and their training to the test with 14 live performances around Taos. They will perform as the TOI Singers (all 24 students) and the TOI Ensemble (a smaller, rotating group of select singers), and we will witness them grow and strengthen — in voice, presence, and stamina — over the course of the four-week TOI Festival.
Most performances are free, including the first week’s line-up, beginning Thursday, June 1 with a TOI Ensemble performance at Sabroso Restaurant in Arroyo Seco. Free concerts will also be held next weekend at the Edelweiss Lodge courtyard (Friday June 2), The Harwood 100 Block Party and Taos Presbyterian Church (Saturday June 3), and the Taos Art Museum at Fechin House (Sunday June 4). Performances continue at various locations through June 24.
A new addition to the TOI Festival this year is a reservations-only event at Taos Country Club on Thursday June 8, which will help TOI raise funds to continue its mission. The TOI Ensemble will perform beloved arias as well as some Broadway favorites, as patrons enjoy hors d’oeuvres and panoramic views on the terrace.
The festival culminates on Saturday June 24 with the 15th annual TOI Festival Showcase at the Taos Community Auditorium, an event that local opera lovers have come to anticipate each year. Those who have attended in the past will remember Speed Dating Tonight!, the wonderful ensemble opera by TOI Composer-in-Residence Michael Ching. This year, we’ll be the first to hear excerpts from Ching’s newest opera, inspired by the composer and diva Pauline Viardot. The music is challenging, but no doubt, the students will be up to the task, body and voice, thanks to TOI’s rigorous, dedicated training.
A full schedule of the month’s performances as well as tickets to the Taos Country Club event are available at taosoi.org. Tickets to the TOI Festival Showcase are available at tcataos.org.
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