Seattle Opera’s Young Artists Program is a relatively new program, only recently expanded from a 10-week offering to a fully comprehensive nine-month program. The program provides career guidance and training for young singers in all aspects of a career in opera, including the study of complete roles, acting skills, languages and diction, movement and fight choreography, and theater arts.
Chosen through national auditions, 12 singers come to Seattle for a total of 20 weeks to study, perform, and network. The Young Artists Program culminates in a fully staged opera production in the spring that features all of the singers in the program.
General Director Speight Jenkins’ mission for the program is to help singers: “grow into the complete opera singer and reach for musical excellence and theatrical viability in [their] future careers.” In speaking with participants from both the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 programs, it is clear that Seattle’s Young Artists Program is well on its way to achieving this mission with excellence.
Naturally, it is nearly impossible for any program to be an ideal match for all its participants. Tenor Russell Lamar Thomas, a 2002-2003 participant, encourages singers who are considering young artist programs to find out as much as they can about a program to best determine if it will fulfill their expectations. He suggests talking to former participants, including those who were at different experience levels when entering the program.
“For example, if you’re right out of a Master’s program, Seattle might not be right for you.” Thomas suggests. “It’s a lot of classes. In my experience, I’d say that the program consists of 75 percent classes and 25 percent singing. It’s perfect for a young singer who is just out of a conservatory, but perhaps less ideal for someone who has been around a little longer.”
Thomas jokingly calls himself a “veteran of Young Artists Programs,” having participated in young artist or residency programs at Florida Grand, Sarasota Opera, Opera North, and Tulsa Opera.
Certainly, Seattle’s emphasis on classes is one thing that makes it stand out among young artist programs, and it is one aspect that is extremely attractive to the prospective singers who audition each year.
Kimwana Doner, a 2003-2004 participant, said that she was interested in Seattle because of its reputation for excellent classes.
“I really wanted to learn my craft,” Doner emphasizes. “I knew that Seattle had a top-notch reputation for classes in acting, movement, and Italian. Friends of mine who completed the program said they were very encouraged by the staff and learned a lot to support their singing careers.”
Prior to coming to Seattle, Doner earned her Bachelor of Music degree of the University of Michigan and studied at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy and with the young artists program at Opera North. She played Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte at Opera North, a role she will repeat again in the Seattle program’s fully staged production in April 2004.
The roster of classes is diverse. A native Italian speaker teaches conversational Italian, with a beginning and an intermediate section, so that students are neither overwhelmed nor bored. Movement and stage combat, speech and diction, and Alexander Technique are taught, as well as a comprehensive approach to stage acting.
The program’s acting classes do not focus on opera acting; rather, students engage in scene study, characterization, and in-depth text analysis and performance. Participants shared mixed reactions concerning the acting component of the program.
“It may be confusing for a young singer to have such a heavy concentration on acting classes that have nothing to do with opera,” explains 2002-2003 participant David Crawford.
“Personally, I was a bit frustrated at the time. Because I was a singer, I wanted to study opera acting. I had not been singing long, only since I was 20 years old, so I was hungry for opera training. But in retrospect, I see that those classes were very helpful. I think it was extremely valuable to spend that time focusing only on the text.”
Some participants commented that that they would have preferred not to spend up to three hours a day on stage acting, when they weren’t getting to sing every day.
In addition to a schedule of heavy classes, the program offers several performance opportunities. “Opera in the Neighborhoods” presents informal recitals in community venues, with two or three singers and a pianist performing a short program of arias and duets selected from a wide range of operas. “Young Artists in Performance” is a traveling outreach program that presents two-hour abridged, English-narrated operas in a variety of venues across the Pacific Northwest.
At the heart of the program is a fully staged opera production that takes place in the spring. Not surprisingly, all singers cited the experience of the main production as the highlight of the program.
For the full-stage production, the singers are divided into two casts. Singers are accepted into the program knowing what role they will play in the opera, which many said was the major deciding factor in accepting the offer.
Tenor Joseph Muir played Rodolfo in the 2002-2003 company’s production of La Bohème.
“It was my first leading role, and it was an amazing opportunity.”
Muir also went on to win the grand prize for the first Seattle Opera Young Artists Spring Competition. The contest was a public recital event in the spring of 2003, judged by soprano Jane Eaglen, soprano Sheri Greenawald, and David Schefsick, Vancouver Opera Director of Resource Development. For the competition, Muir sang “Il mio tesoro” from Mozart’s Don Giovanni and “Spirito gentil” from Donizetti’s Favorita.
Stan Garner, who has assisted Franco Zeffirelli, directed the full-stage production of La Bohème, with Dean Williamson at the baton.
Across the board, cast members agreed that these two individuals brought an air of professionalism to the Young Artists production. Held at The Theatre at Meydenbauer Center, a 400-seat house in Bellevue, the full productions give the young artists an opportunity to apply everything they’ve learned to a complete work. Furthermore, the productions give Seattle Opera audiences a chance to see up-and-coming opera stars in an intimate setting.
In 2002-2003, the outreach program was an abridged, English translation of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. The singers traveled to schools and other venues all across the Pacific Northwest to perform the abridged production. For bass-baritone David Crawford, the experience wasn’t necessarily easy, but it was worth it.
“It’s not easy to travel across Washington state in a van with eight people, but you have to look on the positive side. We got to perform at Spokane Opera, for example, and get seen by the director there. And even though I sang Papageno in English, I know that I can now perform that role with confidence in other venues.”
The concern about inappropriate scheduling was mentioned again, in relation to the outreach performances. One singer said, “We would have days with five hours of coaching planned, followed by an outreach performance. It was really hard on the voice.”
Another singer did not feel that the translation of The Magic Flute was accurate or helpful to the audiences. Still, this singer related that performing in front of kids is always an important experience, “because they are so honest in their reactions.”
Outside of the performance opportunities, other program highlights mentioned were master classes with main-stage artists, and Speight Jenkins’ personal involvement with program participants.
Eve Gigliotti, who sang Mimi in the 2003 production of La Boheme, was impressed with Jenkins’ involvement.
“Speight’s interest was always very hands-on. He was more than generous with his time with us. He took time to write letters to management on our behalf, and he really took a personal investment in us.”
David Crawford agreed, saying, “The fact that Speight is as interested as he is with the Young Artists is phenomenal. He does all the castings himself, and anytime there was a question, he was there.”
Other program members disagreed, saying that Jenkins was not as accessible as they would have liked him to be. “I have heard he is becoming more involved with the artists, and I wish there had been more of that when I was there,” one singer confessed.
“Speight and main-stage artists were available if you took the initiative,” another singer shared. “The program didn’t necessarily lend itself to such opportunities, but if you made that extra effort to make the connection, it could happen.”
Along the same vein, Crawford stresses that the experience of being in any young artists program is directly related to the personal investment made.
“You get out of it what you put in. It’s not like a university, where they spoon-feed you and it’s just take, take, take. You have to decide what you are there to do, and make it happen.”
Seattle’s program is continuing to evolve, and staffing and program elements continue to be in flux. Some participants noted that they knew certain logistical concerns, such as schedule problems or rehearsal space issues, were the result of “growing pains” and a high staff turnaround. By the spring of 2003, an outspoken group of artists began to voice their concerns about the logistical conflicts. They were pleased that their concerns were noted and changes were made.
“Our group had very strong personalities and so we got together and then made sure the changes happened,” said Gigliotti. “The challenges made us closer, and we grew to appreciate one another’s quirks. You might say we were a very happy, dysfunctional family.”
The close camaraderie of the 2002-2003 company made an impact on all of the participants. The expected initial competition—due to the variety of singers’ backgrounds, and to the fact that each singer shared a role with another of the same voice type—dissipated very quickly.
“Seattle nurtures a supportive atmosphere,” said Russell Lamar Thomas. “We had to attend rehearsals of each other’s shows, and attend main-stage shows together. They train you to be a good colleague. There was surprisingly little competition, with such a dynamic group of people.”
There are no specific requirements in training or performance experience to audition for the Seattle Young Artists Program. As a result, singers come to the program representing a gradient of experience. Though Thomas feels that the program is most well-matched to younger singers with less experience, he also recognizes the rewards of the diverse group.
“Diversity of experience is good. There are all things that we can learn from one another, being at different levels in our careers.”
Several singers noted that the program may be too class-intensive for someone with an MFA, yet too advanced for a singer without a conservatory background. More than a degree or a résumé, the staff is seeking singers who will fill the roles for the year’s upcoming Young Artists Opera. Applicants must submit an application, headshot, recordings of two contrasting arias, and two letters of recommendation from teachers, coaches, or professionals. Then they must attend an in-person audition in either Seattle or New York City, having prepared five arias, with at least one each in Italian, German, French, and English. Two staff members and a current Young Artist participant run auditions, and subsequent callbacks are seen by Jenkins.
In some cases, singers received offers on the spot, at the auditions. Other singers had to wait to hear if they were accepted.
“It was two months of waiting,” said Gigliotti. “It was hard to make plans. Obviously, I couldn’t just pay $300 to fly to Seattle to check things out, until I knew I was accepted.”
Once accepted, singers are required to make their own arrangements for travel and housing. The program offers some rudimentary guidance for finding an apartment, but singers concurred that they were basically on their own in this endeavor. Several said they wished they could have had more assistance in securing housing, or better yet, lived closer together, in an apartment complex.
David Crawford, for example, moved on to the Young Artist Studio Program at Florida Grand Opera, after completing Seattle’s program. There, in Miami, all the young artists live in one apartment complex, which Crawford thinks is far preferable to being spread across a city.
“In Seattle, sometimes I’d have to drive 20 minutes or more to see someone outside of class or rehearsal, which made socializing challenging. I’d happily have given up part of my weekly salary to have some kind of localized housing.”
Seattle Young Artists are paid $400 a week, and pay for their own living expenses.
Several singers said that the living in Seattle was a wonderful experience.
“It’s my favorite city, second only to San Francisco,” said Muir. “It’s near the water, the downtown is the perfect size. It’s liberal, artsy, and full of great people.”
Of the 12 singers from the 2002-2003 program, five singers have returned or will be returning to Seattle to perform main-stage roles. An impressive statistic like this is, perhaps, anticipated, upon hearing a particular anecdote that was repeatedly shared by artists who participated in the program. On the day the young artists arrived, the entire Seattle Opera company and staff came to greet the new Young Artists. They shut down the offices and stopped rehearsals, and made the new singers feel at home. Participants who had been a part of other young artist programs reported that they had never seen that kind of welcome anywhere else.
Obviously, this kind of embrace made an impression on the new group of singers, and it seems to symbolize the end result toward which Seattle is striving: to make the Young Artists Program a part of what the opera company is, not just something they do. Clearly, the investments of both the singers participating and the Seattle Young Artists Program staff are paying off for everyone.
