Lyric Opera OC Off Book:

Candid Conversations with Opera Professionals

We are so excited to introduce our newest blog series, Off Book: Candid Conversations with Opera Professionals. Read and watch professionals from around the country and around the world provide pragmatism, context, and encouragement to emerging Orange County professionals about the sometimes-tough-sometimes-awesome realities of an operatic career today. With artists from the stages of LA Opera, Washington National Opera, Welsh National Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Chautauqua Opera, Opera Tennessee, Fort Worth Opera, and Carnegie Hall, we are beyond elated to share these intimate conversations and demonstrations with the world.

Off Book: Intro to Off Book Series

April 1, 2021

The Off Book Series includes personal narratives from each featured artist, as well as media events – check out Michael & Diana’s series intro by clicking here Diana Farrell When I was graduating from my masters I participated in a competition that I’d seen posted on a singer’s forum. The auditions were about two hours […]

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Off Book: Julia Mintzer, Vol. 1 Ep. 2

April 12, 2021

A blog interview (blinterview?) with Julia Mintzer. LOOC: Julia! You’ve had such a wealth of experience from conservatories, to YAPs, to international experience. What do you wish you could go back in time and tell yourself as an emerging artist? Julia: BOUNDARIES! Oh, gosh… I wish I could go back and teach my twenty-something self […]

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Off Book: Kirsten Kunkle, Vol. 1 Ep. 3

April 30, 2021

I come from a small city in Northwest Ohio. Ironically, there are a handful of opera singers that have come from Fremont, Ohio, which always leads to the “there must be something in the water” joke. My mother was a pianist, ballerina, and psychologist. My father is a jack of many trades, master of a […]

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Off Book: Cara Chowning, Vol. 1, Ep. 4

May 21, 2021

For their Off Book series, the team at LOOC asked some tough and thoughtful questions of me to share with their young artists. They wanted to know what I would tell my younger self and what lessons have been important on my own musical journey.My answer to both: Don’t wait!Don’t wait …To be perfectAs musicians […]

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Aaron Reeder

Off Book: Aaron Reeder, Vol. 1 Ep. 5

June 16, 2021

LOOC: What do you wish you could go back and tell “younger” Aaron about working in the creative and performing arts? AR: You don’t know it when it’s happening but looking back you “see it all much clearer.” If only we could tell our past selves a few things… I would tell my past self […]

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Off Book: Jen Stephenson, Vol. 1 Ep. 6

July 28, 2021

“What are you going to do with a music degree?” Sometimes well-intentioned and innocently curious, sometimes condescending and smug, we’ve all explained our hopes, dreams, and plans to our parents at the dinner table, acquaintances at a party, friends on the phone. We’ve justified our choices and described our career pathways. And as calm as […]

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Off Book: Cynthia Wohlschlager, Vol. 1, Ep. 7

August 28, 2021

“Perfect doesn’t exist, and if it did, it would be boring.” […]

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