The work opera singers do when they are not working

An impromptu survey by Kelly Butler:

Some of my fellow opera singers, when asked, gave me a huge list of jobs taken to support the in-between times. Zuly Iniro taught school and tutored; Michelle Trovato and Anne Slovin both extolled their work found via temp agencies; Christine Thomas and Joshua Hughes teach voice and music classes, ranging in ages from pre-school and up.

Without fail, we all have ‘church jobs’ – we get paid to come in and sing for congregations to round out their choirs, do more difficult solo pieces like Requiems and Messiahs, and so on. In addition, many more of my performer friends, across all disciplines, work in catering, waitressing, and bartending. Even with taking these rather temporary jobs, many of us find ourselves between a rock and a hard place when it comes time to leave for a contract; many times, we face unemployment upon our return….

More here.