re: alto audition songs

[Karma76]

I did a search but did not come up with much. what are some ones in the past that you have done for your 16 bars?

[queenie2]

My Husband Makes Movies-Nine

I Want to Go to Hollywood-Grand Hotel

[CostumeMistress]

[singinswinga]

i have a really long audition to do, like 5 minutes, on a video tape. I'm doing "For Good" from Wicked and "Stepsister's Lament" from Cinderella.

[Benzy92]

Alto's Lament.. Emily Skinner sings it.. it is hilarious!!

[StephanietheStar]

OMG YAY Alto's Lament...

"When everybody's singing OKLAHOMA! I get Skyyyyyyyy Yo Ho"
Hehe that's my theme song

[ShineOn]

I use "I Want To Go To Hollywood" a lot... it's good for young alto's... since most really great material that shows off the low notes are... geared more toward the older generation. Generally...

Here are some ones I've used...

"Hold On" ~Secret Garden
"Lost and Found" ~City of Angels
"Naughty Baby" ~Crazy For You/Primrose
"Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing In a Hurry" (Johnny Mercer)
"The Miller's Son" ~A Little Night Music
"Sooner or Later" ~Dick Tracy

Um, if I think of more I'll post 'em. (As one who's got low notes for days, I's gots a lot up my sleeve... unfortunately my book is in the back seat of my car and there's a blizzard going on...)

[ShineOn]

Stephanie... I think that song pretty much sums up the feelings of any girl who's never seen a (comfortable) high C in her day. (Everytime I attempt one you can see the fear of the death take over my face... it's quite amusing. mwaaaaha... but I have a GREAT high C, really...)

[StephanietheStar]

Hehe...
my friend who is an alto showed me that song...and then the next day we got "somewhere" (west side story) in choir and the alto part is mostly the melody..i was oh now i can't complain!

[StephanietheStar]

Hehe...
my friend who is an alto showed me that song...and then the next day we got "somewhere" (west side story) in choir and the alto part is mostly the melody..i was oh now i can't complain!

[Karma76]

Alto's Lament is there a version I can hear somewhere??

[Benzy92]

do you have limewire or anything? I know Emily Skinner sings it on the first Duets cd with Alice Ripley..

[ShineOn]

It's actually on Unsuspecting Hearts... and it's all over the internet... I'm sure you can find it somewhere.

[Bwaybaby109]

How do you get the sheet music to Alto's Lament?!?! I have the mp3 to it btw so if you need you should IM me at Meadowlarkml. I've been looking for the sheet music for that song for years and have had no luck anywhere online!
I love Every Tear...from Honk! i'm in that show right now as Maureen. Also, Stop, Time from Big is a good choice and A Piece of Sky from Yentl is great, that is if you can hit (pref belt) the D at the end. Perfectly Marvelous is a good choice from Cabaret or anything that Sally sings is suitable for a low voice. Hold On from The Secret Garden is good too.

[Broadway_Bound_Star]

"Gus the Theatre Cat" From cats? Not sure if its reall a SONG.. its mostly just talked, but you could try it

[stylinbohemian]

"The Wizard and I"~Wicked~
"I Get A Kick out of you"~Anything Goes~
"One Boy"~Bye Bye Birdie~

they're all good ones to do im an alto and I think theyre good ones...you could also try something from Song and Dance or Chess

[bwayballerina]

I'm not really sure if I'm an alto, but I've never been able to sing soprano songs all that well... but here's my list:
-I Get a Kick Out of You (Anything Goes)
-In My Own Little Corner (Cinderella) (Only use this song if you're auditioning for a Rodgers and Hammerstein show, or something similar. It isn't really the greatest of songs)
-Home (Beauty and the Beast) (Overused, but good as a last resort. There's maybe one or two high-ish notes, but I don't think there's anything over an E... all of the held notes are under mid-staff C, if I remember correctly)
-Don't Rain on my Parade (Funny Girl) (A little high, depending on the arrangement. But if you can pull if off, it's impressive)
-Look to the Rainbow (Finian's Rainbow) (Again, a little high, depending on the arrangement, but it's rarely used, and sounds really good if you know what you're doing. I've used it twice and gotten a lead and a supporting lead)

[ForTheLoveOfLea]

Check out the Mezzo Soprano Singer's Anthology to get some ideas. Their songs aren't nearly as high as the title lets on. They have some awesome alto songs.

[b'waybound]

"On My Own" from Les Miserables
"I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Miserables
"All That Jazz" from Chicago

[Chevstriss]

Daisy Hilton - thought this might interest you - its on a website about what companies like and don't at auditions.

About Songs:
Do’s - What the companies would like to hear more of:
Cole Porter | Burton Lane | Cy Coleman | Rogers and Hart
Jerome Kern | Harlod Arlen | Other standards

Don’ts
Don’t do Sondheim in the general auditions (unless you’re over 40 and have been through what the lyrics imply, or can control the phrasing).

For the same reason, don’t do "Being Alive" or "Johanna"

Try to avoid "Vanilla Ice Cream." It’s just done as a delivery vehicle for the money note at the end and no one acts through the lyric as they should.

Don’t do "Naughty Baby"

Don’t do "Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man..."

Don’t do "victim" songs - "Mr. Cellophane" is the classic example of this. Songs about how lousy a person you are make you weak on stage.

[catstagestud]

D**m chev you got that one right! There's a great number from Fantastiks called "Much More" that is an up beat belt/mix piece. Wonderful for younger women who can play the 18-20 range. Or look at "If You've Got it Flaunt it" from Producers. The latter is probably a better piece for a call-back where it's like "Here I am, I deserve this role" Used in auditions a lot too so can be risky. It has a key change but if you can belt it. Also the suggestion about the anthologies is great. The pieces in those books are wonderful; just be careful not doing over-done works, which some of the anthologies have those pieces.

[FOCI]

"Don’t do Sondheim in the general auditions (unless you’re over 40 and have been through what the lyrics imply,"

What about something(not Sondheim) that is written for an older woman but the situation could easily apply to a younger woman? for instance a song about being widowed?

[catstagestud]

Depends on the song probably. There are great songs about losing a loved one, notably a husband. "How Could I Ever Know" from Secret Garden is a beautiful song that has that feeling.

[ShineOn]

Hmm... interesting that you'd point me out when people are listing songs from Les Mis, Cats, and Wicked....

I only used the Miller's Son once for an audition for an actual Sondheim show. I wouldn't suggest using Sondheim for a random audition, but it can't hurt to have one in your repertoire.

I've actually got quite a bit of Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hart in my book...

"Find Me a Primitive Man" is a fun one. And perhaps Naughty Baby is overdone, but it fits my voice well and has gotten me several callbacks on the occasion I've used it, so to each their own, I suppose!

[HeirOfSlytherin13]

Some good ones

"Nothing" from A Chorus Line
"Once Upon a Dream" from Jekyll and Hyde
"Why Can't you behave?" From Kiss me Kate

These are some of the songs I use.

[gypsiedtokill]

If you're auditoning for college, avoid using anything that's currently on Broadway, or that has recently been on Broadway (i.e. Thoroughly Modern Millie, etc), unless it's a revival. And for the love of god, don't sing anything from Wicked. I've been to the Unified auditons in Chicago and NYC for the past 2 years and if I hear anyone else belt Defying Gravity (badly) I'm going to shove pointy things into my ears.

On a more positive note, a few good, solid alto songs are: As Long As He Needs Me from Oliver, The Sweetest Sounds from No Strings, The Real Love of My Life from Brigadoon, anything from Annie Get Your Gun, or if you're looking for something a bit more current, try You Can Always Count on Me from City of Angels.