Opera Institute
Program Description
The Program
When students arrive for the first day of Opera Institute at American University, they audition for the entire faculty. Each student then is assigned an art song and opera scene to be studied, memorized, and performed during the course of the three weeks. Daily coaching sessions, individual voice or piano lessons, and various classes help the students prepare these pieces and grow as performers. A taste of "real life" as an opera singer is savored in master classes and seminars with professionals in the business. Past presenters include Harolyn Blackwell, Denyce Graves, and Richard Stilwell, presenting topics such as vocal health, breath support, and audition preparation. Young pianists study their pieces under the tutelage of master coaches while learning the art of accompanying.
The Performances
Performance opportunities are major elements of this program and critical to the learning process. Students receive priceless advice on how to become confident, communicative performers. The Opera Institute provides three performance opportunities: the Italian Art Song recital at the end of the second week; the Opera Scenes recital at the end of the program; and performance on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage by selected students.
New for the 2013 institute, singers will be able to compete in an exclusive presentation of the Schmidt Youth Vocal Competition open only to Opera Institute students. The competition will be held at American University on Saturday, July 13, with baritone Sherrill Milnes serving as an adjudicator and master clinician. Students have the opportunity to perform, receive feedback, and win cash prizes. The Schmidt Youth Vocal competition is sponsored by the William E. Schmidt Foundation; for more information, please visit www.schmidtcompetition.org.
A Typical Day
- 8:55 AM
- Arrival
- 9:00
- Morning Class: Acting, Italian Diction, or Ear Training
- 10:00
- Master Class with Guest Artist
- Noon
- Lunch
- 1:00 PM
- Afternoon Class: Opera History or Chorus
- 2-5:00
- Individual vocal coaching, private lessons, rehearsal, practice time
- 5:00
- Announcements, adjournment
- 5:30
- Dinner
- 7:00
- Practice Time
- 9:00
- Group Activity
- 10:30
- Lights Out
The Classes
Over all, students can expect a curriculum and assignments that are creative and challenging.
Opera History
Students explore historical periods of opera and various composers from each era, beginning with Baroque Opera and continuing through present-day examples. They explore different genres of opera, learn opera terminology and performance tradition, and participate in an in-depth study of style and language through library research on selected arias and operas. Class preparation culminates in a screening of an opera production on DVD, or a live performance.
Acting Class
This exciting and fast-paced class quickly reviews the technical fundamentals of being on stage, which students add to their knowledge base and apply to their experience as singing actors in an opera, operetta, or musical theater. For example, this class gives students both the theory and practice of exploring techniques used to depict emotions in a standard opera scene.
Italian Diction
This class is designed to help students understand basic Italian pronunciation; learn the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) rules; distinguish between clear and unclear Italian diction, as demonstrated by current performing artists; and prepare for their Italian Art Song Recital.
Ear Training and Sight Singing
An introduction to the fundamentals of music theory, this class studies rhythm and key signatures, challenging students to learn the basics of analysis, practice sight reading, and develop their ears through interval training.
Voice Lesson
A major goal of the Opera Institute is to encourage proper vocal health and management. Each student receives a private voice lesson each week. These lessons focus on continuation of vocal development: breath management, intonation, and musicianship, based upon the need of each student. Students are given repertoire appropriate to their level of singing, based upon faculty recommendation. They work on their pieces pedagogically in their lessons.
Other classes and workshops include Period Movement, Chorus, Vocal Health, Audition Preparation, and more.
