Navigating the challenges of life at a music college or conservatory leaves students, especially those who identify as members of a marginalized community, vulnerable to the tribalism and “guru” mentality that are too often a defining characteristic of voice studios. I will argue that recent scholarship on trauma and tribalism (Ross 2014, Lifton 2019, Stein 2021) paints a picture of those who fall victim to cults that is remarkably similar to the situational profile of a first-year voice major. Not only are many of these students grappling with the emotional burdens of leaving home and cultivating autonomy, but the formalized study of the voice can itself leave a young singer feeling “suddenly vulnerable, tender, and unguarded, rather like a snail without a shell.” (Rodenburg, The Right to Speak). Difficult voice lessons, unsuccessful auditions, and the other daily traumas of a conservatory environment only compound the profound psychological shift that occurs when singing, what was once a source of immense joy, becomes a measure of self-worth and perceived success in pursuit of the “ideal” classical sound. For an insecure, susceptible student, a kind of teacher-worship can develop. This phenomenon may provide a sense of comfort in its insular devotion, but can also result in unprofessional behaviour and abuses of power. I will explore tribalism masquerading as studio pride, dogma disguised as vocal technique, and fanatic guru worship camouflaged as voice teacher reverence through interview responses from a recent case study of classical voice graduates at one “elite” music college.

At a 2019-2020 donor fundraiser, a Level 3 American opera company (annual operating budget of $1-$3 million) raffled off a catered dinner party with a private chef featuring entertainment by its Resident Young Artists. The week of the anticipated event, however, the company ran into budgeting concerns and told the young artists that instead, they would be purchasing the groceries, catering the multicourse dinner, serving, and cleaning in addition to providing the entertainment. This shift in tasked labor was framed as non-negotiable, falling under the “other duties as assigned” clause in their freelance contracts. While this clause grants employers considerable latitude, its nontransparency allows for potential abuses of power and exploitation. Young artists are particularly vulnerable to these forms of abuse due to their economic precarity, replaceability, normalization of “yes, and” mentalities, and lack of protections – leading many singers to accept working conditions that they otherwise would not endure. Applying feminist psychotherapist Maria P. P. Root’s theorization of “insidious trauma,” I argue that young artists experiencing intersectional forms of marginalization are disproportionately affected by these normative, (in)visibilized traumas, often facing greater pressures to comply with unreasonable demands due to fears of career repercussions. Through in-depth interviews with current, aspiring, and former opera singers, I analyze the impact such exploitative labor practices have on young artists, how these abuses are amplified by intersectionalities of gender, race, and class, and how young artists reconcile these demands with their professional aspirations, personal well-being, and sense of agency within the opera industry.

In a 2022 speech, trans tenor Katherine Goforth quoted her colleague Sam Taskinin: “‘Think of all the artists…who never risked transitioning…who were never allowed to participate in music.’ Those who went before and those who are suffering now, are always on my mind.” Goforth invokes the absences and tensions her success reveals: her community of trans opera artists, at once present and invisibilized. Opera is at a reckoning point: its conventions, structures, and culture are often inhospitable to marginalized communities, and reparative measures are sparse to non-existent. American opera companies are thus newly self-conscious about diversity, equity, inclusion and access (DEIA), even as DEIA discourse rapidly complexifies. Following Nel Noddings’ and Carol Gilligan’s groundbreaking studies, and building on Talia Schaffer’s idea of care as “meeting another’s need,” I introduce care ethics as a theoretical framework with which to evaluate DEIA initiatives (which I dub “care initiatives”). Framed as a care act, a DEIA initiative consists of a cared-for and a carer in relationship, and it is possible to evaluate whether the care provided meets the stated need. I articulate specific problems with DEIA initiatives, identify effective methods to solicit the stated needs of artists, and formulate plans to meet them. My analysis is grounded in a case study of the True Voice Award, Washington National Opera’s care initiative first awarded to Goforth, and in data analysis tracking DEIA at major American opera houses. In future, this framework could help formulate metrics to evaluate the efficacy of DEIA initiatives long-term.