The Gondoliers Auditions
Female Principals
Female Principals
Below are all audition materials that were available for the initial audition.
Please find the materials that you need for callbacks.
GIANETTA (Soloist—Soprano)—Charming Venetian peasant girl who is full of life, and one of the primary young love interests in the show. She is thrilled to be caught by Marco, but aghast at the turn of events which takes him away just as they are married, and can’t help running off to find him
Requirements: Must have an excellent soprano voice, good comic timing, facility with patter songs, singing solos and ensembles. Needs good dancing ability.
Vocal Range: Soprano to Bb3 to B5
Audition Songs: “After Sailing to this Island” and “Ah, Well Beloved”
Audition Dance: Polka, graceful movements.
TESSA (Soloist—Mezzo-Soprano/flexible)—Delightful, sparkly peasant girl who is excited to be married to Giuseppe, but bereft when he is taken away to Barataria. She, along with Gianetta, runs off to find her husband. She is one of the primary young love interests in the show.
Requirements: Must have strong voice and good comic timing. She will be part of solos and small ensembles, ability to harmonize is required. Needs good dancing ability
Vocal Range: Bb3 to F5
Audition Songs: “After Sailing to this Island” and “When a Merry Maiden Marries”
CASILDA (Soloist—Soprano)—Daughter of the Plaza Toros, married in infancy to the royal heir of Barataria. She is in love with Luiz, her father’s drummer. She is haughty on the outside, but full of love for Luiz on the inside.
Requirements: Must have excellent soprano voice and a talent for genuine romance. She will be part of solos and small ensembles, ability to harmonize is required.
Vocal Range: C4 to B5
Audition Songs: Chorus of “In Enterprise of Martial Kind.” Song #2— “Ah, Well Beloved”.
DUCHESS of PLAZA-TORO (Soloist—Mezzo/flexible)—The Duke’s formidable wife who was once meek and submissive, and now is a “take charge” woman who has everyone falling in line (especially her husband).
Requirements: Must have strong voice, take-charge demeanor, and vocal facility with patter songs. She will be part of solos and small ensembles; ability to harmonize is required. Should move with grace.
Vocal Range: G3 to F5
Audition Songs: Song #1: “On the Day When I Was Wedded.”
Song #2: Chorus of “In Enterprise of Martial Kind.”
INEZ—(Soloist—Alto/Flexible)—Inez is the nursemaid who reveals the secret at the end of the show. She admits, under threat of torture, to hiding the prince away to keep him safe. Long ago, for love of country, she had substituted her own son to preserve the safety of the future King of Barataria. She will be a non-soloist member of the Contadine until the end of Act 2, when she makes a costume change and takes on a new persona as she takes center stage as Inez.
Requirements: Good mezzo/alto voice. Must have a strong stage presence. She is a woman who takes charge, whom no one dares to cross (except Don Alhambra, who threatens to torture her.)
Vocal Range: C4-Db5
Audition Song: “The Royal Prince.” Song #2—”Sing High, Sing Low”
FIAMETTA (Soloist—Soprano)—The primary soloist of the Contadina. She is a peasant girl who is in love with either Marco or Giuseppe, it doesn’t seem to matter which, and openly makes her wishes known to the other gondoliers.
Requirements: Must have strong soprano voice and ability to express emotions through song and have excellent diction and ability to carry the story line through song. She will be part of solos and small ensembles, ability to harmonize is required. Must be a skilled dancer and move with grace.
Audition Sides: See “Featured Solo Audition Sides”
Vocal Range: Eb4 to Bb5
Audition Songs: “Sing High, Sing Low” and “Are You Peeping” (“My Papa” is part of “Are You Peeping”)
VITTORIA—(Soloist—Mezzo-Soprano/flexible)—A soloist in the Contadina (group of Italian peasant women). She enjoys taunting the chorus of gondoliers as she waits for her favorite gondoliers (Marco and Giuseppe) to arrive on the plaza.
Requirements: Good mezzo/alto voice. She will be part of small ensembles, must be able to harmonize. Dancing is a plus.
Audition Sides: See “Featured Solo Audition Sides”
Vocal Range: B3-E5
Audition Songs: “Sing High, Sing Low” and “Are You Peeping” (“My Papa” is part of “Are You Peeping”)
GIULIA–(Soloist—Mezzo or Soprano)—Soloist Contadina peasant. Should be comfortable with romance and have good comic timing.
Requirements: Good mezzo-soprano voice, ability to harmonize and to express emotion in song, dancing is a plus.
Audition Sides: See “Featured Solo Audition Sides”
Vocal Range: Db4 to F5
Audition Songs: “Sing High, Sing Low” and “Are You Peeping” (“My Papa” is part of “Are You Peeping”)
Audition Materials
Select a character and memorize all lines for that Character.
Learn the songs that are assigned to that same character.
Memorize your sides for the best audition.
Audition sides for Fiametta, Vittoria, and Giulia.
“Listen” buttons contain audio samples.
“View” Scores are pdf files.
You will audition to the accompaniment “Listen Accomp”
Audition Song #1— "After Sailing"
Audition Song #2—"Ah, Well Beloved"
Gianetta and Tessa alternate on “After Sailing.” See vocal score for part assignments. The “Melody Slower” link is to help you with the tricky intervals.
Find “Ah, Well Beloved” in Casilda’s audition music.
Audition Song #1— "After Sailing"
Audition Song #2—"When a Merry Maiden Marries"
Gianetta and Tessa alternate on “After Sailing.” See vocal score for part assignments.
The music and scores for “After Sailing” are found in Gianetta’s Music.
Audition Song #1—"Ah, Well Beloved"
Audition Song #2—Chorus "In Enterprise"
“In Enterprise” Audition: Sing the Casilda’s part in the refrain, first verse only.
Audition Song #1—"The Royal Prince"
Audition Song #2—Select One from "Featured Soloists"
Your second song should be either “Are You Peeping/My Papa” or “Sing High, Sing Low” (Your choice.) These songs may be found in Fiametta, Vittoria, or Giulia Audition songs
Audition Song #1—"On the Day"
Audition Song #2—Chorus "In Enterprise"
“In Enterprise” Audition: Sing the Duchess’s harmony in the refrain, first verse only.
Audition Song #1—"Are You Peeping"
Audition Song #2—"Sing High, Sing Low"
“My Papa” is part of “Are you Peeping”
If you play a portable instrument (violin, viola, flute, clarinet, guitar, etc.) prepare to play it to the tune of one of your favorite audition songs.
Dance skills—Prepare a routine using “Dance A Cachuca” Music.
If you have miscellaneous skill, such as juggling, or swordfighting, be prepared to demonstrate these skills during auditions.
Find your vocal range at left. Note that each octave is numbered, with middle C being C4.
Numbering of each successively higher octave begins at “C.”
General Audition Information—For Production Dates, Tuition, etc.
DIALECT/ACCENT OVERVIEW—http://dialectblog.com/british-accents/
Caution–some links on this page lead to people using bad language—monitor your child’s use of the links within this link.
All other skills being equal, we will select the actor with the most appropriate accent. For most, the “Received Pronunciation (see link above) is the best bet, but some sailors may use a lower-class accent (see link above).