Does operatic acting mean you stand in one place while singing? Could it also involve overacting because you are singing in a foreign language while struggling to get the text across to the audience? Does it suggest an acting technique that is somehow different from the spoken theater?

 

Opera means beautiful singing, but Opera, by definition, is a play set to music.  We believe there should be no difference in the acting technique employed by the spoken actor or by the singing actor. The iconic Constantin Stanislavski believed Opera singers should "combine the art of living a role with its musical form and the technique of singing" (Stanislavski on Opera).

 

The purpose of the ROLE workshop is to lay the foundation of the singing actor's craft. It features exercises and techniques to help you prepare to enter the mind and body of a character, develop the character through the historical and musical setting of the work, understand recitative (if applicable), and analyze the text as you prepare roles from the standard operatic repertory.

 

By the end of this program, you should answer the Who, What, Where, When, and Why of your character. Once you learn to answer these questions you can open your mind to understanding of the text and how these answers propel your character's actions and reactions.     

 

 

This program includes:

 

• coaching of repertoire carefully selected based on your voice type, experience level, and approval of your voice teacher.IMPORTANT: THERE IS NO TEACHING OF VOCAL TECHNIQUE.

 

Role preparation including:

language and diction

translation of text

research the literary and musical styles

the correct singing of recitatives (if applicable

improvisation and acting for singers

stage deportment

dramatic role preparation, learning how to live your character.

Audition Preparation

Agent Consultation

 

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 Faculty members including a collaborative pianist, language coach, and stage director will guide the participants through the linguistic, dramatic, musical style, and vocal demands of each role that they are to prepare. All participants will also receive private coaching. Rehearsal and coaching are an integral part of this program.

 

This program features intensive study of complete operas from the standard repertoire. Our focus will be to allow the participants to discover and develop the character of a complete role, understanding how to sing recitative freely, and investigating your character and their part in the drama.  The participants will begin with the music followed by complete blocking of the opera. We study the score and the text to find the relationship between the characters and how they relate to the drama, the time-period of the drama, as well as the composition and the emotional and /or spiritual motivations of the characters.

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REPERTOIRE FOR THE 2023 PROGRAM (Subject to change)

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Mozart: Cosi fan tutte.

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Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos

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Death by Aria Concert  July 14, 2023

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Great American Songbook Evening

Saturday July 21, 2023 we will celebrate the American Musical Theater.

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At the end of the program, participants will perform in a public performance.                                 

The SAS Opera Studio offers a performance driven workshop, ROLE (Repertory Onstage Learning Experience), designed for the aspiring professional opera singer whose goal is to become a complete artist. Our program will benefit all performers, regardless of their level of expertise and further the education and the development of each artist. Rehearsal and coaching are an integral part of the schedule.

 

Our staff will guide the performers through the linguistic, dramatic, and musical styles, in addition to the technical vocal demands of each of the roles that they have been assigned. A music director/rehearsal accompanist in addition to a stage director Productions include limited technical assistance, including costumes, lighting, props, and set pieces. All participants are required to attend all sessions. You are expected to arrive with a knowledge of the music as by the end of the workshop your part must be memorized and performance ready.    

 

Participants are also considered for performance opportunities in our Concert Opera programs.

The SAS Opera Studio offers a performance driven workshop, ROLE (Role Onstage Learning Experience), designed for the aspiring professional opera singer whose goal is to become a complete artist. Our program will benefit all performers, regardless of their level of expertise and further the education and the development of each artist. Rehearsal and coaching are an integral part of the schedule.

 

Participants are also considered for performance opportunities in our Concert Opera programs.

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Faculty will include Founder, Artistic Director, and Coach Stephen Scovasso who will be offering acting sessions and character development.   Renowned Opera Coach and collaborative pianist Mary Pinto, Former Metropolitan Opera star Dr. Isola Jones, Metropolitan Opera and international Mezzo-Soprano KS Tichina Vaughn, and lyric Soprano/ Artists Manager Deborah Surdi will hold Masterclasses. Additional faculty to be announced.           

 

 

Summer Opera Workshop: $1,200.00 (Housing and meals not included).

Application fee: $25.00

Limited Scholarships available 

 

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Please CLICK TO REGISTER for our application.

 

Application deadline has been extended to January 11, 2023.

Auditions to be held in January and February, 2023

 

For more information: (646) 858-9918