Young opera singers are often advised to “make your own opportunities,” especially while getting their careers established. But what does that actually mean and how do you do that?

Elise and Marcelle talk about the importance that collaborations have had in their paths so far, get into the nitty gritty of how they made their most recent collabs happen, and unpack some of the shame that still lurks beneath the surface of deciding to self-produce.

We’d love to know your thoughts about collaborating and whether it’s been an empowering experience like it has been for us… drop us a note via email or on social media!

Links of Note from the Episode:

• Gender Discrimination in Opera w/ Dr. Dana Lynne Varga, Dr. Hillary LaBonte, & Zach Finklestein
• Elise’s New Community, Creative Becoming
• Marcelle’s Project w/ Prismatic Arts Ensemble, ‘Night Dances’

Many thanks go out to our Season 4 sponsors:

EM2Connect – em2CONNECT is a small creative facilitation practice made up of the high-energy and ideas-driven duo of Emily Martin and Elizabeth McDonald. They specialize in rebranding, repositioning, and promoting flexible thinking around creative careers. Their work is centered on THE PROCESS – a collaborative support program where creatives (re)define their creative philosophy as a foundation for strategic career thinking.

The Sparkle Twins – We are thrilled to have The Sparkle Twins as continuing sponsors for season FOUR. Cherisse and Cherissia Williams are Identical twin sopranos from Brooklyn, NY. Their custom face masks for singers are BACK IN STOCK, so be sure to order one today, and stay healthy in style! To check out their full line of products, visit www.sopranotwins.com/shop and follow them on socials @thesparkletwins !!

Stagetime – Stagetime is the professional hub for the performing arts and is a growing community of 4,000+ opera singers and classical musicians, arts administrators, agents, production staff, and beyond. Set up a launch-ready portfolio in under 10 minutes — a growing list of over 100 arts organizations accepts a Stagetime profile in lieu of a website URL. Unlike a static website, Stagetime allows you to connect with collaborators, showcase your skills, source (or be sourced as) the right talent, and center your creative practice. The arts industry is waiting for you on Stagetime!

And to our affiliates:

The Opera Dolls – Opera Dolls are plush dolls that sing opera when you squeeze their bellies! If you’re tired of hearing wheels on the bus on repeat during this time at home, bring culture to your living room or online classroom and snag yourself an opera doll! Use the code OPERALIFE20 for 20% your order!

Singing Straw – The Singing Straw is an eco-friendly, helpful tool for your practice sessions. Use the code mysocalledoperalife10 for 10% off your order and to support the podcast!

If you’d like to support the podcast, join our Patreon, Buy Us a Coffee, and follow us on Instagram!

Comments, suggestions, or have a story to share? Reach out at info@mysocalledoperalife.com We’d love to hear from you!

Music from this episode: 

Basic Implosion and Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod
Link: incompetech.com
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

My So-Called Opera Life is produced and hosted by Elise Mark and Marcelle McGuirk and is edited by Joshua Wise.