Opera and French Horn

“Can voice major take language placement test?” That depends. But it’s not a matter of placing out as much as it is a matter of becoming a truly language proficient opera singer. Two semesters of one language does not crack that nut. I do believe a dual instrumental major is not “less” but it has more cross over requirements than does a VP/Instrumental major. A VP student is better off getting a double degree in language and VP. Then again, D (like so so many American singers) lives and works as a professional singer in the EU, and needs to be able to be communicate as well as sing in German, French and Italian. (so I have a skewed point of view) #:-S

forgot to add, she currently has Russian, Swedish and Finnish coaches as well since those three languages popped up recently. :-??

My D did a BS (similar to a double major VP/theatre) at IU and language requirements were the issue. She tested out of French but could not do the same for Germany and Italian. Once you test out that only gives you the right to take diction. I don’t think the language classes really are part of the curriculum. BUT you can’t take diction without language skills. And you really should do diction in 4 languages (including English). So language study and classes are a big part VP studies. So I too questions how you would get all those extra language classes in so you can take diction. It’s difficult for a straight VP major.

And at some schools if you are cast in a principle operatic role, you usually lower your credits for that semester. You will have rehearsals and private coachings - both can mean significant hours - then to add 3 hrs of instrument practice? If you are not cast in principle roles than maybe it’s not an issue. But if you are cast in a role, it can throw a monkey wrench into the best laid out plans to graduate in 4 years.

Again I’m not saying it’s impossible…but buyer beware. This would not be an easy path.

Edit: It’s makes my toes curl to think of performing a 3 hour opera in German with one semester of German language studies…could be ugly.

At a certain point you need to investigate whether you are trying to pursue a vocation as a classical singer or just to get that degree in VP.The later requires a set amount of credits and the former requires specific skill sets. They are two different things entirely. Lots and lots of VP degrees but not lots and lots of working classical singers.

May be I am naive. Maybe academic subjects are easy for D. D studied collaborative piano in graduate school. I think she had to take diction classes (either that or she accompanied in diction classes. frankly I had no idea what classes she took in graduate school) but she had never took German or Italian. She may not be able to have a conversation in these two languages but she certainly can read paragraphs not knowing what they mean of course ( actually while in Salzburg, she was trying to communicate in German with an Italian who does not speak English or French). I would think language skills can be developed later like what musicamusica’s D did and when the circumstances call for. I have seen many westerners speak perfect Mandarin after living in China or Taiwan for a few years.

No, not really—for the big three, French, German and Italian, you really need serious proficiency in those core languages. It’s competitive and you need to show up at the interview/audition in Paris and speak and sing in French effortlessly.(THOUGH hanging out in Parisfor a few years to get there would be nice) The three languages I mentioned in the later part of my post? They were to learn specific art songs for a one time concert. She would NEVER attempt to sing an opera in any of those languages.

I know that Americans in general tend to lag in language proficiency, but D’s agent mentioned that he loves American singers out of American universities since they tend to have better singing language skills than the European students who tend to focus on their language alone…
It does take some really serious study and your D sounds like she had her work cut out for her as well but classical voice IS really different.

Sorry I got distracted, but I meant to say that no one is going to hire you to sing an opera without ALREADY having the language skills. You can’t tell the audition panel that you plan to figure it out after they hire you. I’m sure plenty of folks try but it just does not fly. Especially now days — if you don’t know the language, there are 150 other talented sopranos standing in line that do. Again, can you get a degree in VP without serious language study? Yes. Can you find work? Maybe. And that’s a big big maybe.

Some of you may recall that my D is currently dual degree at UMich in French horn performance and engineering. Going back to OP’s questions, it does appear that UMich likely provides the flexibility to allow one to pursue both horn and opera majors. It is a university in the Midwest with a solid opera program, a horn studio (not just a brass professor who teaches horn), and a track record of supporting dual majors and dual degrees. Whether OP’s daughter can be ultimately successful on her chosen track remains to be seen - it will certainly require a lot of hard work and the surmounting of schedule logistics, and quite possibly more than four years. That said, it may be an option where she can start down the dual path and then determine whether it’s the right one for her, or see if she naturally self-selects more into one area or the other (and drops one major to a minor, e.g.).

The challenges presented are:

  1. Desire to have 2 performance majors
  2. Cost
  3. Having a second music major child in college simultaneously (see #2)

What is your home state?

Something else to consider, time and money considerations aside: I entered a conservatory voice program years ago expecting to continue my mediocre horn playing as a hobby. My teacher immediately put an end to that idea, as he had firmly held beliefs that playing a wind instrument was too tiring on the voice and that the volume of breath required was too different for each. I haven’t seen any research on it, but he was a widely respected teacher and voice scientist, so I’d still give some credence to his opinion.

That’s where it gets tough. From a talent perspective she’s probably equally good at both. She made 3rd chair in one of Minnesota’s All-State bands as a junior, and was asked to audition for both band and choir, but chose band as her first choice last year. She could have made the choir, but we’ll never know because you can only do one. She’s auditioned for choir as her first choice this year, and we will hear soon if she makes it. It’s going to be an interesting year, no matter what.

We had that same issue every year too–in my D’s case she had to choose her preference between orchestra and choir for the all-state level. It was always a difficult decision and I wished she could’ve done both every year. However, for studying in college, my D has a strong preference for voice so there’s no dilemma there.