It's become quite common for singers to speak during recitals and address the audience directly with announcements and the like, but this practice needs to be considered with great care.

Taking a whimsical cue from Madonna's iconic hit, Vogue, here is a short breakdown of what to do with your eyes, a singer's best secret weapon, when performing an aria in a concert setting.

In this video I am breaking down the ten points of my "Ease 'n Guard" Method, a method I developed over many years for young singers who want to hone their craft as performers.

Many singers just stare ahead while singing, with their focus vaguely hovering above the audience's heads. But every aria or song offers you multiple opportunities to show a focal complexity that will render your interpretation more dynamic and, thus, more interesting.

Unless they make specific decisions in regards to their posture, gestures, and expressivity, singers in opera and classical music revert to making those involuntary gestures that have become a cliché. Here's how to avoid it.

There are different schools in regards to what tools to use as a performer. Some argue that unless you tap into your personal feelings you won't be able to deliver a "truthful" performance. I argue that the stage has no place for being literal in this way. Our job is to use artistry not just in our vocal technique but in our interpretation.

A short video I made after spending a day on a panel auditioning singers for a program. Auditioning is a very specific kind of performance and, as with all performances, there are tools you can use to feel more at ease.

Introducing a song or aria you are about losing in a concert stage is becoming increasingly common, but, as with everything you do onstage, you should never fall into the trap of being "casual" about it. Here is some advice on how to approach this.

This is my closing presentation at the 2021 French Program of Classic Lyric Arts for young opera singers, held at Darrow School in New Lebanon in Hudson Valley, NY.

Time and time again, I have observed singers onstage trying to hide their intake of breath during a performance, often breathing in too late – or stealthily. But the intake of breath is not just crucial for the voice, it's a dramatic tool. Use it!

A short video about the problem of singers presenting what they do as SINGING – instead of allowing us, the audience, to look into a world where all expression happens to be musical – without pointing to itself as music. As a performance coach, I continuously tell my students: "Make me forget that you are singing. Express the song or aria in a way that happens to be music but does not announce itself as music." It's hard, but it's possible, and it's part of the job of a performer. No one wants to see technique. We want to see the artistry achieved through technique so that the technique can disappear behind it.

Put differently, and this applies to any artist: Use any tools at your disposal to achieve what you want to achieve (for example, a strong and effective interpretation of a song or aria), but once you get there, show us the result – not the tools.

A short video about the importance of the focus of your eyes while performing a song, Lied or aria onstage.

The concert stage is very different from the opera stage and so is the role you play on it. Who are you when you make your first entrance? Is it enough to "just be yourself?" Remember, they call the audience a "wolf" for a reason.

Or: How to make your first entrance in a concert setting.

How do you become the character of your next song. and how do you transform into the next – all in front of our eyes?