Anyone who works with young singers knows that it’s a constant challenge to find repertoire that is both appropriate and fun when your available cast consists mainly of women, and most of those sopranos. Additionally, whether you're working with college, conservatory, or workshop students, there's likely to be wildly varying levels of development and skill available at casting time.
As Executive Director of Spotlight on Opera and now Director of the Singers' Workshop at Centenary College of Louisiana, I am frequently in the position of needing to cast scenes programs or concerts which are technically appropriate and artistically satisfying to the singers, and engaging for the audiences. Some years ago, I started a file of scenes just for women; recently, I've expanded it to a collection --- by no means exhaustive --- of 125 excerpts for female voices.
I've striven to include a wide variety of repertoire suitable for many voice types and levels of ability. Some require a bit of creativity in cuts or in re-voicing chorus. Many can be extended if you have just one male singer (mostly baritones!), or can be cut into smaller scenes.
I hope you find this list useful, and if you have additions, corrections, or suggestions, please feel free to contact me.
Please visit Cindy's List to download.
