My So-Called Opera Life

🚨 The Season 4 Finale is HERE 🚨

Our conversation on this episode kicks off talking about an essay from David Taylor’s ‘The Future of Classical Music’. In the essay, David asks why the CEOs/heads of classical music organizations aren’t visible the way the CEOs are in the business world?

It’s a provocative question that kicks off a conversation between Elise and Marcelle about fear. We often see fear leading the way at every level of our industry, which directly impacts visibility, for artists, administrators, and organizations.

How do we work with the very real fears we often face, and move forward despite them? One tactic that has helped Elise and Marcelle is finding their “Why?”, which can be a challenging journey in and of itself.

What’s your why? Tell us in the comments!

🎙 Episode 39 is live NOW wherever you get your podcasts or at the link below!
https://mysocalledoperalife.com/podcast/episode-39-fear-visibility-finding-your-why/

Many thanks to our season 4 sponsors:



AND our Patrons! ❤️

🤩 A New Episode Is Out Now 🤩

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 below!

🎙 Episode 38 is live NOW wherever you get your podcasts or at the link below:
https://mysocalledoperalife.com/podcast/episode-38-connection-through-collaboration-w-elise-marcelle/
https://mysocalledoperalife.com/podcast/episode-38-connection-through-collaboration-w-elise-marcelle/

Many thanks to our season 4 sponsors:



AND our Patrons! ❤️

🤩 A New Episode Is Out Now 🤩

We’re so happy to welcome soprano Katrina Thurman (she/her/hers) to the podcast! Katrina is a fellow Philly-based opera singer and the founder and artistic director of one of Philadelphia's newest arts organizations East Passyunk Opera Project (ePOP)!

Katrina gives us a peek into her multi-passionate and multi-faceted life as a producer, opera singer, and arts administrator. She tells us of her inspiration for the creation of ePOP and talks about the collaborations she’s developed to implement ePOP’s goal of bringing opera “the art form up close and personal in order to build a more intimate level of engagement between audiences, the artists, and the music.”

She also shares some behind the scenes stories of her time so far working at the Met on ‘Akhnaten’ and how her experiences there have shaped the trajectory of her company and her artistic life.

Give Katrina a follow and 💙

🎙 Katrina's episode is live NOW wherever you get your podcasts or at the link below: https://mysocalledoperalife.com/podcast/episode-37-inside-katrina-thurmans-multi-passionate-opera-life/

Many thanks to our season 4 sponsors:



AND our Patrons! ❤️

Susan Eichhorn Young (she/her) joins us on the podcast today for an incredible conversation about developing the voice! A versatile singer, speaker, and teacher, Susan talks with us about the importance of collaboration between a voice student and their teacher(s), and how she strives to build a space of discovery and empowerment for her students.

We also discuss the myths that often plague our industry: ie the power dynamics in the student/teacher relationship, training in multiple genres, etc. If you’re wondering what a healthy, respect-based voice studio experience can look like, give this episode a listen!

(Cearly, we’re big fans of Susan’s approach, being part of her studio ourselves 😉- E & M)

Check out Susan’s blog and online courses at Sey.fyi or find her on social media

Listen wherever you get your podcasts or at the link below: https://mysocalledoperalife.com/podcast/episode-37-collaboration-in-the-voice-studio-with-susan-eichhorn-young/

Elise and Marcelle share the mic today to discuss a recent BBC Article, ‘Gen Z and young millennials’ surprising new obsession’. 🧐

Spoiler alert: it’s classical music! 🥳

The real surprise is the vehicle supporting this “new obsession”: social media platforms.

We take a deep dive on today’s episode into the article’s revelations and share our own relationships with social media, how it supports (or hinders) our artistic lives, and how we find connection in online spaces.

We also share some tips and tricks that we’ve learned along the way on how to use social media in a way that feels authentic and empowering!

What is your relationship to social media as an artist like? Tell us in the comments!

Listen now!🎙Episode 35 is LIVE wherever you get your podcasts! You call also listen at the link below: https://mysocalledoperalife.com/podcast/episode-35-opera-is-making-a-comeback-thanks-to-tiktok/

Join Elise and Nadia for coffee (or cocktail) chat tomorrow at 5pm ET to talk about all things singing, voiceover, freelance, and more!

What questions do you have for us to cover? 😝😝

ICYMI, was our latest guest on our podcast. Did you take a listen yet?

We are so excited to welcome fellow singer and voice-over artist, Nadia Marshall (she/her/hers), to the podcast! 🤩

Nadia recounts for us how voice acting went from being a simple suggestion from a colleague into being a correlating career. Her story is full of practical advice on how to get started, and her commitment to creating a professional, consistent brand for her work is inspiring to say the least!

Most interesting is how her work in voice acting has worked to help her feel more grounded in and connected to her work as a singer. She tells us how having multiple creative outlets has helped to relieve some of the pressures of perfectionism in the audition room, as well as some great tips from how she’s learned to manage her time!

Go give her a follow and then listen to the episode STAT! We're live wherever you get your podcasts!

You can also listen at this link: episode-34-behind-the-microphone-w-singer-voice-actor-nadia-marshall

Many thanks to our Season 4 sponsors:

Today’s episode features a thought-provoking and heart opening conversation with Elly Kace.

Elly is an opera singer, meditation practitioner, sound healer, and co-founder of Frisson Films. During the pandemic, she began to re-explore her earlier interest in composition and songwriting, which led to her debut pop album Nothing I See Means Anything (NISMA) and she has a second release in February of 2023, entitled, Object Permanence!

We talk about how her meditation practice has shaped her intentionality in creating a diverse musical practice, what it’s like to collaborate in a different musical genre, and how this experience is informing how she works in opera going forward.

Go give her a follow and check out her music on Spotify after listening to the episode wherever you get your podcasts! 🎙

You can also listen at this link: https://mysocalledoperalife.com/podcast/episode-33-elly-kaces-intentional-flexibility-while-building-a-label-defying-career/

Many thanks to our season 4 sponsors:

🎙 Episode 32 is live NOW 🎙

We are psyched to share our conversation with Kerriann Otaño (she/her/hers), who self-describes as a ‘Former opera singer. Eternal opera hype girl.’ 🤩

In addition to always sporting immaculate 💅🏽, Kerriann is working hard to change the vibe in opera.

She envisions an industry where our humanness is welcome in the rehearsal room, where community engagement creates real connection with audiences, and where everyone can bring their full selves into the opera house. 🥳

She recounts for us her journey from opera singer to Vice President of Engagement at OperaDelaware and shares her hopes and dreams for the future of our art form.

To follow Kerriann’s inspiring self, give her a follow on Instagram and TikTok ! Kerriann says that she loves it when singers slide into her DMs, so feel free to reach out to her!

🎧 Give our convo a listen wherever you get your podcasts or at the link below. Tell us what you think in the comments! 🎧

https://mysocalledoperalife.com/podcast/episode-32-say-hello-to-operas-eternal-hype-girl-kerriann-otano/

Huge shoutout to our Season 4 Sponsors:

New episodes are dropping now! We hope you have enjoyed the first couple of episodes of season four 4️⃣ of the My So-Called Opera Life podcast. Let us know what you think of the first 2 episodes in the comments. 😝

Episode 3 is coming out this Friday (and ad free and early to members)!

You asked for more of us chatting on the podcast and we listened!

Marcelle and Elise share some updates about what they’ve been up to since we wrapped on Season 3 and also give their takes on the current news in the opera world. They talk about:

🎵 Dealing with sickness & self-compassion in this mid-COVID gig life

🎶 An update on the app fee sitch with some data from the incredible folks at the Soloist Collective for Emerging Artists

🎵 Our thoughts on the Opera America listserv debacle, thankfully exposed via

🎶 What’s up in OUR correlating careers? 🤩

🎙 Episode 31 is live NOW wherever you get your podcasts or at the link below! https://mysocalledoperalife.com/podcast/episode-31-catching-up-with-your-fav-hosts-elise-marcelle/

Wanna get the pod early and ad-free? Consider becoming a Patreon supporter! https://www.patreon.com/mysocalledoperalife?fan_landing=true

Thanks to this season's sponsors: ❤️

🎉 Season Four! Let’s Gooooooo! 🎉

We’re back and so excited to kick off the new season with Jennie Moser, the creative mind behind Stagetime !

As a singer herself, Jennie was often frustrated with how networking tools like LinkedIn don’t quite serve a freelancer’s needs, and saw how her colleagues struggled with their DIY websites. Having a background in design, she saw those challenges and decided to do something to meet those needs, and thus Stagetime was born!

Jennie shares with us her journey as she’s bringing Stagetime to life, the underlying principles behind her efforts, and shares her hopes for Stagetime’s future as a place for all artists to showcase their professional portfolio in an equitable and accessible way!

Follow to learn more and sign up today!

🎙 Listen where ever you get your podcasts (now including Stitcher and Pandora)! Or listen at the link: https://mysocalledoperalife.com/podcast/episode-30-the-creative-vision-behind-jennie-mosers-new-tool-stagetime/