Question 1

Dear Mrs. Lang,
I have a video with the aria of..... I don't know if this piece suits me and my voice?  Can you give me some tips?  Thank you very much for your reply.
With kind regards
A.G.

Dear Ms. G.,

thank you very much for the video. Of course, it is always difficult to give an assessment via videos. Nevertheless, I will briefly describe my impression.

You have a beautiful, high soprano voice, which is certainly at home in the coloratura fach. I find the aria of..... good for practicing, but too early for auditions, since the entire part demands a voice with a strong middle register.

To decide if a part is right for me, I always take the piano score and sing through the WHOLE part for myself alone. Then I go to a pianist and sing through the whole part again. This way I see if I can sing purely the notes for once and usually feel if I can sing the part and where there might be passages that I still need to check. I then work on these difficult passages in the coming weeks and then decide whether the part will be something for me in the short term, the long term or perhaps never. In parallel, I look through the score to find out how thick the orchestra is. In the next step, I listen to various recordings of different interpreters across and try to find out for myself whether my vocal realization corresponds to the usual instrumentation and tradition. Only then do I decide whether I might include this part in my repertoire.

Of course, it is important to find out "where one is at home" in the course of one's singing life. The only thing that helps is trying things out. Singing, singing, singing. And that means different repertoire.
I attach a few links of colleagues who are prime examples for the part of...... Maybe you will find one or the other suggestion that appeals to you.

I wish you all the best for your singing and for your private life.
Yours sincerely

Petra Lang