Bit role/cover chorus auditions

This website should provide you with all the information you need to be considered for bit roles/covers in the 2025-26 Season.

Regular, Core Supplementary, and Supplementary Choristers:

Bit role/cover auditions for all Choristers will be held on Thursday, September 11 from 6:30 – 8:30pm in Room 200 (subject to change).

The audition panel will be as follows: Michael Black, Chorus Director & Head of Music; Andreas Melinat, VP, Artistic Planning; Stephanie Karr, VP, Artistic Operations and Administration. Jerad Moseby will accompany.

Below you will find PDFs of the excerpts you are expected to prepare for the audition listed next to the corresponding roles.

To sign up for an audition, you must email the Manager, Chorus & Dancers, Chorus, Sarah Cohn ([email protected]) no later than a week prior to the audition (by Thursday, September 4) with a list of the bit roles/covers for which you would like to be considered. Once we know how many people with be auditioning, we will assign arrival times by voice type.  While you should prepare all music for the bits/covers for which you would like to be considered, the panel may choose to hear only certain selections in the audition.

Should there be any updates to this information, inclusive of audition location or time, you will be emailed.

Eligibility:

Per Section 5.7(a) of the basic agreement, "Any general auditions for roles under this Section shall be open to all Choristers including Core Supplementary Choristers and Supplementary Choristers engaged in the production." Please note that for the roles of the Slave and the Cappadocian in Salome, any Regular Choristers of the proper voice type may audition.

*Tentative* rosters have been attached for all productions so that you may reference the production(s) in which you are cast and, therefore, which bit roles/covers you are eligible to audition for.

Please note that in order to accept any offer resulting from these auditions, you must be available for the entire production period (the first day of staging through the final performance). Principals may be called to rehearsal between 10a-10p Monday through Sundays. Choristers acting as Principals receive their Principal schedules in the same manner as other Principals – by receiving the daily schedule the evening prior.

In addition, you must be available for all performances with no currently known or potential conflicts.

If a conflict arises, please email Katharine Gunnink ([email protected]) to request a release as soon as possible. Unlike Chorus rehearsals, you cannot take sick or personal time for Principal rehearsals. The release needs to be approved ahead of time.

Please note that sick time may not be taken for appointments for Principal rehearsals. Appointments should be scheduled to avoid rehearsal times. Weekly schedules are provided, and major key dates are included in the welcome packet to assist in finding available times. Since rehearsals are subject to change until the daily schedule is published, it is recommended to schedule appointments that are clear of all potential rehearsal hours as outlined in the CBA.

Releases require approval from several Lyric personnel and are not guaranteed. Please submit release requests as far in advance as possible to provide ample time for the internal review process to take place. In addition, submitting your release request as far in advance as possible will give it the best chance of being considered. All release requests are subject to approval and may be denied.

These requests may be submitted using the attached form (electronically or physically) or by providing all requested information in the body of your email to Katharine. That information includes:

• Name
• Start/End date(s) and times you wish to be released from Lyric Principal activities. Please take travel time into account. If you request to be released until 11am, we can call you at 11am.
• Address and phone number at which you can be reached during the period of the release
• Reason for the release

In addition to the above release requests, PTO requests for chorus calls that fall within the period of your requested Principal release must still be submitted in the normal manner.

Additional information will be provided in your welcome packet on the first day of staging rehearsals. Please find those dates below:

• Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci: October 6, 2025
• Salome: January 5, 2025
• Madama Butterfly: February 23, 2025
• Frida: March 2, 2025