La Cieca works from time to time with (as dear Zinka would say) “young sinkers,” i.e., aspiring operatic talent. The harsh truth is that the average young artist has about as much chance of winning King Kong Millions as she (the group is overwhelmingly female) does of building a major career. With such an insane level of competition, even getting an audition is considered a coup. In order to improve their chances, singers network obsessively, tweak headshots and repertoire lists, and even attend (expensive) workshops on how to “position” themselves in the market. Once in a while, an artist comes along who defies all the rules, skewers the sacred cows, and laughs in the face of common sense about how to behave with a potential employer. Such an artist is “Patty.” According to La Cieca’s source, the following sound clip is “a real message left by a real auditionee on the voicemail of the director of a real opera company in the midwest.” Here’s Patty.