Summer in Salzburg, Austria during the Salzburg Festival is the perfect destination for opera enthusiasts. This summer was my second visit to Salzburg, and as soon as I arrived I felt surrounded by opera.
Instead of celebrating movie stars or pop singers, the city of Salzburg roles out the red carpet for famous opera singers from around the world. The newspapers and magazines feature cover articles and photos about Anna Netrebko instead of Britney Spears. Cafes and stores are named after operatic characters, and you can hear opera through speakers that line the walking bridges connecting the two sections of the city.
The 85-year-old Salzburg Festival features opera professionals and famous musicians from around the world. The performances take place in the two major opera houses in Salzburg, as well as in churches or the Mozarteum concert halls. Salzburg is an excellent place for students to experience opera history and the Salzburg Festival performances provide a glimpse of opera’s leading innovations.
The University of Miami Salzburg program has been a part of the musical summers of Salzburg for several years. This past summer was unique because the UM Salzburg program celebrated its 20th year alongside the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth.
The University of Miami partnered with Salzburg College to create the UM Salzburg program. This year the mayor of Salzburg hosted a reception honoring the longstanding program in the stunningly beautiful Marble Hall at Mirabell Palace. The reception included art song performances by three UM Salzburg students as well as several dedication speeches and wine and appetizers.
The program’s location and its strong ties to the city, however, are not the only reasons to attend the UM Salzburg program. The strong faculty includes respected and talented teachers from major music institutions in America and around Europe, including the Cleveland Institute, the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, the University of Miami, and Indiana University. Because of the distinguished faculty, including European coaches from Düsseldorf Opera and Opéra National de Paris, students from universities and conservatories around the world attend the UM Salzburg program.
This past summer I studied voice with Dr. Mary Schiller from the Cleveland Institute of Music. Dr. Schiller’s instruction is outstanding and she has a true passion for teaching. She never stopped thinking about my voice and how I could improve. I passed Dr. Schiller on the street several times while shopping and she always stopped me to discuss our voice lessons. I also enjoyed attending concerts and operas with faculty members. These outings led to excellent discussions about the performances, where I gained insight from professors who have years of operatic experience.
While attending the UM Salzburg program students can earn graduate or undergraduate credit hours for German classes, voice lessons, and piano lessons. The program offers beginning, intermediate, and advanced German classes. Native German-speaking professors from Salzburg College teach German classes every weekday.
Students have two private voice or piano lessons per week in addition to a weekly coaching. The UM Salzburg program focuses on German Lieder and opera for vocalists, and on accompanying and coaching for pianists. Singers who apply to the program should realize the UM Salzburg Program emphasizes voice lessons, language study and masterclasses, as opposed to performing an operatic role.
In addition to voice and German language study, students have many performance opportunities during the UM Salzburg program. Students participate in masterclasses by world-known opera singers and opera professionals. This past summer some of the master clinicians included world-class opera singers Thomas Hampson and Helen Donath, acclaimed accompanist and coach Wolfram Reiger, and Bern Opera conductor Dorian Keilhach.
The UM Salzburg program hosts two to four masterclasses each week. I was selected to sing for a masterclass featuring two clinicians, the Wein Stadt Oper coach David Aronson and his wife, soprano Sylvia Greensberg. I found the masterclass enjoyable and the two master clinicians were supportive and insightful. Both stayed in Salzburg for several days, so I had a chance to speak them about auditioning for European agents and opera houses.
Some opera singers from the Salzburg Festival choose to give lectures instead of giving masterclasses. This past summer, Paul Groves, who sang the role of Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, spoke about his career path and answered questions about becoming an opera singer. He was joined by Simon O’Neill, who was cast as the First Armed Guard in Die Zauberflöte. It was interesting to hear their perspectives on the world of opera.
In addition to the masterclasses, each student performs in two recitals during the five-week stay. The first performance, a German Art Song Recital, is two weeks into the program. For the second recital, students may choose to perform an aria or an art song. The second recital is on the last night of the program and is followed by a reception for participants, faculty, and host families.
Those seeking more performance time can also choose to compete in the Leopoldskron Voice Competition. The winners of the competition perform a recital series in various venues around Salzburg. This past summer, the Leopoldskron chose seven winners. The judges of the competition are opera professionals from the AIMS program in Graz, Austria. The recital venues are beautiful and the concerts are well attended.
Students at the University of Miami Salzburg Program live comfortably during their five-week stay. Students can choose between living with an Austrian host family or in a dorm room for two people with a private kitchenette and bathroom. The dorms feature weekly maid service and a swimming pool.
Living with a host family gives students a chance to experience Austrian culture and language. The dorm environment provides a more private living situation. Because I am married and my husband also attended the program, we chose to live in the dorm.
Most students use a monthly bus pass to travel between Salzburg College and their dorm or host home. Host families provide breakfast and dinner for their students, while dorm students breakfast at the dorm cafe, but are responsible for their own dinner.
I looked forward most to lunches at Salzburg College. Salzburg College’s chef, Brigitte Wiedemaier, prepared hot home-cooked Austrian meals each weekday for the students and faculty. This past summer, Brigitte made 25 different meals without repeating a recipe. She also gives cooking lessons and will write down any recipe you request. I have prepared one of her fish recipes three times since returning from Salzburg.
Attending performances at the Salzburg Festival is one of the most rewarding parts of the program. Students receive tickets to two of the main-house operas, along with tickets to performances at the smaller venues.
Watching live opera performances by world-class singers is an outstanding experience, especially for students who do not live in a flourishing cultural center such as New York City. My tickets included Così fan tutte, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and Bastien und Bastienne, as well as two orchestra concerts.
This year, following her masterclass, Helen Donath invited the entire student body to a dress rehearsal of Mozart’s Così fan tutte. Ms. Donath sang the role of Despina.
Opera artists are more accessible in Salzburg than in larger cities. I had several opportunities to speak to artists after their performances. My husband and I had an extended conversation with the esteemed baritone Sir Thomas Allen. Then, as we were flying out of Salzburg at the end of the program, Sir Thomas was on our flight and recognized us from the night of his performance.
The Salzburg Program is very well organized. A faculty member posts a weekly schedule every Thursday. Any problems students encounter with the schedule are resolved quickly. Alongside the posted schedule, students may sign up for practice room times. It is easy to find a practice room available in the afternoons even without signing up for a time, however. The dorm rooms have additional onsite practice rooms available to students until 10 p.m. I practiced after lunch and I rarely had a problem finding a room with a piano.
The outstanding organization is a result of the strong leadership of the program director, Dr. Esther Jane Hardenbergh. She works year-round to ensure the best teachers and coaches are part of the program, as well as keeping in contact with master singers and opera professionals who give masterclasses at the program. Dr. Hardenbergh is fluent in German and lived in Europe for several years before becoming a full-time professor at the University of Miami.
The University of Miami Salzburg Program is a competitive program. Students apply by a live audition or by sending a high-quality recording. The 2007 enrollment will include a maximum of 42 singers and 12 pianists. The cost of the five-week program is $5,350. Fortunately, due to the program’s strong donor group, many students receive partial scholarship assistance. Some students who receive scholarship money have the opportunity to meet their sponsors when the donor group travels to Salzburg to visit the city and attend the Salzburg Festival performances as well as hear the UM Salzburg student recitals. My husband and I applied for financial assistance and we both received partial scholarships to the program.
World-class performances, outstanding and organized instruction, excellent living arrangements, performing opportunities, and university credit make the UM Salzburg Program an excellent experience for any young singer or pianist.
For more information, visit the University of Miami Salzburg Program website at www.music.miami.edu/spprogs/salzweb/.
