Award-winning filmmaker Susan Froemke looks at the intense pressures young opera singers face as they struggle to succeed in one of the difficult professions in the performing arts in The Audition. The feature-length documentary takes you behind the scenes at the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions, where each year thousands of hopefuls compete for a cash prize, the chance to sing on the Met stage–and the opportunity to launch a major operatic career.
The Audition will air during primetime on THIRTEEN’S Great Performances at the Met in HD on Wednesday, January 20 at 9 p.m. EST on PBS (check local listings).
Watch a preview:
Great Performances at the Met is a presentation of THIRTEEN in association with WNET.ORG – one of America’s most prolific and respected public media providers.
Great Performances at the Met: The Audition is the second of 10 productions airing this season during the 2009-2010 series. The film covers the dramatic week leading up to the finals of the 2007 auditions, focusing on three very different tenor contestants: Michael Fabiano, a fiery 22-year-old grappling with his inner demons; Alek Shrader, a 25-year-old with movie-star looks who attempts to sing nine high Cs in the fiendishly difficult aria that made Pavarotti a star; and Ryan Smith, who at the age of 30, and with little formal training, is pursuing his dream of an operatic career. The Audition is both a suspenseful competition narrative and a revealing backstage look at what it takes to make it as an opera singer.
The Audition is made possible by the generous support of Frayda B. Lindemann. Great Performances is funded by the Irene Diamond Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, Vivian Milstein, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, public television viewers and PBS. Corporate support for Great Performances at the Met is provided by Toll Brothers, America’s luxury home-builder®.
For the Met,Mia Bongiovanni and Elena Park are Supervising Producers, and Louisa Briccetti and Victoria Warivonchik are Producers. Peter Gelb is Executive Producer. For Great Performances, Bill O’Donnell is Series Producer; David Horn is Executive Producer.
I joined this program 15 minutes in and could not take my eyes off it. Not a great fan of opera, (don’t know enough about it, I guess),but these young people were extraordinary. It was amazing (in relation to the blight of other competition shows where foolishness and ineptitude reign) to
see this sheer talent! Alex Shrader’s competition piece was brilliant. I’d buy a CD of
his work in a heartbeat. Shocked and saddened by
the death of Ryan. What a fighter.
I am a long-term opera fan, and have wanted to see this documentary for a long time. Thank you for showing it. It was so sad to watch Ryan as I’d known of his death. What a tragedy, and loss to opera.
Programs like this have power to introduce opera to wider audience and a must-see for fans of “(pop)era singers” on popular TV talent shows so that they can get an idea of what it takes to become a real opera singer. I hope it is shown again.
To those who asked about DVD – you can find it here: http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/news/features/detail.aspx?id=6172
To Gregory – “Nessun Dorma” was actually a preview of future “Great Performances at the Met” telecast of Turandot. The singer is Marcello Giordani. It’ll be shown at the end of February, but check your local listings.
I too am a singer and this program was so fascinating to me. I know it is a competition but in what other profession could be be enthralled and entertained by your fellow competitors. I was very sad to see that Ryan Smith had passed away because he was such a dear with a great voice. RIP
I too was touched to hear of Ryan’s passing. His journey was truly not in vain. He lived to realize his dream and his light touched anyone who saw him in person and on the documentary. On another site which includes an Obituary it mentions “the family asks that donations be made in Ryan’s memory to The Patrick G. and
Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago”. I for one will be sending something in Ryan’s name. Blessings to you Ryan.
Wow! I’m not an opera fan per se but this got me started. I’ll be on the lookout for a few of these singers now.
Outstanding production. The best suspense drama I hqave seen lately. I was there on the edge of my seat with each singer
Hope you air this again soon and include in your video archives available online.
I am not a very big fan of opera, but something made me tune in last night. Bravo to all. What performances given my amateurs. My favorite Ryan Smith – a true gentlemen and an inspiration. My heart sank when the summaries were given at the end and I learned of his untimely passing. His mom must be very proud of her son. He was a treasure.
I, too, was crushed to see that Ryan had passed away in 2008. What a blow to see that in the credits after watching such an exhilarating show. As Chris posted above, it’s amazing how close I felt to these people after just watching a two-hour documentary. By the way, our local NPR station (WCPN in Cleveland) had an interview with Mr. Shrader the day before this program aired on PBS. They gave a spoiler alert that he was one of the winners. You can hear the archive on http://www.wcpn.org, on the Around Noon show (host Dee Perry), for Tuesday, 1/19/10. It was a great interview, so I was ready to watch the actual documentary the next night, and I am not an opera follower, but the WCPN radio interview captivated me.
An absolutely riveting and beautiful production.
And as many have mentioned, a heartbreaking summary at the end.
Now THIS is what “reality” TV should be about- bravo to all.
What a beautiful documentary. A tribute to all those hours of work that seems so seamless when finally seen on stage. Touching to see Ryan Smith; his soul and humanity shined through.
I was mesmerized by these very talented opera singers! Fantastic performances and program.Was saddened to learn that Ryan passed away. Also would like to know if there is a DVD of this program available.
Waht a great program! Ryan Smith’s death was a shock. Remember, however, how he burst into his dressing room after he sang, noting that he was fine with whichever way the judges ruled, as he had accomplished his goal. I thought that most of the competitors who the audience learned about during the show shuold have good futures as opera singers, whether or not they were chosen as “winners/” I also welcomed the Renee Fleming interview at the end– interesting observations from all three people in that interview..
I found this site, it is a friend of Ryan Smith who posted a small biography of Ryan after his death in 2008, he will continue to inspire ! http://reddred.blogspot.com/2008/11/my-friend-ryan.html
As a pianist and professional musician, I’ve always intensely disliked the concept of competitions and auditions. The idea of dividing true artists into catagories of “winners” and “losers” is not a pleasant prospect. Yet, auditions – and especially the MET auditions – are extremely beneficial. I can think of no better setting than the MET for aspiring singers to have their talents showcased.
The young singers who performed at the MET National Council Auditions all have extraordinary talent and – whether chosen or not – none of them left as losers. Clearly, this event enriched all of their lives. Susan Froemke’s film which documented this event was a pleasure and an inspiration to watch.
Unfortunately I don’t have a complete list of all the singers who participated in this event, but I have no doubt that their names will shine in the future as they pursue operatic careers.
The lovely blonde soprano Larusdottir (?)was disappointed with her performance of the Bellini but sang extraordinarily well, nevertheless.
The three prominently featured male singers were all superb. Michael Fabiano, who sang the aria from Tchaikovsky’s “Onegin”, has a maturity beyond his years. Alek Shrader, who hit all the high C’s, has great charm and physical appeal. Ryan Smith’s intensely emotional performance blew me away. I was deeply shocked and saddened to learn of his untimely death from cancer.
To all who were involved in the making of this film – bravo!
I am not a huge opera fan but am so very glad that I watched The Audition – I was mesmerized – did not move for the entire 2 hours. Please, please show this again and also keep us updated on what these young men and women are doing now. How wonderful for Ryan Smith that he had his Met debut.
Best program on opera I`ve ever experienced.I felt the singers` nervousness and was elated at their success! Loved the voice and personality of Alek Shrader and of course was moved to tears to learn of Ryan Smith`s death. Please replay this program!
I couldn’t sleep last night and caught this documentary on PBS…I was mesmerized from the first look and I have not been able to stop thinking about it since then. You don’t have to love or even like opera to be enthralled by “The Audition” – it’s simply amazing. I loved all the singers and their stories, but I was hooked on Ryan Smith and Alek Shrader from the beginning. I was literally cheering and screaming for them in their performances, and words cannot express my dismay at reading of Ryan’s death at the end. I truly believe that he gave his all to his craft, using so well the gifts God gave him. Rest in peace, Ryan.
As the mother of a young classical singer who hopes to start with her National Council Auditions next year, I found this a very moving documentary. On every level, the depth of information conveyed was quite exceptional. This impossible career to which my daughter aspires is perfectly viewed from the lens of this documentary. Over the years as my daughter as gone through her educational process I’ve spotted young non-professional singers whose path I later follow. I attend their concerts when I’m able and hope for their success. I saw two singers in this video that I intend to include in my next trip to the met. I was especially moved by the voices of all. Absolutely wonderful programming.
Fantastic! Nerve wracking but worth it. Also, truly touching. God Bless ya Ryan!
I was instantly hooked watching this wonderful film. I fell in love with Ryan and Alek and was heartbroken to learn of Ryan’s death. I hope he was filmed in another Great Performance for PBS.
Fabulous performances. Please replay this program. Was so saddened to learn that Ryan Smith succombed to lymphoma. How could you not help but fall in love with him…such a spirit. Like so many others, I couldn’t move for the entire program and had forgotten how much I love opera.
This program is being repeated WLIW (channel 21 on the upper east side NYC) Feb 7 at 3 pm; and on Feb 7 at 12 pm on PBS (channel 13 same area in NYC). I had missed the beginning, but I want to weep all over again! What an experience! My heart goes out to all these wonderful talented people, and how hard it is, and that most don’t make the big time at the Met but other opportunities are always there.And what a tragedy for Ryan; He would have had a brilliant future career; Heartbreaking.
I was enthralled by the beautiful voices, especially Ryan Smith. I was going to make sure to learn about his career following the audition. I shed tears when I saw the dedication at the end that said that he had died from cancer! What a loss! I imagine him singing with the angels.
I was instantly hooked on this show and enjoyed seeing the backstage fear and trepidation that each singer went through. I to was saddened to see that Ryan had passed away. Alek was my favorite and hope to see and HEAR him again
I woke up at 3 pm to catch the rebroadcast of “The Audition”. NOW I was AWAKE and consumed every minute of it. I sat bolt upright at the summaries at the very end, re: Ryan Smith. PLEASE show this every year. What insite into the Profession of being an opera singer. Now we know
Wonderful show, I missed the beginning s I plan to purchase the DVD (To purchase, call 1-800-336-1917). I’d have made a terrible judge, they were all winners to me, I have a large collection of LPs ans CDs amassed over the last 50 years of singers from Caruso to the present, I love operatic singing. I felt bad for the young lady from Iceland who was so down on herself after her performance, She sang beautifully. God bless you, Ryan.
I, too, was captured by “The Audition”. And like many others that posted, a true novice to opera. But this was reality TV at its best. Truly brilliant film making to highlight the singers, get viewers hooked, reveals at the end and the poignant mention of Mr. Smith’s passing. What a loss.
Ryan Smith, the best performance ever. It was absolutely beautiful!
Yes Jaume,go for it,never give up hope,good luck