“You’re an opera singer but you still have a day job? So when do you plan to turn into a real opera singer?”
I know almost every opera singer gets asked this at some point or another. It doesn’t make it any less irritating, though. I’m honestly tempted to print out little pamphlets to carry with me so as not to waste time explaining that yes, while I am a professional and beginning to make a name for myself, unless they’re independently wealthy or come from families that are independently wealthy… or have a spouse who makes a lot of moolah (mine can’t work due to a disability, so I’m the provider and sole source of income for the household), most singers need to find a job with steady employment (and benefits don’t hurt either) because there will be seasons where you’re getting work out the wazoo…
And then there’ll be dry seasons where nobody seems to be casting for your voice type. Example: I’m a lyric tenor who specializes in Mozart and the Bel Canto tradition. Two years ago it seemed like every company in the state was doing either Puccini (which, except for two operas, always requires a heavier, bigger tenor voice) or birazzo atonal modern crap or Russian operas (Russian composers liked their tenor voices big, meaty and screamy) so there wasn’t really much worth auditioning for. You could always audition with out-of-state companies… but we’re talking hundreds of dollars in hotel costs, plane trips, audition costs (yes, that is a thing, many companies charge you to audition for them), so more often than not it is a huge gamble because there are more singers than roles floating around, and casting doesn’t go to the best singer- nowadays it tends to go to whomever the stage director thinks looks the part, even if they are not that good a singer.
The music director doesn’t get any input in casting in a lot of companies.
So what happens if you do a round of auditions but the stage directors prefer a tenor with cast-iron pecs and arms that look like they’re smuggling cantaloupes- Who cares if he sounds like he’s trying to shit a porcupine when going for the high C if he looks great in his underwear? (Because opera is clearly not about the music, how silly!)
Yup, you’ve just lost about a thou or more looking for work.
And that’s why singers get day jobs. Because until (and if) you manage to get to a certain level where you aren’t auditioning for houses but houses are asking you to come sing for them (and pay your way and housing), there is no way in hell you’re going to have a steady enough income.
Mind you, this isn’t really the fault of the profession as much as the administrative side of the profession. Most opera houses haven’t moved out of the 19th century in their thinking and the system still reflects the days when singers often depended on patrons to pay for their expenses. Most companies want to hear you auditioning live for them because of the unreliability of recordings (classically-trained voices don’t’ record well unless you’re using some top-of-the-line expensive mikes, otherwise a lot of partials are lost), which means traveling to them to get the gigs until they know you enough to recall what you sound like from memory when casting. Some companies are starting to hold joint auditions together in one location so singers don’t have to basically go broke running from one place to another… but not enough are doing it right now.
And then you have the biggest mixed bags of all, the pay-to-sing “Young Artist Programs.” Most of these programs advertise themselves as unique opportunities to work with professionals on the field under their training for x number of weeks while you put an opera or two together. You get charged tuition, room and board for these things (ranging from $2000 to $4000), but companies love to see that shit on your resume when you’re auditioning. Even if a large number of them are vanity projects that won’t teach you much that you can’t pick up by just doing productions yourself.
There are some that are worth it. One of them is a Colorado Springs program that is dirt cheap by comparison… for three weeks and the cost of $1200, and you get to work with fantastic professionals, coaches and the like (two summers ago, one of the voice teachers had just come back from Germany singing with Renee Fleming in a major production of Faust). The woman who runs it is a bona fide ex-star of the Met and the international stage, and she actually cares about the singers. So there are good programs out there, but it’s hard to find out which kind you’re in until it’s too late to get out. The opera administration side of things needs to get its ass into the 21st century… and hopefully it will before it’s the 22nd century 
So… all of that is why some opera singers need day jobs.
Mind you, the money isn’t bad when it’s there- I basically got paid a nice amount for two one-hour rehearsals and two one-hour performances, but the frequency and cash flow of the gigs aren't enough yet to justify throwing caution to the wind.
… well, looks like I needed to get a lot off my chest, huh?
It's not that we forgot about practicality, we just don't agree with the premise that the easier way is the right way, especially when it comes to rights.
