Beyond the Score: Stage fright 📲 Some insights from an artistic agent In ten years of working with singers and conductors, there is a type of message I have received more times than others. Sent an hour before curtain, always with a laughing emoji: “If I’m still alive after this, see you at the after party.”💀 Or: “If I don’t mess up completely, drinks are on me tonight.”😂 It’s funny. It’s also not entirely a joke. That particular sort of pre-performance humor, self-deprecating, sent lightly, landing somewhere between laughter and genuine anxiety, is one of the most consistent things I encounter in this profession. It’s a way of naming something real without fully exposing it. Like a controlled ventilation. And it does work, up to a point. From where I stand, in the wings, in the foyer, on the other end of the phone: the pattern is consistent. The ones who perform best are not the ones who feel nothing. They are the ones who name it, speak about it openly, and have learned to channel what their body is doing into something the audience experiences as stage presence, intensity and truth. Here is a reframe: what your body experiences as fear, and what it experiences as heightened readiness, are physiologically almost identical. A racing heart, sharp focus, adrenaline. Your body is not betraying you, but it’s is preparing you. The work is learning to use that state to your advantage rather than fighting it. A few things I have seen that help: 1. Name it. Even a jokey message to your agent counts. We are here for you. Getting it out of your head and into words already reduces its grip. 2. Build a ritual. A warm-up, a breathing pattern, a routine before you go on. The nervous system responds to structure. 3. Accept it as part of the job. Every single person standing in those wings feels it. You are not the exception. You are the rule. 4. Work with a performance coach. It is one of the best professional tools available and still very much underused in our world. Have you found something that helps? Share it in the comments. 👇

Ana-Carmen Balestra: Dutch Classical Talent Finals 🌟 Today, soprano Ana-Carmen Balestra, in between her performances of La Traviata and Rosenkavalier @garsingtonopera, takes the stage at TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht for the grand finale of the Dutch Classical Talent competition. Dutch Classical Talent is one of the Netherlands’ most respected platforms for emerging classical musicians. Its alumni read like a who’s who of Dutch classical music: harpist Lavinia Meijer, soprano Nora Fischer, the Van Baerle Trio, the Berlage Saxophone Quartet. The competition doesn’t just award a prize, it launches careers. Finalists perform their programme fourteen times across the country’s leading concert halls, building audiences and experience that money cannot buy. After eighteen months of coaching and touring her programme ‘Gracias a la Vida’, Ana-Carmen performs today alongside three fellow finalists. The jury decides who takes home the Award and the €10,000 prize. Whatever the outcome, reaching this final is already a mark of where she stands. 📅 7 June — 14:00 📍 Hertz, TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht Toi toi toi, Ana-Carmen! 🌹

Valerio Contaldo: Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo 🎻 This week, Valerio Contaldo is on stage in his signature role Orfeo, in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo at the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen, one of Europe’s most beautiful Baroque theatres. The production, directed by Markus Bothe and conducted by Jörg Halubek with il Gusto Barocco, brings the Monteverdi cycle at the Nationaltheater Mannheim to its conclusion, a cycle that began in 2017 with Bothe’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse. Several performances are already sold out. Orfeo: Valerio Contaldo La Musica / Speranza: Shachar Lavi Euridice: Amelia Scicolone Messaggera: Marie-Belle Sandis Plutone: Thomas Berau Conductor: Jörg Halubek il Gusto Barocco 📅 performance dates: 04 June 06 June 07 June 12 June (sold out) 13 June 23 June 24 June (sold out) 📍 Schlosstheater Schwetzingen Toi toi toi, Valerio!

Tenor Pablo García-López returns to the main stage of Palau de les Arts in Valencia, to open in Puccini’s Turandot tonight. 🎭 This production marks a fascinating vocal evolution for Pablo. Years ago, he made his debut here (and recorded for Decca under Zubin Mehta) as the witty, sparkling Pong. Tonight, he steps into the shoes of Pang, the more introspective and melancholic minister whose profound humanity grounds the entire opera. The production, originally conceived by Àlex Ollé for the Tokyo Opera, is conducted by Sir Mark Elder in his inaugral season as Music Director of Les Arts. Turandot: Ekaterina Semenchuk Calaf: Gregory Kunde Liù: Carolina López Moreno Timur: Liang Li Ping: Jan Antem Pang: Pablo García-López Pong: Mikeldi Atxalandabaso Conductor: Sir Mark Elder Stage director: Àlex Ollé Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana Toi, toi, toi to Pablo and the entire company for a magical opening night! Cast & Creatives: Turandot: Ekaterina Semenchuk Calaf: Gregory Kunde Pang: Pablo García-López Conductor: Sir Mark Elder Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana 📅 Tonight, 3 June — 19:30 06 June — 19:00 08 June — 19:30 11 June — 19:30 13 June — 19:00 📍 Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, Valencia