Vocal coach (répétiteur)
A pianist who coaches and accompanies singers while they learn their roles.
What it means
A répétiteur, or vocal coach, is a pianist who accompanies singers at the keyboard while they learn their roles, helping with text, rhythm, entries and intonation.
Musical use
At opera houses the répétiteur is part of the musical staff and covers the orchestral part at the piano during staging rehearsals before the orchestra joins, while also helping singers learn new roles and often assisting the conductor. The job requires broad repertoire knowledge, an understanding of singing, fluent reading of vocal scores, and often foreign-language skills for librettos in other tongues, alongside strong pianism. A répétiteur differs from an art-song accompanist, who performs publicly as an equal concert partner, whereas the répétiteur works mainly behind the scenes in rehearsal.
Performance practice
As a répétiteur, know the vocal score well enough to cue entries and follow tempo changes at any moment without losing sight of the singer.