“I’ve done two programs abroad and one in the United States. All had different things to offer, and I took [away] different things from each one. I did have access to different styles of teaching, directing, and conducting. I did learn a lot of music, saw some wonderful things, and met great people. Pay-to-sing programs are a great way to measure yourself up to your peers, network with directors, and do a lot of self-discovery. I would definitely do them again at that time. The older one is, the harder it is. Much better to go when you are younger and ‘more flexible’ in every sense of that word! I would pay again just to experience Europe for a summer.”
“The [Opera in the Ozarks] staff is incredible…. I learned so much…the opportunity to have learned about all aspects of performing and sing in a fully staged opera with orchestra was well worth the money!”
[American Singers Opera Project]: “Overall, a really excellent program for singers at nearly all levels of experience, from college to emerging pro. Well-rounded approach, excellent training in a wide range of material, including acting, refinement of vocal technique, and “the business of the business”—auditioning for agents, auditioning for roles/houses, contract law for singers, etc.”
“I participated in the [Aspen] program last summer, and really enjoyed it. We got a lot of opportunities to sing and to get feedback from some of the best in the field. We were a really tight knit group, and I’m so glad that I went. Financial aid is available if you need assistance.”
“I have been in [the] Austrian American Mozart Academy and I must say that it is truly excellent. It is a wonderful program to “start out” with. The balance of personal attention, exciting performance venues, and role prep work is outstanding. It gives you a means to build your resume and work with wonderfully talented people.
WELL WORTH IT.”
“Just got back from BASOTI [Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute] a few weeks ago—utterly exhausted, but I learned a lot. A few things: You have no time off. None. We had one scheduled day off in five weeks and did an absolutely insane amount of rep—five full operas and five scenes programs. So, if you go, especially if you have work-study, prepare to be exhausted!
That said, the directors, teachers and coaches are top-notch, patient, and give 100 percent—you can request coaching and people are happy to accommodate you. It is truly a program that cares about singers.”
“I attended the Bel Canto Northwest Vocal Institute. I found the faculty to be extremely qualified and it was a pleasure to work with them. I received two private lessons from each of the voice teachers on staff and I also got to work with all of the coaches. A variety of scenes were performed. The level of singers was good but the ages ranged from a few talented high school students to singers in their mid-twenties. I would recommend this program to other singers who are looking for an educational summer program, which is not as long as some of the others out there. This program ran a little over two weeks but I think they are planning to extend the program to three weeks.
I felt that all the singers were really nice and good to work with. Every morning there was an hour session called “Singer’s Issues,” which was very informative. It was a Q&A forum between faculty and students. During these sessions, different subjects were discussed, such as singing in Europe, finding an agent, YAPs, vocal health, etc. I found the program to be worth the money. I made some lifelong friends and colleagues during my time in Portland, OR.”
“While Tanglewood isn’t a pay-to-sing program, fellows are not compensated in any way for the eight weeks of the program (room and board and two meals a day are taken care of for you). I was a vocal fellow for two summers (2002, 2003) and think it is an incredible training program. Personally, 2002 was better for me because I had many performance opportunities and was completely challenged by the repertory that was assigned to me, while this past year I had a very small role in a brand new opera and wasn’t as busy.
“I think Tanglewood offers students an opportunity to work with fabulous coaches (Kayo Iwama, Ken Griffiths, Alan Smith, Dennis Helmrich, Lucy Shelton, and Karl Paulnack), and because there is such an emphasis on contemporary music, most singers feel musically very challenged. Daily master classes with Phyllis Curtin are at the center of the program, and anyone who has ever worked with Phyllis will tell you that she is one of the most amazing, compassionate, caring, encouraging, professional people you could ever meet.
“One of the great things about Tanglewood is that not only are the singers great, but the student instrumentalists and pianists are some of the best in the world. It is truly a training ground for some of the best young musicians in the world. Another great perk is that fellows receive a summer pass to take in any concert on the Tanglewood grounds. The BSO plays at least three to four concerts a week and great pianists, instrumentalists, and singers give weekly recitals. I was able to hear Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson, Renee Fleming, and Jane Eaglan (just to name a few) for free! The grounds are beautiful, the accommodations are nothing fancy, but decent, the musical level of the participants is extremely high, and the teaching is top notch. I believe that singers really have an opportunity to grow in this program.”
“I attended the Shaker Mountain Performing Arts Festival this past summer (2003). They all are very wonderful professional people and I wish I could have learned more from them. I could have brought a car with me…this would have alleviated many problems. Also, I should have simply not accepted so many roles before I came. The program is three weeks. During that time, they put up six full productions with orchestra, one concert performance of an opera with orchestra, two children’s operas, plus opera scenes and Broadway scenes concerts. Singers were typically assigned an average of three roles. In order to accomplish all of this in such a short period of time, singers were running from one rehearsal to the next from 9 a.m. until 10:45 p.m. with breaks only for meals.
Even with this rigorous rehearsal schedule, each opera was very much under-rehearsed. Often singers were supposed to be at rehearsals for two different operas that were occurring simultaneously, so a choice would have to be made. As I said, there was not enough time for adequate rehearsal of each opera, so that there were scenes that had not even been staged before the performance. I overheard people making comments such as “very amateurish,” “terrible voices,” etc. Not having any idea how the singers had been over-rehearsed and the operas under-rehearsed, they simply concluded that it was the fault of the singers!”
“I had an excellent experience at the Songfest Program. The setting was outstanding, the programming was interesting and stimulating and the planners were incredibly accommodating. I would recommend this program most highly!”
“I attended the Daniel Ferro Vocal program this past summer for three weeks. Great experience! I learned a lot about singing from many knowledgeable teachers and coaches. I also cherished the time I spent enjoying the Italian culture.
I was kind of nervous of going to Italy and paying that much money before I went there. Maybe because it was the first summer program for me. The first few days were not easy, but as I got used to the environment I felt so much better. We had a lot of opportunities to perform in public and had master classes every day. Listening to other singers and watching them improve was most helpful for me. For me, this experience was pricelessly exciting. I think it was more than worth it.”
[International Vocal Institute in Hvar, Croatia]: “THANK YOU!!! The program was a marvelous experience, and really gave me a feel for what it is like to have an international career (i.e. the strain of traveling and being in a new environment on the voice).”
“I greatly enjoyed participating in the (ILAR) New Opera Festival di Roma, because it gave me the opportunity to perform a role on stage in a beautiful setting with a professional orchestra. I also performed in recitals with other singers of all levels (ciao Sarah Northon, Lesley, Ann Adrian and tutti. I miss you very much), and attended master classes, which were particularly enjoyable and helpful. I have participated in other programs but I never met our sponsors. It was very impressive that they had time to attend our performances and rehearsals. I felt like I was part of a large European family.”
“I spent three summers at the Intermezzo Opera Young Artist Development Program. I am the only singer that has been there since the inception of the program and have experienced the program growing year after year. I gained a huge amount of stage experience (three full roles, one full act, and a huge scene, in addition to concert work) and was exposed to many different high-level professionals in the business (Ken Benson, Connie Barnett, Willy Waters, Michael Erhman, James Marvel, Deb Birnbaum, Alan Held, etc., etc.). I made wonderful professional contacts and met fabulous singer colleagues. I would recommend it highly to artists of all levels”
[International Lyric Academy of Rome]: “All the people with whom I worked directly were incredibly helpful. Fantastic hotel in the center of Rome in walking distance from the San Clemente. San Clemente, in the center of Rome opposite [the] Coliseum and Domus Aurea. I would love to return in ILAR this summer.”
[International Opera Workshop]: “This summer the program was in Bulgaria, and we worked at the Plovdiv State Opera house with their house orchestra, facilities, costume, chorus, etc. We basically did their production, with international young professional singers and conductors. There was a range of talent/experience in the singers, although, in general, they were all quite fit/convincing for their roles.
It was interesting to see how a variety of singers (various nationalities, backgrounds, etc.) responded to the pressure of mounting a performance while being directed by people who speak an entirely different language (Bulgarian, most similar to Russian, but still not exactly that similar). There were some diva fits that were textbook to behold. Really, it was a great experience, and I feel that the role I performed is now really under my skin. In fact, I was invited back to perform in the concert season of a neighboring city’s orchestra.”
“International Vocal Institute—Hvar was a great experience opportunity with world-class teachers and coaches who tailored time spent on specific needs for a professional singing career.”
“International Vocal Arts Institute [formerly Israel Vocal Arts Institute]: Thanks for a great summer!”
La Musica Lirica: [Editor: reports on the forum at www.classicalsinger.com are that this program had a good program but some personnel issues caused problems. They’re revamping next year so we’re expecting great things!]
[Lake Placid Institute]: “Next time I’d like to see more classes throughout the day, maybe only an hour each, and it needs to not run from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. or later. They also did not tell us what KINDS of classes we would be having. For example, had I known we were going to have a class on Baroque ornamentation, I would have brought my Baroque repertoire!”
“[Brevard’s] living situation gets to be a bit oppressive, but the coaching resources there are GREAT. The summer can be fantastic if you can find ways to make more opportunities for yourself, i.e. asking for more art song recitals, etc. Brevard is a great place to learn and grow as a young artist. I would recommend it to anyone.”
“The daily schedule at Neil Semer’s program was a group warmup from 9:30-10:30 a.m., involving body work (stretching, breathing, alignment), vocalizing, and we were able to ask questions as well. Then the master classes started—we were free to sit in on as many as we wanted to. Twice a week we had a half-hour session with Roberta Cunningham (private voice lesson), and four times a week we had a half-hour session with a coach. The evenings were either spent listening to famous artists and discussing their techniques with Neil Semer, participating in mock auditions (only if we wanted to) and then discussing, or in dress rehearsals for the four concerts we performed.”
“[The OperaWorks] Program was fantastic, I highly recommend it. It was a very holistic approach to developing singers. The instructors where honestly interested in helping and sharing their experiences and enjoying the participants as friends and artists. The environment was very nurturing, supportive and a safe place for new discoveries and attempts. I loved the business advice, physicality, creativity, acting and improvisation, visualization and even psychology. There was strong focus on auditioning well.
“As I mentioned earlier, the program takes a very holistic and supportive approach. There is good opportunity to stay part of the ‘Opera Works’ community of current and past participants. I recommend Opera Works.” —Rose Beattie
“Seagle Music Colony gave us two lessons and two coachings a week. There were six productions, including two operas, two musicals, a children’s opera and a review. Fantastic teaching and coaching staff and tons of personal attention. Thirty to 32 singers in the company who perform all the main stage roles. You were guaranteed at least one role; most perform two or three. They are in the process of building a whole new rehearsal facility on site that will be finished and ready for use by the time the season opens next summer.
“Thank you for the most incredible experience of my life. Thank you for trusting me and giving me opportunities that I had never been offered before. You are all the reason that I am a confident performer today. You’ve changed my life and I am eternally grateful.”
[Operafestival di Roma]: “I had an amazing time in Rome and met great people. There were no divas in the group, which made it refreshingly fun. I excelled in confidence and acting ability through the staff’s encouragement. Thank you for this opportunity, I will never forget the experience and new love of opera that you have given to me. I was in the Elixir of Love, Suor Angelica, Broadway scenes, and a vocal recital.”
[Peter Harrower Program]: “The experience for me was a pleasant and supportive one, for the most part. I felt there was not enough time to get the full benefits from the coaches and directors. I learned things about myself, and it helped that everyone (the participants) was supportive of each other. I felt as though there was a poor showing of mezzo-sopranos and male voice parts for the amount of sopranos present, but that could have been audition stats.
The price seems to be competitive with other pay summer programs, and the number of participants far outweighs other programs (others accept about 12, where over 30 [were] accepted to Harrower). Since I live in Atlanta, housing and meals were no problem for me. In downtown Atlanta, there are plenty of places to find affordable food and I hear the GSU village, where most of the participants from out of town were housed, is a very comfortable and safe place.
“Overall, the experience was one that I will keep close at hand, and it taught me to look inside for those inspirational times and moments.”
“Schlern International Music Festival was really a great program, for what it was. I wish I had had more time to perform, but other than that I was really happy with my experience. The housing was great; always hot showers and a very friendly hostess. Be prepared to share a room and a bed. There should be a singer performing at every recital. I really had a great time there! There were plenty of recitals to participate in. We had time to work, and also we could have fun with the others. People of all around the world and different ages were participating at this festival. The only problem was that there were only two voice teachers: my teacher and one other one. But I am sure it will be better after! It was only the first year!”
[V.O.I.C.Experience “Putting the Pieces Together”]: “I enjoyed working with Mr. [Sherrill] Milnes and with Julian Kwok, but everyone was delightful. I am hoping that, at some point, they may be allowed by Disney to do full productions of some one-acts. Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are incredible people I’m glad to know. We did an opera scenes program and a revue of American musical theater repertoire.”
