Cynthia Munzer, who a few years ago was a mezzo-soprano at the Metropolitan Opera, is now a well known professor of voice at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. She is the founder of the International Vocal Institute (IVI), a three week summer program for young vocalists held annually on the island of Hvar on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. Singers aged 20 to 32 apply for the program either by auditioning in person or by mailing in tapes along with the usual recommendations and a résumé. A modest, non-refundable application fee is charged. It covers the cost of having eminent judges select the twelve most qualified singers who will then take part in the program during the following summer.
Hvar is the home of a prominent music festival, known as ‘Upbeat’ which is headed by renowned Cellist Pedagogue, Dobrila Berkovic-Magdalenic. It runs from June until September and features some of the world’s finest classical artists and teachers. During the summer there are concerts that attract audiences from all over Europe. There are also courses for string players taught by musicians from some of Europe’s finest orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Moscow Philharmonic and the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam. Instruction in violin, viola, ‘cello, bass, piano and guitar is given along with classes in composition and conducting. As a result there are occasions for IVI singers to perform with some of these artists as well as with their own program accompanists. For example: Last year one of the institute’s singers performed Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No 5 with ‘cello accompaniment at the Bishop’s Palace in Dubrovnik.
IVI offers suggestions and some guidance on flying to Europe, but students are expected to learn from the experience of getting themselves to Hvar. The institute does look for travel agencies that have good rates, but program participants are welcome to find their own cheap plane fares. Although it is possible to fly to Croatia, most students land in Italy, take a train to Ancona on the Adriatic coast and then enjoy a pleasant over night ferry ride to the Croatian Islands. Young singers need to get used to traveling in a foreign country and managing in languages other than English. Occasionally, small scholarships are awarded to help with travel costs.
Hvar is an island with a shores bordering the clear, pristine water of the Adriatic Sea. Since there are no life guards on its beaches IVI singers are expected to know how to swim. Lately, the island has been discovered by Hollywood stars, and yachts belonging to George Clooney and Quincy Jones have been sighted off its coast, but so far the hotel prices have remained low. Last summer, program participants paid 30 Euros per day for a shared room in a four star hotel and that price included a full breakfast and dinner.
The tuition cost was $1,200 in 2004, but it may be a little bit higher this summer. Faculty members come from some of the most important opera houses in Europe as well as from the Met, and there are almost as many teachers as students. Munzer says: “We want to charge as little as possible and still have the best teachers. Although our faculty changes from year to year, there is always a faculty feeling of honor and joy in participating in this honest and no nonsense work. I choose people who really have a passion for this, not just those who want a summer gig. We want our students to enjoy themselves and learn a great deal at the same time.”
Last summer, besides Professor Munzer, the faculty included:
Gary Glaze, Roger Malouf, Marioara Trifan, Suzanne Calabro, Margherita Casamente and Dorde Manojlovic. Glaze, chairman of the Vocal Arts Department at the University of Southern California and a former New York City Opera tenor, teaches singing and serves as stage director. Malouf is a pianist and vocal coach at the Met. Trifan is a vocal coach at the Munich Opera who also teaches at the Hochschule fur Musik in that city. Calabro, a former Munich, Mannheim and Zurich Opera soprano, works with IVI students on German diction. Casamente is a professor of Italian at the University of Europe in Florence while Manojlovic is a concert pianist and accompanist from Zagreb.
Munzer says that she has found that using the formula of private vocal lessons in tandem with a master class, followed by performance, creates a powerful progression of learning. At the same time she notes that language is an essential tool of communication for the singers. Because Hvar audiences are largely Italian and German, singers must be passionate about their pronunciation and delivery. Therefore, IVI students are always coached by native speakers.
Here is a summary of the instruction offered at last year’s session: Each student received seven hours of private voice lessons, a daily one-and-one-half hour Italian class with a native speaker, plus daily Italian coaching for two of the three weeks and daily German diction coaching for the remaining week. Of course, each participant also receives daily private vocal coaching. Opera scenes are rehearsed daily and they are often re-worked in the evening as well. Munzer reports that, “Each student competes with himself for a personal best performance, and breakthroughs in vocal technique, dramatic expression, and stage deportment are seen daily.”
Here are some comments from two of the participants in the 2005 program:
Laura Mitchell gives her schedule for one day:
10:00-1:00 Performance Class at the Palace Hotel
2:00-3:30 Italian Class at the Hotel Amfora
4:30-5:15 Coaching with Malouf on a Scene from Merry Wives of Windsor
6:00 Coaching with Malouf on Ensemble pieces at the Palace Hotel
Then she writes, “The hotel we are staying in is so beautiful. I think is the nicest place I have ever stayed, and the group rate we got is less than half of the actual hotel cost. It really doesn’t cost much more than a hostel. Croatia, once I actually arrived here, anyway, is proving to be super cheap. I bought shampoo at the market for less than a dollar. And more importantly, the 2-liter bottles of water are less than a dollar, as well.
“I am scheduled to sing at the Thursday performance class, so today I get to watch. In the performance class we did warm up stretches and a walking exercise, practicing and seeing different ways of physically presenting an emotion. We also talked about ways to stay loose before an important audition or performance. I wish I had been able to perform today because I won’t have a chance to air out my aria before the performance on Saturday. It helped a lot to be able to watch everyone else perform though; I always notice things that I do wrong more when I watch other people do them!”
Mitchell also mentions a one-time scheduling mix up which resulted in one of her lessons starting late, but she said she enjoyed conversing with the teacher while they were waiting for the room to be free.
Susannah Murray tells about one day during her time at IVI:
“Morning in Hvar, after an Italian lesson with Margherita, I head into the main part of the town. I walk along a white stone path to a small cafe for a cappuccino and watch people readying their boats. Others are walking to the outdoor market.
“In an historic building called the Palace, I meet Roger Malouf from the Met for coaching. I have prepared ‘Sul fil d’un soffio etesio’ from Falstaff. While we are working on it, children run up to the steps outside to listen to the music. It suddenly feels like a new aria to me and I am excited about its possibilities.
“After that, I meet some friends from the program at our favorite seafood restaurant, ‘Il Marinero.’ I then go to a voice lesson with Professor Gary Glaze. Later that afternoon we rehearse a scene from L’elisir d’amore. In the evening, after dinner, we have a dress rehearsal for a concert of arias we will be performing the following night. As I walk back to the hotel with my friend, Keiko, we hear people cheering outside a bar at the soccer games on TV.”
This is a first class organization with excellent teachers. If your application is accepted, you will be instructed personally and intensively by important coaches and you will make good contacts. The student teacher ratio of seven teachers to twelve students is very unusual. It will cost you at least $3000 plus your daily lunch and spending money for the three week course, figuring your plane fare at close to $1000 plus $800 for your room, breakfast and dinner, $1200 for tuition and $100 for the ferry. Even so, this program is very worthwhile considering because it gives you good value for your money.
