I'll talk more about things I know from my own experience, and not from what I've only seen... I have been singing full-time freelance for over nine years now and I am ALWAYS travelling. Just doing concerts has not been an option for me. My career just didn't develop that way.
So, I am performing in operas in new places all the time. I spend an average of a month and a half in each place. This year alone, I will have been away from home 8 months total by December 31. And this year, although it has had some things back-to-back that seemed excessive to me, is not an especially busy year. Travel is not at all luxurious or glamourous. Living out of a suitcase is not easy; dragging the suitcases around these days, with the scarcity of porters, is not to be taken lightly. I don't know one opera singer who has not had back problems, and I'm sure lugging luggage and sleeping in bad beds must be a few reasons why. Jetlag also takes a pretty large toll on voice and brain when you've flown trans-Atlantically. Since almost all airports are well outside of the destination city, it's usually another hour from the airport to your rented apartment. Then there's no one to help you carry all your stuff up the inevitable stairs.
First few days are usually spent getting lost and having no groceries (besides going to rehearsals of course.) Restocking a kitchen with salt, pepper, oil, rice, pasta, tea, sugar, the ever-missing can opener, spices, etc... every two months is not a joy. There's usually something not quite right with the accomodations, that the host or landlord says "oh, you're only there a month and a half, you can just put up with it, can't you? (droning fridge, major roadwork first thing in the morning just below, saggy bed, real estate agents "popping in" to show the place to other prospective renters when you're in the bathtub, bad smells, no oven - this is a favorite, drafts and/or heating problems, only two spoons and one glass,etc.. etc..) Things that you would have fixed in your own home don't get fixed, and you just have to "put up with it" because A)it's not your place B)you can't meet the repairmen, anyhow, because you're working.
Do you really get to know the city where you're singing, either? Everyone always assumes you have time to "vacation" in that city, which is not true. You have many things to do, most opera seasons are during the cruddiest weather periods (on purpose) of that region, and no one wants to wander around a foreign city in the cold and rain by himself. I've had to force myself to take a look around the places I've sung. Otherwise, what's the perk in travelling to all these places? Making local friends is always the best bet. But naturally, that would require that you SPEAK THE LANGUAGE!
My next and favorite subject for young American singers is LANGUAGE! You MUST learn foreign languages if you want to do well in this business and if you want to do justice to your art. ...Even if you don't have a career in Europe. Not only must you communicate, but how else can you get the most out of the texts you're singing? I'd always understood what I was saying and had good diction in Italian; but until I was fluent, I hadn't realized what a huge difference it made in how I approached the music. It makes making music so much easier!! Although English has become the modern "lingua franca," and it's not too difficult to find someone in the cast or production team who speaks English, speaking more languages can only help you. All opera music is nuanced primarily by the words. If you only know the words by rote, or only know a word-for-word translation (bravo! but that's not enough...) then you can miss out on the play and style of the music. Plus, you will gain much more respect in your work with conductors, directors and singers alike by speaking the language.
Speaking of working, let me explain about rehearsal schedules. (Small tangent.) Because most directors have no idea how far they'll get from one day to the next, they have a very loose rehearsal schedule, which gets changed daily. You will know for sure the time periods of rehearsal usually, but not whether or not you're called, until the day beforehand. This is STANDARD. This is not just a bad dream or one lone theater's quirkiness! This means that although you can be relieved that you don't have to rehearse every day from (for example) 10:30-12:30 and then 1:30-4:30, then 7-10, you could be called for any one of those time periods, or all. (Depending on the theater, of course.) You usually won't know until the day beforehand, and even if you know two or three days beforehand, they can change their minds - - you're there to work for THEM in that time period. There's usually one day off a week - usually Sunday or Monday. Which means you can't make plans to do anything in advance during the week, like dinner plans, dates with friends, going to the theater, going to a concert, having a doctor's appointment, etc.... When you are working, things are as concentrated as possible, since it doesn't pay for them to take their leisure to put a show together with all these people coming in from all over to do this show. So, your time will be very filled with your work. Your life can become JUST your work.
The major thing about travelling all the time is the loneliness. I still haven't come to terms with this. Some men's wives travel with them all the time. I have no idea what she does all day in a strange city while he rehearses. I've had a boyfriend travel with me in the past, which almost always is uncomfortable for him, since in our sexist world, people accept that a woman can spend her life doing nothing, but yet a man's ego is continually battered if he's not "doing something!" A very large percentage of singers I know are divorced, or having major relationship problems because of the distance. It's hard work just to *maintain* a relationship long-distance and I'm not at all convinced that it can *grow* at a distance. Heck, it's tough enough to have a good intimate relationship, period! Add stress and distance. Lots of opera singers cheat on their spouses; lots of singers form intense friendships with their costars, then forget them once they've left town. Then there's always the problem of receiving mail, getting bills paid on time, and staying in touch with the people you need to stay in touch with, because your address and phone are always changing. Email for me is essential.
I don't necessarily want to scare everyone to death about a free-lance opera career, but I think it's so important to know what you're getting into before doing it, so that you can safeguard against the pitfalls of this career. Most people think that love is enough, not realizing that making life decisions to actually SEE your spouse on a regular basis is tantamount to success in a relationship with a singer. And how do you want to raise your children? Do you want to home-school them, and drag them all around with you, uprooting them all the time? (Home-schooling is a very serious endeavor which is many times more labor-intensive and time-consuming on your part, and must needs be taken on with proper guidance, intense research and a great network of help!) Or do you want to become an absentee parent? They're two extremes, but that's why I asked in paragraph one what was important to you. You can carve out your ideal life with compromises on each front, if you keep in mind what is most important, whatever that might be for you. Without planning and foresight, you can be continually frustrated because one factor of your life is getting ignored.
You can feasibly be very comfortable financially from an operatic career, but there are astronomical expenses. You must prepare in advance to be methodical about keeping account of your money and keeping track of receipts, etc... for taxes and social security in the U.S. I say all this, because I HAVE NOT been methodical, and have paid the price in wasted money and sooo much time! Nothing is set up for your type of job: forms, programs, everybody, it seems, are set up for someone who lives in one place, and works for a nice big company in one place. Get used to being frustrated, and "playing the system." Find a good CPA who's worked for some other singers, and get together with him/her as you start your careers, to get the low-down on how you should prepare your tax stuff, what you can write off and can't, etc.. And MAKE AN EFFORT to put aside a certain percentage of your earnings. You are a free-lance artist. You never know if those next three gigs will get cancelled, you might get sick or damage your voice, and there's no health plan that comes with the job. Start paying on a good health plan that will cater to your needs - - make sure it covers things on the road, because THAT'S where you'll get sick. Nobody but you is in charge of your pension plan! Don't trust AGMA (the US opera singers' union) to do anything for you...
If you're expecting glamour and fabulous parties after the show, I have big news. There are sometimes some great dinners afterwards with your colleagues, sometimes lots of fans wanting you to sign their programs, but usually, you just take off your makeup and go home. No big deal, it's a job. Get your pleasure from your work, your musicianship, your public's applause... but don't expect the jubilant adulation and celebration that people will lead you to believe follows performances!
At school, did they say "In the REAL world, you can't pull this kind of stuff..."? Well, the REAL world is even worse than school - - be prepared. Do you have nerves of steel? Can you put up with bad/destructive colleagues and reviews without breaking down? Both exist in the real world, too. Colleagues may suggest things to undermine your performance, or might even upstage you; directors can be bad, mean, mind-*%#!ers, or even worse - - nice, but incapable. It takes tactics and a cool head to handle. And the skin of a rhino. Remember that it's most likely their own insecurity that's the problem. Or their own stupidity. But instead of getting upset or throwing a fit or feeling hurt, you must first try their suggestion (it might just be a great idea!) and if it doesn't work, figure out a way to get your own way while either A)making it sound like THEIR idea or B)making them THINK they got their own way or C)not letting them realize that you're doing it your way. After saying all this macho stuff, I actually tend to be very open to what the director wants me to do and try to throw myself into the show as he sees it. "Traditional" usually means some overblown, meaningless tradition of empty gestures and things you're "supposed" to do. Most people don't question who created these traditions and whether they're still valid or effective today. Push the envelop; question things and TRY things out. Major acting training is a must (Read on to the next page...) But in the long run, it is YOU who is judged by the performance, not the director. You need to feel comfortable in your role at the end of the rehearsal period. Bad reviews are the worst, especially if they criticize you for something the director or conductor expressly told you to do. A critic can't know you were following directions. (Or at least, usually doesn't.) - - No, you don't write a letter to the editor; you just bear it in mind the next time you get a GOOD writeup for something you did that you know was dog poopoo. If you're fragile as a spring flower, either get over it or don't pursue this career.
- need I say more? Either get therapy for it, psyche yourself somehow out of it, or don't do this job. There are enough neurotic people in this business already. I think I've worked with the majority of them, too!!
To read more about the lifestyle of someone who truly is a great singer, and the type of dedication to working on your music and voice required to be a great singer, read the auto-biography of Joan Sutherland. It's a bit simple, but she decided against a ghost-writer; thus you get a real sense of this incredible woman. It wouldn't hurt to read a few other auto-biographies, although some ("Ma voix et moi" for example) tend to be patting themselves on the back a bit too much. Check out your local "artsy" bookstore, or library. The same themes will be found in all of these autobiographies - incredibly hard work, singlemindedness and passion for their art.