Chapter 10.8 - Act 10: D.C. 8 (1/2)
Act 10: D.C. 8
Interviews.
Although other industries were the same, it was a common word for those that sang for a living. Whether it be for choruses, operas or musicals, from the perspective of the conductor who led the stage, there was nothing better than interviews for finding out which singer suited their stage the best.
After all, seeing it directly was the fastest way to tell who was a better singer, with a voice that fit the stage. Therefore, the fact that an interview would be held in this Subscription Concert wasn’t anything surprising or strange – it was an everyday event that happened everywhere in the industry.
‘Something I went through a lot as well.’
I could remember carrying my feet around and taking interviews. Singing in front of numerous interviewers, arriving late due to traffic, picking a good song by chance and getting chosen, failing and succeeding… as such experiences were added up, an opera singer called ‘me’ was born.
Well, I did fail miserably overseas but I was able to enter an ensemble which was quite famous in Korea. In any case, the point was that I had taken countless interviews, to the point I had been enlightened.
In other words, I knew a few tips and tricks that could help me succeed in the interview.
“…”
After coming to an understanding thanks to Han Dasom’s help, I dug deep into my memories for a solution with my eyes closed.
Even with all that experience, I couldn’t find any easy way for me to definitely surpass Kim Wuju but that was obvious considering the sheer difference in level between us.
No matter how many small tricks I used saying this was great for interviews, the fundamental point of interviews, in the end, was to pick good opera singers. A good first impression or wearing good clothes were small strategies that would be blown away by one good song.
“…”
Heaving out a deep sigh, I raised my head and stared forward. In front of me was Han Dasom staring at me with blinking eyes and seeing that, I made a faint smile.
Even then, if all those cheap tricks were built up, plus Han Dasom and my skill that increased exceptionally compared to the first semester…
“Our chance to win won’t be zero, I think.”
“Nn…?”
With my eyes facing Han Dasom and her tilted head, I felt my beating heart and grabbed onto her hands.
Now, it was the time to start our strategy.
When her hand was grabbed, Han Dasom stiffened as if she had been struck by a lightning but without caring about that, I shot out of my seat and walked out with light steps.
Han Dasom, who was startled from suddenly being pulled away, shouted urgently.
“W… Wait! Where are we going…?”
“Somewhere good.”
“…”
She suddenly turned quiet for some reason but satisfied by the absence of a refusal, I pushed the classroom door open.
*
According to my experience, the interview will probably be held in a certain order.
First, the conductor will give us the song we will be singing in the concert and we will prepare ourselves. Then, on the day of the interview, he will ask us about the song before telling us to sing it.
Although it was an obvious order, there was an important point. The song choice.
What song would he give us? Even with all the interviews under my belt, I had no way of knowing it, but what was certain was that he would be giving us a chorus, and it had to be sung with dozens of people.
Plus, it had to be within the capability of the students while being liked by the audience.
Skimming across the music sheets flicking inside my head, I nodded.
With that much information, we should be able to practise before we were given the song, enabling us to take a step forward compared to everyone else.
“It’s a practice room…”
Staring at Han Dasom having her lips slanted down after entering the room, I grinned while organising the room for our practice.
“What about practice rooms? They are good places right?”
“…”
When I said that, I saw Han Dasom forming a rare teary expression. I quickly turned away and coughed before changing the topic.
“Uhum. Dasom. You know we will be singing a chorus during the Subscription Concert right?”
“…”
Seeing her give a nod, I sat in front of the piano and laid my hands on the keyboard. I played a simple melody.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.
Hearing the monotonous melody echoing inside the practice room, Han Dasom stared at me with blinking eyes.
“Choruses… are a little different from the songs we’ve been singing so far. The quartets, solos, and duets we did were in fact simpler in comparison. At most, there would be four melodies and there wasn’t anything too complicated either.”
“Nn…”
In other words, they were all within the scope that could be covered and expressed by one piano. Fumbling my fingers across the keyboard, I played the songs we had sung together until now before turning towards her.
“But a chorus is a song sung by dozens of people.”
“…”
Dozens.
It was a huge song, on a different scale compared to the songs we had been singing so far, it couldn’t be covered by one piano. With my lips raised, I met my eyes with hers.
“So naturally, unlike certain types of songs which individuals have to sing well, it focuses more on harmony and polyphony. Teacher Ku Mingi said it last time as well that choruses and solos are different right? And the gap between them becomes increasingly large with more people. Large scale choruses are completely different from solos.”
Dozens of different voices becoming one.
That was a chorus.
“Let’s keep this in mind as we practise.”
Seeing Han Dasom in deep thought with her eyes facing the ground, I smiled. This was one of the reasons why I immediately brought Han Dasom in after hearing the story about the Subscription Concert.
When conductors looked for the male and female main vocals, their singing skills were naturally the most important but how well their voices suited the song was another important aspect.