Classical Singer

Daiyao Zhong Jul 13, 2026 Much like an exercise studio, engaging in competition in the voice studio is a recipe for disaster. In this column, find out how to focus on your own development and drop the competitive mindset. There is a competition in every studio, even when no one names it.

Robert Wesley Mason Jul 13, 2026 Follow one singer’s healing journey from a vocal polyp from diagnosis to recovery. “You have a polyp on your right vocal cord.” I sat there staring at the playback footage from my laryngoscopy. Time slowed down and my mind went quiet. When the emotional tinnitus cleared, I looked over at the doctor with a look on my face similar to Walter White’s in Breaking Bad after he received his cancer diagnosis.

Peter Thoresen Jul 13, 2026 Taking inspiration from new opera, this month’s column suggests ways to build a crossover opera workshop program, as well as offers a memorial to a design professional who impacted many singers and voice teachers’ careers. This February I had two very close encounters with crossover—one musical, and the other metaphysical.

Liana Valente Jul 9, 2026 Not your typical pedagogy book, Voices of Influence is beautifully crafted and honestly written, a work that explores and honors the student-teacher relationship, focusing on the most basic of tenets–that how we teach is just as important, if not more so, than what we teach. For the past 20 years, readers of Classical Singer Magazine have enjoyed and learned from articles and book reviews written by Dr. Brian Manternach.

Tish Oney Jul 9, 2026 Join Dr. Oney for a master class on this topic at the CS Music Convention in Boston. Here, she shares tips for exploring the repertory of the American Songbook. The American Songbook (formerly called the “Great American Songbook”) consists of a rich repertory of song material that singers from all over the world have come to cherish. Many of these originate in the American musical theatre tradition. Others come from popular music of the early-to-mid 20th century.

Donata Cucinotta Jul 9, 2026 A few months out from a disastrous interview, we discuss what Timothée Chalamet accidentally revealed about art, money, and why live performance still matters.

Anastasia Inniss Jul 9, 2026 Taking a break from singing should not be stigmatized and yet, many singers experience it after taking needed time off for many reasons. Six years ago, after a decade of reviewing thousands of applications from singers, I wrote a social media post about a pattern so precise it felt engineered. It appeared most clearly in applications from female voices: Early success. A life event—childbirth, divorce, illness, miscarriage, burnout, family crisis, economic disruption.

Samantha Nahra Jun 17, 2026 Finding Opera by Accident For mezzo soprano Teresa Hui, opera was never part of some carefully mapped-out career plan. It arrived naturally, almost unexpectedly. “I could apparently sing before I could speak,” she said with a laugh. “My mom said my screams during vaccinations were so loud they shook the building.” Still, Teresa did not initially see herself as a singer.

Peter Thoresen Jun 17, 2026 Summer in New York is peak festival seasonal for music and art lovers of all stripes, and it can serve as an exciting and, sometimes, surprise point of entry for new opera goers. Teatro Grattacielo’s upcoming summer production of Così fan tutte promises to stir, provoke, and  possibly upend the conceptions many have held about this third opera in Mozart and Da Ponte’s iconic trilogy.

Brian Manternach Jun 17, 2026 A recent publication provides singers a step-by-step process for analyzing art songs. In 25 years of teaching music history and analysis, Beverly Stein found that students were often asked by their voice teachers to analyze the songs they worked on in the studio. However, given all that must be accomplished during voice lessons, students were rarely given directions on how to independently go about this important process.