Opera hopefuls take spotlight

For many diploma-brandishing twentysomethings fresh out of college, the plunge into the working world and finding a job in their desired field is a challenge -- and it is even more of a challenge for those with aspirations of opera stardom.

But there are several Boston-area organizations trying to give a boost to young opera hopefuls who one day dream of gracing a spotlighted stage.

To help face the many hurdles and trials of establishing a career, a group of aspiring opera singers founded the Boston Opera Collaborative in 2005. The group, comprised of recent graduates from Boston-area music schools, as well as a few from other area colleges and universities, formed to help foster and promote fresh talent in the difficult-to-navigate field in which young singers find themselves after graduating.

Opera singers' voices do not usually mature until age 30 or 40, BOC spokeswoman Mandy Hilliard said, leaving a great gap of time between graduating school and having a likely opportunity to attain a dream job.

Hilliard said BOC provides its members with all-important performance opportunities after graduating to assist them on the way to landing professional jobs.

"If we, as a group, teach others to find these opportunities, we can prepare them for an artistic career," she said. "The whole point is emerging artists. We are a great stepping stone."

The Collaborative performs several shows each year, with its next performance, Hansel and Gretel, set for February at the YMCA of Greater Boston.

BOC co-founder Katherine Drexel, a soprano who graduated from the Boston Conservatory and has been performing since she was 5, said the encouragement Collaborative members gain from each other is vital.

"We strive for a family situation," she said. "We're close friends, we rely on each other, we are each others' support system [and] we keep each other going."

Tufts University graduate and BOC member Adrian Packel said he never planned to be an opera singer in college, where he majored in computer science.

"Singing is something I stumbled into by accident," he said.

Although he acknowledged a career in opera is not a popular choice among today's college graduates, Packel said there is plenty of opportunity in the field.

Erin Wakeman, a graduate student at New England Conservatory, said she enjoys the challenge of making a name for herself in the music world. Even though she knows it may take a long time to become successful and admits she may not have a lucrative career, she said she is having fun.

"Right now, I am just a starving artist," she said. "Eventually, I have a feeling I will have to get a desk job."

In addition to the BOC, the Boston Lyric Opera also aims to promote young, rising stars.

Jennifer McDonald, artistic administrator for the BLO, said the small field is a challenging one to break into.

"It's definitely a lot of work involved," she said.

Opera can be a profitable career for the most successful performers, but chorus members have to practice diligently, McDonald said.

"Generally, our chorus members [have] day jobs, so this is a second job for them," she said. "But this is their passion, so they have to find that balance."

McDonald said Boston is no more difficult than any other city to cultivate a successful opera career, adding the city provides opportunities for singers proactive enough in their search for work.