Chautauqua Opera Company 2023 Young Artist Program

This application closed on Thursday September 15, 2022.

Chautauqua Opera Company is currently accepting applications for its 2023 Young Artist Program. 

Chautauqua Opera Company celebrated the 50th Anniversary of its Young Artist Program in 2018, and after a Virtual Young Artist Program in 2020 returned to live in-person performances for the 2021 season. In 2022, we returned to the stage of the Chautauqua Amphitheater and Norton Memorial Hall for our full festival weekend. This year all three of our performances will take place in Norton Memorial Hall.

Chautauqua Opera Company has once again decided to join in the consortium being organized by Houston Grand Opera in order to help streamline this season's application process for all Young Artists.  Chautauqua Opera Company's application deadline is later than some other consortium companies, but all subsequent deadlines align with the consortium timeline.

Steps are outlined below to guide your understanding of this shared audition process.

Step 1: Apply to each program as you normally would. Applications for Chautauqua Opera Company are due September 12.

Step 2: Notifications of second-round video auditions will be sent by each company by October 7. This notification will contain a link to submit your audition aria list.

Step 3: Submit your aria list (one list for all programs), indicating your chosen “starter” aria, by October 11. This aria list must contain five (or more) selections, four of which must be operatic, reflecting at least three languages, including English. You will choose your starting aria.

Step 4: Notification of requested arias from your list (one request for all programs) will be sent on October 19.

Step 5: Record your video audition and submit the video to each company by November 4.

Please consult the following links for guidance on best practices for creating your video audition:

The screening of Young Artist Program applications will have two phases, and each applicant’s materials will be reviewed and listened to by two people, including in all cases Steven Osgood (General & Artistic Director).

Phase 1 – Chautauqua Opera Company will engage a review panel made up of five former Young Artists, each of whom has extensive knowledge of the company’s mission and goals, as well as the expectations of singers entering its Young Artist Program. No singers who are applying for Chautauqua Opera’s 2023 season will be eligible for a position on this review panel. The panel members will be given a clear rubric on which to evaluate an applicant’s recordings, scoring on intonation, musicality, diction and stamina. Each applicant will be screened by one member of the review panel.

Phase 2 – Steven Osgood, General and Artistic Director, will review every application and make a final determination on which singers are invited to submit a full audition video. Mr. Osgood will take into consideration the scores given by the Phase 1 panel members, but he will be the sole person responsible for determining which singers are invited for a full audition. Historically, approximately 40-50% of applicants have been invited for a full audition.

All audition videos will be reviewed in full by Steven Osgood, with those who are viable candidates for positions in the 2023 season being viewed in full by Carol Rausch, Head of Music and Chorus Master. In certain instances the stage director of one or more mainstage productions will also be asked to review audition videos. Final determination of which singers are offered contracts for the 2023 season will be made by Steven Osgood and Carol Rausch.

Personal Information

Preferred Pronouns

Fill in the Blank

First Name*

Last Name*

Voice category*

Date of Birth*

MM/DD/YYYY Format

Age as of 12/31/2022*

Maximum age limit: 35. Applicants should have completed their final year of undergraduate studies as of June 2023.

Height*

As of June 1, 2023, I am:*

Please note: the Chautauqua Opera Company can NOT provide a visa for non-US citizens. You must already have or be able to procure a work or student visa before your contract begins in June 2023, valid through the program's duration, in order to be considered for this program.

a citizen/national of the USA

a lawful permanent resident alien

a foreign national authorized to work in the USA

other

If other, please clarify:*

How do you identify your ethnicity? (select one)*

Hispanic or Latine

Non-Hispanic or Latine

Prefer not to disclose

How do you identify your race? (check all that apply)

Native American or Alaska Native

Asian

Black or African American

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

White

Prefer not to disclose

Contact Information

Present Address line 1*

Address line 2

State/Province*

Please use a standard 2 letter abbreviation where applicable.

City*

Zip/Post Code*

Country*

Permanent/Tax Address*

Cell phone*

No spaces, dashes etc. phone number fields

E-mail (all correspondence will be sent to this address)*

Education and Training

I received (or will receive) my undergraduate degree from: (include year)*

I received (or will receive) my graduate degree(s) from: (include year for each - if multiple, begin with earliest and separate with a backslash)

Past Young Artist Programs:

**Please indicate dates and whether or not the contract was an AGMA apprenticeship Maximum number of selections permitted: 4

Selection 1

Selection 2

Selection 3

Selection 4

Present teacher/coach and email address*

Where did you learn about this year's Chautauqua Opera Company Young Artist Program?*

YAP Tracker

OPERA America

School

Other Young Artist Program or professional engagement

Social Media

From a colleague

Other

If other, please clarify

Other Requirements

Proof of right to work in the United States of America*

For US citizens, a copy of your passport photo page or birth certificate will suffice; for foreign nationals, please provide a copy of your visa. Number of documents required: 1.

You must be signed in to add your resume.

Proof of Age*

Please provide passport photo page, driver's license, or other government issued photo ID with birth-date. Number of documents required: 1.

You must be signed in to add your resume.

Headshot

Please include a headshot*

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Resume

Please include a resume*

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Audio

Please include two aria recordings*

One in English (oratorio accepted, musical theater not accepted), one in a foreign language. Number of selections required: 2.

You must be signed in to add audio files.