Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) Opera Training Program

The objective of the Academy of Vocal Arts is to ensure that a student will be a thinking artist who is both self-sufficient musically and dramatically, knowledgeable about the field of opera and voice, well-prepared in foreign languages, and able to pursue a career in the world’s great opera houses. Performances of opera, art song and oratorio give each student the opportunity to learn masterworks under the supervision of an outstanding faculty, and to perform them in venues open to the public and reviewed by music critics.

The full course of study at the Academy of Vocal Arts is four years. It should be emphasized that all training is directed towards preparation for a career in singing rather than toward the fulfillment of set academic requirements or a career as a teacher. As in a professional opera theatre, the actual ability and diligence of a singer is often given more weight than seniority when casting decisions are made. Further, the assignment and performance of specific roles must be considered within the context of AVA’s overall instructional program, the foundation of which is the detailed study of operatic literature. Each role assigned to a singer is a significant portion of this learning process. However, no guarantee is made that a singer will necessarily perform a role which he/she has been assigned or has prepared.