Festival Napa Valley's Manetti Shrem Opera Program: deadline approaching!

Festival Napa Valley's Manetti Shrem Opera Program is a tuition-free intensive opera training program offering advanced study and performance opportunities for vocalists and pianists from college to recent graduates in the idyllic setting of Napa Valley. Participants will study under the guidance of renowned faculty, guest artists, conductors and soloists, and take part in semi-staged opera scenes with orchestra, or the fully-staged opera performance. An average of two meals a day is provided and a $500 travel stipend will be provided for travel during the festival. Transportation to and from the festival is not provided. The Manetti Shrem Opera Program runs from June 30 to July 21st. 

Tuition and fees:

• Tuition: $0
• Application fee:  $65
• Housing: Single hotel rooms provided
• Registration Deposit: $365 (refunded upon arrival at the festival)
• Average of two meals per day provided
• $500 travel stipend provided 

Required Materials:

• CV or Resume as a PDF attachment
• Headshot
• Short Bio
• Audition Video/Recordings

Video requirements:

For Vocalists:
- Three contrasting arias in two or more languages

For Opera Pianists:
- Solo of choice (single movement suffices)
Sing and play: 
- One bel canto aria or ensemble..
- One Mozart aria or ensemble
- One aria or ensemble of your choice.

One of the three operatic selections should include recitative in Italian.
One of the three operatic selections should be in French or German.

Smart-phone video is accepted as long as the image and sound is clear. Piano accompaniment where appropriate is recommended but not required. Excerpts need not be all recorded in a single take; individual excerpts can be submitted as individual recordings.  Please label each of the video files with your name and musical selection (i.e. Maria Callas - Casta Diva)

 For application questions, please email Dana Sadava at dana@festivalnapavalley.org.

Important dates:

September 30, 2023 - All applications due

Mid-october - Applicants notified of live audition status

Mid-November - Mid-December - In-person auditions in NYC, Chicago, and SF
  *if an applicant is not available for live auditions, their original video submissions
   will be used for the jury

Mid-January, 2024 - Final decisions

2024 Manetti Shrem Opera Program Faculty:

Music Staff

Noah Lindquist, Head of Music and Director of Opera Piano Program
 Asst conductor, Lyric Opera of Chicago & San Francisco Opera

Malcolm MacKenzie, Vocal Manager
 Dramatic Baritone (Met, Paris Opera, Glimmerglass, etc.) 

John Churchwell, Guest Vocal Coach
 Head of Music, San Francisco Opera

Grant Loehnig, Vocal Coach
 Head of Music Staff, Opera Philadelphia and Wolf Trap Opera

Ronny Michael Greenberg, Vocal Coach
 Pianist, San Francisco Opera, Hawaii Opera Theater

Milos Repicky, Guest Vocal Coach
 Hirsig Family Chair in Vocal Studies, Curtis Institute of Music

Kelly O’Connor, Guest Masterclass Instructor
 Mezzo-Soprano (NY Phil, SF Symphony, Concertgebouw, etc.)

Conductors

Kent Nagano, Music Director, Manetti Shrem Opera 
 Generalmusikdirektor, Hamburg State Opera

Dana Sadava, Managing Director, Opera Scenes Conductor
 Associate Conductor of Opera, San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Ming Luke, Director, Academy Programs

Zach Salsburg-Frank, Asst. Director, Academy Programs

Directors

Jean-Romain Vesperini, Stage Director, Manetti Shrem Opera 
  Stage Director (La Scala, Bolshoi Opera, Paris Opera, etc.) 

Tara Faircloth, Stage Director, MSOP Opera Scenes 
  Stage Director (Wolftrap, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, etc.)