REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED. PLEASE SEE THE NEXT SESSION OF THIS PROGRAM HERE.
FEBRUARY 15-28, 2021 | ONLINE
GEORGE SHIRLEY
(Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Téatro Colón, Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera,
Glyndebourne Festival, Santa Fe Opera)
RICHARD GAMMON
(Wolf Trap Opera, Virginia Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre,
Kennedy Center, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis)
SUSANNA STRANDERS
(The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Garsington Opera, Glyndebourne, Salzburg Festival, New York City Opera)
JANET WILLIAMS
(Metropolitan Opera, Berlin Staatsoper, Paris Opera, Frankfurt Opera,
Cologne Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera, Dallas Opera, and Michigan Opera Theatre)
SARAH STEPHENS
(Stephens Nicolson Artists Management,
International Artists Management Bremen)
(Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Téatro Colón, Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera,
Glyndebourne Festival, Santa Fe Opera)
RICHARD GAMMON
(Wolf Trap Opera, Virginia Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre,
Kennedy Center, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis)
SUSANNA STRANDERS
(The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Garsington Opera, Glyndebourne, Salzburg Festival, New York City Opera)
JANET WILLIAMS
(Metropolitan Opera, Berlin Staatsoper, Paris Opera, Frankfurt Opera,
Cologne Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera, Dallas Opera, and Michigan Opera Theatre)
SARAH STEPHENS
(Stephens Nicolson Artists Management,
International Artists Management Bremen)
Visual Presentation|Online Presentation|Application Materials
with
JULIE WYMA & ANASTASIA NIKOLOV
with
JULIE WYMA & ANASTASIA NIKOLOV
JULIE WYMA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ANASTASIA NIKOLOV, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
ANASTASIA NIKOLOV, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
The program will focus on:
- standing out from the crowd in a highly competitive and saturated market;
- identifying each artist's individual strengths and how to capitalize on them;
- polishing each artist’s professional materials to get noticed every time.
Program will include:
- Live Q & A sessions with each clinician:
February 16, 2021 19:00 CEST (Berlin)
Building a Successful Singing and Teaching Career in Germany
with
Janet Williams
February 18, 2021 18:00 CEST (Berlin)
Thoughts From Across the Table: What Directors Look For in a Singer
with
Richard Gammon
February 22, 2021 18:00 CEST (Berlin)
Career Longevity in an Ever-changing Global Market
with
George Shirley
February 25, 2021 18:00 CEST (Berlin)
The Conductor’s Point of View - What One Looks For in an Audition
with
Susanna Stranders
February 28, 2021 18:00 CEST (Berlin)
Finding Representation in North America and Europe
with
Sarah Stephens
Building a Successful Singing and Teaching Career in Germany
with
Janet Williams
February 18, 2021 18:00 CEST (Berlin)
Thoughts From Across the Table: What Directors Look For in a Singer
with
Richard Gammon
February 22, 2021 18:00 CEST (Berlin)
Career Longevity in an Ever-changing Global Market
with
George Shirley
February 25, 2021 18:00 CEST (Berlin)
The Conductor’s Point of View - What One Looks For in an Audition
with
Susanna Stranders
February 28, 2021 18:00 CEST (Berlin)
Finding Representation in North America and Europe
with
Sarah Stephens
- Individual 45-min sessions on resume/CV, website, audition recordings, and social media presentation for the global and German markets. (Individually scheduled between February 13-28, 2021.)
- Review of materials prior to individual session. Feedback and suggestions for adjustments and improvements will be given during the session.
- Individual follow-up on overall presentation after the completion of the program.
- Follow-up with each participating artist after suggested adjustments and improvements are made.
- Access to an OPB online community page and all videos of Live Q&As.
Find out:
- where you fit in the global market;
- how to build a sound list of audition arias;
- how to present a well-balanced audition program and/or competition program;
- how to present a successful audition and video;
- how to present a polished individualised look;
- how to maintain vocal health throughout your career;
- how to stand out among hundreds of applicants.
Learn about:
- The German, European and Global Markets
- The German Theatre System
- Finding German Representation
- Casting within the German Theatre System
- To Fest or to Guest
- The Pros and Cons of Singing in a Chorus
FACULTY
GEORGE SHIRLEY
George Shirley (tenor) is in demand nationally and internationally as performer, teacher and lecturer. He has won international acclaim for his performances in the world’s great opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera (New York), Royal Opera (Covent Garden, London), Deutsche Oper (Berlin), Téatro Colón (Buenos Aires), Netherlands Opera (Amsterdam), L’Opéra de Monte Carlo, New York City Opera, Scottish Opera (Glasgow), Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera (Kennedy Center), Michigan Opera Theater, Glyndebourne Festival, and Santa Fe Opera.
He has recorded for RCA, Columbia, Decca, Angel, Vanguard, CRI, and Philips and received a Grammy Award in 1968 for his role (Ferrando) in the RCA recording of Mozart’s Così fan tutte.
In addition to oratorio and concert literature, Mr. Shirley has, in a career that spans 49 years, performed more than 80 operatic roles in major opera houses around the globe with many of the world’s most renowned conductors (Solti, Klemperer, Stravinsky, Ormandy, von Karajan, Colin Davis, Boehm, Ozawa, Haitink, Boult, Leinsdorf, Boulez, DePriest, Krips, Cleva, Dorati, Pritchard, Bernstein, Maazel, and others).
Professor Shirley was the first African-American to be appointed to a high school teaching post in music in Detroit, the first African-American member of the United States Army Chorus in Washington, D.C., and the first African-American tenor and second African-American male to sing leading roles with the Metropolitan Opera, where he remained for eleven years.
Mr. Shirley has served on three occasions as a master teacher in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Intern Program for Young NATS Teachers. He was also a member of the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School for ten years.
George Shirley (tenor) is in demand nationally and internationally as performer, teacher and lecturer. He has won international acclaim for his performances in the world’s great opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera (New York), Royal Opera (Covent Garden, London), Deutsche Oper (Berlin), Téatro Colón (Buenos Aires), Netherlands Opera (Amsterdam), L’Opéra de Monte Carlo, New York City Opera, Scottish Opera (Glasgow), Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera (Kennedy Center), Michigan Opera Theater, Glyndebourne Festival, and Santa Fe Opera.
He has recorded for RCA, Columbia, Decca, Angel, Vanguard, CRI, and Philips and received a Grammy Award in 1968 for his role (Ferrando) in the RCA recording of Mozart’s Così fan tutte.
In addition to oratorio and concert literature, Mr. Shirley has, in a career that spans 49 years, performed more than 80 operatic roles in major opera houses around the globe with many of the world’s most renowned conductors (Solti, Klemperer, Stravinsky, Ormandy, von Karajan, Colin Davis, Boehm, Ozawa, Haitink, Boult, Leinsdorf, Boulez, DePriest, Krips, Cleva, Dorati, Pritchard, Bernstein, Maazel, and others).
Professor Shirley was the first African-American to be appointed to a high school teaching post in music in Detroit, the first African-American member of the United States Army Chorus in Washington, D.C., and the first African-American tenor and second African-American male to sing leading roles with the Metropolitan Opera, where he remained for eleven years.
Mr. Shirley has served on three occasions as a master teacher in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Intern Program for Young NATS Teachers. He was also a member of the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School for ten years.
RICHARD GAMMON
Richard Gammon, a Filipino American stage director, has recently directed the double bill of Gluck’s L’île de Merlin and Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis with Wolf Trap Opera; Madama Butterfly with Virginia Opera; a double bill of Gianni Schicchi and Michael Ching’s Buoso’s Ghost at Michigan Opera Theatre; the American premiere of Scarlatti's Erminia at the Kennedy Center with Opera Lafayette and earlier that season Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda with lutenist Thomas Dunford (named a "Top Ten Performance in 2018" and a "Top Ten Performance in 2017" respectively by Washington Classical Review); Susannah with Charlottesville Opera; Jack Perla’s An American Dream with Virginia Opera’s inaugural contemporary opera series “VAriations”; and Andy Monroe's The Life and Times of Joe Jefferson Benjamin Blow at NYC's Theatre 315 with the National Asian Artists Project. At the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival he directed Much Ado About Nothing after having previously directed a touring production of The Tempest; and for Cleveland Play House's film The CARE Monologue Project Richard directed monologues written by Rajiv Joseph, Lloyd Suh, Karen Zacarias, Tanya Saracho, and Matthew Lopez. He directed the world premiere of Jorge Sosa’s electronic opera The Lake at ArtSounds in Kansas City; Trouble in Tahiti with Paul Watkins at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival; the workshop of J Ashley Miller’s pop opera Echosis with Atemporchestra; and last season was Associate Director for The Grapes of Wrath at Michigan Opera Theatre.
Richard is the Director of Opera Maine's Studio Artist Program and has directed Jack Perla's An American Dream (East Coast premiere), Mohammed Fairouz’s Sumeida’s Song, Jake Heggie's Three Decembers, Trouble in Tahiti, The Medium, and a site-specific production of Gianni Schicchi at SPACE Gallery. He is also the co-founder and director of Art with Arias, a collaborative recital series partnering artists from Opera Maine with the Portland Museum of Art now in its fourth year.
Richard works extensively with Young Artist Programs around the country. For Opera Theatre of Saint Louis' 2016, 2017, and 2018 seasons Richard co-directed Center Stage, a concert of opera scenes featuring the Gerdine Young Artists and Richard Gaddes Festival Artists with the St. Louis Symphony. Spending four years as the Stage Director for the Charlottesville Opera Young Artist Program he directed new productions of Il barbiere di Siviglia, Susannah, La bohème, and Gianni Schicchi. He was a Directing Fellow at Wolf Trap Opera directing the Wolf Trap Opera Studio in An Evening of One Act Operas: Hindemith’s Hin und züruck, Moore’s Gallantry, A Hand of Bridge, Pasatieri’s La Divina, and Heggie’s Again. And he directed a warehouse production of La bohème at Work | Release with the Virginia Opera's Emerging Artist Program. He was a Young Artist Director at Opera North and a Stage Director/Acting Coach in Greve in Chianti, Italy for Bel Canto in Tuscany.
Richard also enjoys working with young artists at leading conservatories and universities. He has recently accepted the position as Director of Opera at the University of Northern Iowa and will direct “The Monteverdi Project” this fall. Other productions include Hindemith’s Sancta Susanna and Rorem’s Three Sisters who are Not Sisters at the Manhattan School of Music; the world premiere of Jorge Sosa’s liturgical drama Tonantzin at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance; Silent Night, La traviata, Sweeney Todd, and Così fan tutte with the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre; Ward's Roman Fever and Hilliard & Boresi's The Filthy Habit at Carnegie Mellon University; and Dido and Aeneas with Morningside College.
Other creative positions include Creative Associate for the world premiere of Dream’d in a dream with Seán Curran Company at BAM Next Wave Festival, an Artist Resident at Hewnoaks Artist Colony (2018) and the Institute for American Art (2017), Resident Assistant Director at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (2016-2018), and an Assistant Director at LA Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Wolf Trap Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Palm Beach Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Virginia Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Charlottesville Opera, Opera North, and Opera Maine working on productions that include the world premieres of Jack Perla’s Shalimar, the Clown, Terrence Blanchard’s Champion, Ricky Ian Gordon’s 27 and Rappahannock County, Jorge Martin’s Before Night Falls, and the American premieres of Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland, and Jacques Ibert’s Persée et Andromède.
Upcoming productions include Philip Glass’ The Fall of the House of Usher with the studio artists of Opera Maine and Robert Ward’s The Crucible at the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre.
Richard is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance.
Richard Gammon, a Filipino American stage director, has recently directed the double bill of Gluck’s L’île de Merlin and Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis with Wolf Trap Opera; Madama Butterfly with Virginia Opera; a double bill of Gianni Schicchi and Michael Ching’s Buoso’s Ghost at Michigan Opera Theatre; the American premiere of Scarlatti's Erminia at the Kennedy Center with Opera Lafayette and earlier that season Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda with lutenist Thomas Dunford (named a "Top Ten Performance in 2018" and a "Top Ten Performance in 2017" respectively by Washington Classical Review); Susannah with Charlottesville Opera; Jack Perla’s An American Dream with Virginia Opera’s inaugural contemporary opera series “VAriations”; and Andy Monroe's The Life and Times of Joe Jefferson Benjamin Blow at NYC's Theatre 315 with the National Asian Artists Project. At the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival he directed Much Ado About Nothing after having previously directed a touring production of The Tempest; and for Cleveland Play House's film The CARE Monologue Project Richard directed monologues written by Rajiv Joseph, Lloyd Suh, Karen Zacarias, Tanya Saracho, and Matthew Lopez. He directed the world premiere of Jorge Sosa’s electronic opera The Lake at ArtSounds in Kansas City; Trouble in Tahiti with Paul Watkins at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival; the workshop of J Ashley Miller’s pop opera Echosis with Atemporchestra; and last season was Associate Director for The Grapes of Wrath at Michigan Opera Theatre.
Richard is the Director of Opera Maine's Studio Artist Program and has directed Jack Perla's An American Dream (East Coast premiere), Mohammed Fairouz’s Sumeida’s Song, Jake Heggie's Three Decembers, Trouble in Tahiti, The Medium, and a site-specific production of Gianni Schicchi at SPACE Gallery. He is also the co-founder and director of Art with Arias, a collaborative recital series partnering artists from Opera Maine with the Portland Museum of Art now in its fourth year.
Richard works extensively with Young Artist Programs around the country. For Opera Theatre of Saint Louis' 2016, 2017, and 2018 seasons Richard co-directed Center Stage, a concert of opera scenes featuring the Gerdine Young Artists and Richard Gaddes Festival Artists with the St. Louis Symphony. Spending four years as the Stage Director for the Charlottesville Opera Young Artist Program he directed new productions of Il barbiere di Siviglia, Susannah, La bohème, and Gianni Schicchi. He was a Directing Fellow at Wolf Trap Opera directing the Wolf Trap Opera Studio in An Evening of One Act Operas: Hindemith’s Hin und züruck, Moore’s Gallantry, A Hand of Bridge, Pasatieri’s La Divina, and Heggie’s Again. And he directed a warehouse production of La bohème at Work | Release with the Virginia Opera's Emerging Artist Program. He was a Young Artist Director at Opera North and a Stage Director/Acting Coach in Greve in Chianti, Italy for Bel Canto in Tuscany.
Richard also enjoys working with young artists at leading conservatories and universities. He has recently accepted the position as Director of Opera at the University of Northern Iowa and will direct “The Monteverdi Project” this fall. Other productions include Hindemith’s Sancta Susanna and Rorem’s Three Sisters who are Not Sisters at the Manhattan School of Music; the world premiere of Jorge Sosa’s liturgical drama Tonantzin at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance; Silent Night, La traviata, Sweeney Todd, and Così fan tutte with the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre; Ward's Roman Fever and Hilliard & Boresi's The Filthy Habit at Carnegie Mellon University; and Dido and Aeneas with Morningside College.
Other creative positions include Creative Associate for the world premiere of Dream’d in a dream with Seán Curran Company at BAM Next Wave Festival, an Artist Resident at Hewnoaks Artist Colony (2018) and the Institute for American Art (2017), Resident Assistant Director at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (2016-2018), and an Assistant Director at LA Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Wolf Trap Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Palm Beach Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Virginia Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Charlottesville Opera, Opera North, and Opera Maine working on productions that include the world premieres of Jack Perla’s Shalimar, the Clown, Terrence Blanchard’s Champion, Ricky Ian Gordon’s 27 and Rappahannock County, Jorge Martin’s Before Night Falls, and the American premieres of Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland, and Jacques Ibert’s Persée et Andromède.
Upcoming productions include Philip Glass’ The Fall of the House of Usher with the studio artists of Opera Maine and Robert Ward’s The Crucible at the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre.
Richard is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance.
SUSANNA STRANDERS
British pianist, conductor and répétiteur Susanna Stranders is a member of the Music Staff of The Royal Opera. She was a member of The Royal Opera’s Young Artists Programme (2004–6).
Before taking up her current position with The Royal Opera, Stranders was Head of Music and Chorus Master for Garsington Opera, where she conducted the world premiere of Orlando Gough and Richard Stilgoe’s Road Rage. Stranders studied at Exeter University and at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where she won many prizes. She continued her studies at the University of Cincinnati and worked as a répétiteur for Cincinnati Opera, San Francisco Opera’s Merola Programme and as a member of Houston Grand Opera Studio. She has worked regularly for The Royal Opera, Opera North, Glyndebourne, Salzburg Festival, New York City Opera, the Philharmonia, and the London, BBC and Taipei symphony orchestras. In recital, she has accompanied singers including René Pape, Bryn Terfel, John Tomlinson, James Gilchrist, Mark Padmore, Christine Rice and Angelika Kirchschlager. She has broadcast (radio and television) for the BBC and Sky Arts, with artists including Angel Blue, Joyce DiDonato and Tamara Wilson.
A passionate educator, Stranders coaches at leading British conservatoires and international summer schools, leads masterclasses around the world and regularly sits on audition and competition panels. She has been official pianist for both the Neue Stimmen and Veronica Dunne international singing competitions.
British pianist, conductor and répétiteur Susanna Stranders is a member of the Music Staff of The Royal Opera. She was a member of The Royal Opera’s Young Artists Programme (2004–6).
Before taking up her current position with The Royal Opera, Stranders was Head of Music and Chorus Master for Garsington Opera, where she conducted the world premiere of Orlando Gough and Richard Stilgoe’s Road Rage. Stranders studied at Exeter University and at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where she won many prizes. She continued her studies at the University of Cincinnati and worked as a répétiteur for Cincinnati Opera, San Francisco Opera’s Merola Programme and as a member of Houston Grand Opera Studio. She has worked regularly for The Royal Opera, Opera North, Glyndebourne, Salzburg Festival, New York City Opera, the Philharmonia, and the London, BBC and Taipei symphony orchestras. In recital, she has accompanied singers including René Pape, Bryn Terfel, John Tomlinson, James Gilchrist, Mark Padmore, Christine Rice and Angelika Kirchschlager. She has broadcast (radio and television) for the BBC and Sky Arts, with artists including Angel Blue, Joyce DiDonato and Tamara Wilson.
A passionate educator, Stranders coaches at leading British conservatoires and international summer schools, leads masterclasses around the world and regularly sits on audition and competition panels. She has been official pianist for both the Neue Stimmen and Veronica Dunne international singing competitions.
JANET WILLIAMS
American soprano Janet Williams is uniquely qualified to teach singers and coach performers, having won international critical acclaim for performances in leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera, Berlin Staatsoper, Paris Opera, Opera de Lyon, Nice Opera, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Geneva Opera, Frankfurt Opera, Cologne Opera, Leipzig Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera, Dallas Opera, and Michigan Opera Theatre. Her repertoire covers the epochs from Baroque to Contemporary and she has performed over 40 leading roles in the lyric – coloratura repertoire. Janet enjoys equal success on the world’s concert stages with renowned conductors, such as Daniel Barenboim, Philippe Herreweghe, René Jacobs, Raymond Leppard, Nicholas McGegan, Zubin Mehta, Sir Neville Marriner, Kent Nagano, Donald Runnicles, Gerald Schwarz, Patrick Summers and Michael Tilson Thomas. Her recordings and television appearances are numerous and she was a featured performer in the Oscar-winning documentary film In the Shadow of the Stars.
“Irrepressible’ is a word that hardly does her justice. Her first act entrance … floating a high pure phrase across the house, had that charge of electricity that immediately rivets attention, and her famous ballroom aria Mein Herr Marquis was delightfully saucy.” – The New York Post on Janet Williams’ Metropolitan Opera debut.
Janet’s performing and teaching career spans over 30 years. She earned Bachelor degrees in both Music Education and Vocal Performance from Michigan State University and a Master’s degree in Vocal Performance from Indiana University, where she was Assistant Instructor under Professor Camilla Williams. Upon graduation, she was a part of the distinguished Merola Opera Program and Adler Fellow at the San Francisco Opera Center.
Janet has taught master classes across the United States and at vocal programs in London, Paris, Berlin, Essen, Utrecht, Ísafjörður and Reykjavik. She is currently an Honorary Professor at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin and Instructor at the Lotte Lehmann Academy in Germany, where she teaches a popular Performance Mastery Workshop. She regularly serves as jury member of various international voice competitions and audition panels at both the university and professional level. In 2011, Janet founded The Leistung und Performance Vocal Akademie Berlin, where she hosts masterclasses with renowned singers, conductors, stage directors and actors and offers a variety of performance experience and workshops for young singers beginning a career. Her book, Nail Your Next Audition, the Ultimate 30-Day Guide for Singers, offers a step-by-step instruction manual to enhance the way singers approach the audition process.
American soprano Janet Williams is uniquely qualified to teach singers and coach performers, having won international critical acclaim for performances in leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera, Berlin Staatsoper, Paris Opera, Opera de Lyon, Nice Opera, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Geneva Opera, Frankfurt Opera, Cologne Opera, Leipzig Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera, Dallas Opera, and Michigan Opera Theatre. Her repertoire covers the epochs from Baroque to Contemporary and she has performed over 40 leading roles in the lyric – coloratura repertoire. Janet enjoys equal success on the world’s concert stages with renowned conductors, such as Daniel Barenboim, Philippe Herreweghe, René Jacobs, Raymond Leppard, Nicholas McGegan, Zubin Mehta, Sir Neville Marriner, Kent Nagano, Donald Runnicles, Gerald Schwarz, Patrick Summers and Michael Tilson Thomas. Her recordings and television appearances are numerous and she was a featured performer in the Oscar-winning documentary film In the Shadow of the Stars.
“Irrepressible’ is a word that hardly does her justice. Her first act entrance … floating a high pure phrase across the house, had that charge of electricity that immediately rivets attention, and her famous ballroom aria Mein Herr Marquis was delightfully saucy.” – The New York Post on Janet Williams’ Metropolitan Opera debut.
Janet’s performing and teaching career spans over 30 years. She earned Bachelor degrees in both Music Education and Vocal Performance from Michigan State University and a Master’s degree in Vocal Performance from Indiana University, where she was Assistant Instructor under Professor Camilla Williams. Upon graduation, she was a part of the distinguished Merola Opera Program and Adler Fellow at the San Francisco Opera Center.
Janet has taught master classes across the United States and at vocal programs in London, Paris, Berlin, Essen, Utrecht, Ísafjörður and Reykjavik. She is currently an Honorary Professor at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin and Instructor at the Lotte Lehmann Academy in Germany, where she teaches a popular Performance Mastery Workshop. She regularly serves as jury member of various international voice competitions and audition panels at both the university and professional level. In 2011, Janet founded The Leistung und Performance Vocal Akademie Berlin, where she hosts masterclasses with renowned singers, conductors, stage directors and actors and offers a variety of performance experience and workshops for young singers beginning a career. Her book, Nail Your Next Audition, the Ultimate 30-Day Guide for Singers, offers a step-by-step instruction manual to enhance the way singers approach the audition process.
SARAH STEPHENS
Sarah Stephens founded International Artists Management in Bremen, Germany in 1996. Her agency specialized in professional personal management and bilingual promotion for international opera singers in Europe and later expanded to include management for conductors, stage directors and other classical musicians. Her artists performed in theaters throughout Europe including the Staatsoper in Berlin, Covent Garden in London, Opéra Bastille in Paris, Stockholm, Basel, Zürich, Graz, Bayreuth Festival, Semperoper in Dresden, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Bayerische Staatsoper in München, Mannheim, Leipzig, Bremen, Oldenburg, Kiel, Darmstadt, Augsburg, Nürnberg and Münster.
Ms. Stephens was granted the German agency license in 2000 authorizing her to operate as a recognized artists management agency (Künstleragentur) in Germany. A second license was issued the same year entitling her agency to engage in business internationally and throughout the European Union. In 2008, she returned to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis to complete her Master’s degree with a bilingual thesis on Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. Subsequently, she came to New York City and founded Stephens Nicolson Artists Management with Mark Nicolson.
Sarah Stephens studied as a young student in Germany, where she learned German fluently, and has spent most of her life since (25 years). She lived in Freiburg, Hamburg, Berlin, and in 1991 moved to Bremen where she lived until 2008. Ms. Stephens attended the University of Vermont, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg (Germany), and the University of Minnesota. Born and raised in Minneapolis, she returns there often to be with her family and friends on the beautiful Minnesota lakes.
Sarah Stephens founded International Artists Management in Bremen, Germany in 1996. Her agency specialized in professional personal management and bilingual promotion for international opera singers in Europe and later expanded to include management for conductors, stage directors and other classical musicians. Her artists performed in theaters throughout Europe including the Staatsoper in Berlin, Covent Garden in London, Opéra Bastille in Paris, Stockholm, Basel, Zürich, Graz, Bayreuth Festival, Semperoper in Dresden, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Bayerische Staatsoper in München, Mannheim, Leipzig, Bremen, Oldenburg, Kiel, Darmstadt, Augsburg, Nürnberg and Münster.
Ms. Stephens was granted the German agency license in 2000 authorizing her to operate as a recognized artists management agency (Künstleragentur) in Germany. A second license was issued the same year entitling her agency to engage in business internationally and throughout the European Union. In 2008, she returned to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis to complete her Master’s degree with a bilingual thesis on Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. Subsequently, she came to New York City and founded Stephens Nicolson Artists Management with Mark Nicolson.
Sarah Stephens studied as a young student in Germany, where she learned German fluently, and has spent most of her life since (25 years). She lived in Freiburg, Hamburg, Berlin, and in 1991 moved to Bremen where she lived until 2008. Ms. Stephens attended the University of Vermont, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg (Germany), and the University of Minnesota. Born and raised in Minneapolis, she returns there often to be with her family and friends on the beautiful Minnesota lakes.
JULIE WYMA
Julie Wyma has been described as a Renaissance Woman of opera, having worked in both Europe and the United States as a singer, director, stage manager, wig/makeup artist, costume designer, producer, and educator.
As a soprano she has appeared in more than 20 roles, including die Königin der Nacht and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Gilda in Rigoletto, the Waldvogel in Siegfried, Marie in Die Verkaufte Braut, Musetta in La Bohème, Sophie in Werther, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, and Norina in Don Pasquale. Of her Norina, the Kansas City Metropolis said: “soprano Julie Wyma sparkled with a self-confident air and a strong, beautiful voice.”
Recent performances have included the roles of Adele in Die Fledermaus, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Marie in Die verkaufte Braut, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto with the Brandenburgisches Konzertorchester Eberswalde at Kloster Chorin, Germany; Musetta in La Bohème and Belinda in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas with Puccini's Toaster in Berlin; the Soprano solos in Mozart's Requiem, Händel’s Messiah, and Fauré's Requiem, all in Berlin; a concert of music by the American expatriate author and composer Paul Bowles in Düsseldorf, Magdeburg and Berlin, Germany; Lovers’ Quarrels, a concert of operatic duets and arias with her husband, Peter Furlong, in Concord, New Hampshire and Niemegk, Germany; Three Tenors and a Soprano concerts in Cornish and New London, New Hampshire; and Viva Divas!, a concert of operatic arias, duets, and trios in Cornish, New Hampshire, Phoenix, Arizona and Berlin, Germany. She recently produced a concert of The AIDS Quilt Songbook as a benefit concert for the Berliner Aids-Hilfe e.V.
Ms. Wyma has produced and directed operas including Wagner’s Lohengrin, Das Rheingold and Die Walküre (Berlin Wagner Gruppe) and the entire Ring Cycle (Opera By Request), Massenet’s Werther (Irrational Entertainment), Händel’s Semele (Midwest Early Opera Works), Jonathan Stinson’s The Three Bears and Ryan Oldham’s The Emperor’s Madness (University of Missouri-Kansas City), as well as Jason Robert Brown’s musical The Last Five Years (Voci Inglesi) and numerous opera scenes programs. She will direct Don Pasquale for the Choriner Opernsommer this June at Kloster Chorin, Germany. She has assistant directed Albert Herring and Giulio Cesare at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, La Traviata at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Carmen at Opera North, and she assistant stage managed La Rondine at Indiana University.
As a costume designer Ms. Wyma worked for Dicapo Opera Theatre in New York for the 2011-2012 Season, which included Tosca, The Consul, Iolanta, The Most Happy Fella, La Cenerentola, Beauty and the Beast, and La Traviata. She has also worked as a bridal alterations specialist in Bloomington, Indiana and New York City. As a student she worked as a costume assistant/stitcher for the University of Arizona on Le nozze di Figaro and The Merry Wives of Windsor, and for Indiana University on Die Zauberflöte, The Nutcracker, and La Rondine. Ms. Wyma has worked as a Wig and Makeup Assistant for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, in operas including Giulio Cesare, La Bohème, and John Brown, at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in productions including La Bohème, Suor Angelica,Gianni Schicchi, and The Man of La Mancha, and for a national tour of Hairspray. As a young artist, she was a set construction assistant at Opera in the Ozarks in 2004.
As an educator, Ms. Wyma’s passion lies in helping singers make the transition from student to professional, and in guiding talented people to the places where they are needed. She has served as a vocal coach, preparing singers for auditions and talent competitions, as well as an audition panelist and advisor. With organizations such as Irrational Entertainment, Midwest Early Opera Works, Voci Inglesi, Berlin Wagner Gruppe and Berliner Opernverein, she has facilitated performance opportunities for singers seeking additional stage experience and the chance to hone their craft in a supportive, professional environment.
Photo: Kelly Kruse
Julie Wyma has been described as a Renaissance Woman of opera, having worked in both Europe and the United States as a singer, director, stage manager, wig/makeup artist, costume designer, producer, and educator.
As a soprano she has appeared in more than 20 roles, including die Königin der Nacht and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Gilda in Rigoletto, the Waldvogel in Siegfried, Marie in Die Verkaufte Braut, Musetta in La Bohème, Sophie in Werther, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, and Norina in Don Pasquale. Of her Norina, the Kansas City Metropolis said: “soprano Julie Wyma sparkled with a self-confident air and a strong, beautiful voice.”
Recent performances have included the roles of Adele in Die Fledermaus, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Marie in Die verkaufte Braut, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto with the Brandenburgisches Konzertorchester Eberswalde at Kloster Chorin, Germany; Musetta in La Bohème and Belinda in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas with Puccini's Toaster in Berlin; the Soprano solos in Mozart's Requiem, Händel’s Messiah, and Fauré's Requiem, all in Berlin; a concert of music by the American expatriate author and composer Paul Bowles in Düsseldorf, Magdeburg and Berlin, Germany; Lovers’ Quarrels, a concert of operatic duets and arias with her husband, Peter Furlong, in Concord, New Hampshire and Niemegk, Germany; Three Tenors and a Soprano concerts in Cornish and New London, New Hampshire; and Viva Divas!, a concert of operatic arias, duets, and trios in Cornish, New Hampshire, Phoenix, Arizona and Berlin, Germany. She recently produced a concert of The AIDS Quilt Songbook as a benefit concert for the Berliner Aids-Hilfe e.V.
Ms. Wyma has produced and directed operas including Wagner’s Lohengrin, Das Rheingold and Die Walküre (Berlin Wagner Gruppe) and the entire Ring Cycle (Opera By Request), Massenet’s Werther (Irrational Entertainment), Händel’s Semele (Midwest Early Opera Works), Jonathan Stinson’s The Three Bears and Ryan Oldham’s The Emperor’s Madness (University of Missouri-Kansas City), as well as Jason Robert Brown’s musical The Last Five Years (Voci Inglesi) and numerous opera scenes programs. She will direct Don Pasquale for the Choriner Opernsommer this June at Kloster Chorin, Germany. She has assistant directed Albert Herring and Giulio Cesare at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, La Traviata at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Carmen at Opera North, and she assistant stage managed La Rondine at Indiana University.
As a costume designer Ms. Wyma worked for Dicapo Opera Theatre in New York for the 2011-2012 Season, which included Tosca, The Consul, Iolanta, The Most Happy Fella, La Cenerentola, Beauty and the Beast, and La Traviata. She has also worked as a bridal alterations specialist in Bloomington, Indiana and New York City. As a student she worked as a costume assistant/stitcher for the University of Arizona on Le nozze di Figaro and The Merry Wives of Windsor, and for Indiana University on Die Zauberflöte, The Nutcracker, and La Rondine. Ms. Wyma has worked as a Wig and Makeup Assistant for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, in operas including Giulio Cesare, La Bohème, and John Brown, at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in productions including La Bohème, Suor Angelica,Gianni Schicchi, and The Man of La Mancha, and for a national tour of Hairspray. As a young artist, she was a set construction assistant at Opera in the Ozarks in 2004.
As an educator, Ms. Wyma’s passion lies in helping singers make the transition from student to professional, and in guiding talented people to the places where they are needed. She has served as a vocal coach, preparing singers for auditions and talent competitions, as well as an audition panelist and advisor. With organizations such as Irrational Entertainment, Midwest Early Opera Works, Voci Inglesi, Berlin Wagner Gruppe and Berliner Opernverein, she has facilitated performance opportunities for singers seeking additional stage experience and the chance to hone their craft in a supportive, professional environment.
Photo: Kelly Kruse
ANASTASIA NIKOLOV
Soprano Anastasia Nikolov started her musical training at the age of 5, studying piano. She was a member of the Bulgarian National Theater Youth Ensemble, where she was cast in numerous main stage and touring productions. Her training at the National Theatre included acting, improvisation, Latin and folk dance. Other musical studies also included percussion and classical guitar.
Ms. Nikolov commenced her vocal training in Bulgaria and continued it at the Longy School of Music (Cambridge, Massachusetts) as a recipient of the Janet Irving Scholarship for Vocal Studies. She was a member of the Central Florida Lyric Opera Young Artists Program and was later invited to return as a main stage Resident Artist with the company.
Opera roles include: Woglinde in Das Rheingold (Berliner Wagner Gruppe); Elsa in Lohengrin (Berliner Wagner Gruppe); Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Violetta in La Traviata (Central Florida Lyric Opera; New London Opera Players, Fine Arts Chorale & Orchestra) Governess in Turn of the Screw (Opera Seria), Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Opera Seria, Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Nedda in Pagliacci (Central Florida Lyric Opera), Micaëla and Frasquita in Carmen, under the directorship of late legendary soprano Licia Albanese (Central Florida Lyric Opera); Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro (Central Florida Lyric Opera), Serpina in La serva padrona (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal, concertante).
Ms. Nikolov is a champion of new music. She has premiered works by prominent American and British composers such as Vartan Aghababian, Michael Djupstrom, Victoria Ellis, Heather Gilligan and Eric Sawyer; some of these works were written and dedicated to her. In addition to numerous song cycles and solo concert works with orchestra, she also created the role of Anna von Mildenburg in the new piece Geboren Alma Schindler (Berliner Opera Verein); the role of Member of the Chamber in the premiere performance of Eric Sawyer's Our American Cousin (Composers in Red Sneakers); and the title role in the world premiere of Victoria Ellis' opera Darling (One of Us Foundation).
Solo concert engagements include J.S. Bach Jauchzet Gott in alles Landen (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal), Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut (Old North Concert Series), Magnificat in D (Fine Arts Chorale), Missa brevis in A (Fine Arts Chorale); Mozart's Requiem (Fine Arts Chorale), Missa Brevis in F (Sommerville Choir), Exultate Jubilate (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal), Vesperae solennes de confessore (Somerville Choir); Händel's Messiah (College Park Players), L'Allego, il Pensieroso, ed il Moderato (Berlin Classic Players, Berliner Philharmonie); Pergolesi Stabat mater (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal); Schubert Mass in G (Highnam Choir and Orchestra); Dubois Seven Last Words of Christ (College Park Players); Vivaldi Gloria (Old North Concert Series); Vaughan Williams Dona nobis pacem (Tufts University Orchestra, cover); Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream (Longy Chamber Orchestra); Berg Sieben frühe Lieder (Kirchberg Chamber Music Festival); Mahler Rückert-Lieder (Berlin Song Festival); Strauss Vier letzte Lieder (Berlin Song Festival, Kirchberg Chamber Music Festival, Walbrook Music Trust, Galerieforum am Meer); Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasilieras No.5 (Kirchberg Chamber Music Festival) among others.
As a concert artist, Ms. Nikolov has also given numerous concert recitals in the United States and in Europe.
Soprano Anastasia Nikolov started her musical training at the age of 5, studying piano. She was a member of the Bulgarian National Theater Youth Ensemble, where she was cast in numerous main stage and touring productions. Her training at the National Theatre included acting, improvisation, Latin and folk dance. Other musical studies also included percussion and classical guitar.
Ms. Nikolov commenced her vocal training in Bulgaria and continued it at the Longy School of Music (Cambridge, Massachusetts) as a recipient of the Janet Irving Scholarship for Vocal Studies. She was a member of the Central Florida Lyric Opera Young Artists Program and was later invited to return as a main stage Resident Artist with the company.
Opera roles include: Woglinde in Das Rheingold (Berliner Wagner Gruppe); Elsa in Lohengrin (Berliner Wagner Gruppe); Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Violetta in La Traviata (Central Florida Lyric Opera; New London Opera Players, Fine Arts Chorale & Orchestra) Governess in Turn of the Screw (Opera Seria), Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Opera Seria, Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Nedda in Pagliacci (Central Florida Lyric Opera), Micaëla and Frasquita in Carmen, under the directorship of late legendary soprano Licia Albanese (Central Florida Lyric Opera); Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro (Central Florida Lyric Opera), Serpina in La serva padrona (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal, concertante).
Ms. Nikolov is a champion of new music. She has premiered works by prominent American and British composers such as Vartan Aghababian, Michael Djupstrom, Victoria Ellis, Heather Gilligan and Eric Sawyer; some of these works were written and dedicated to her. In addition to numerous song cycles and solo concert works with orchestra, she also created the role of Anna von Mildenburg in the new piece Geboren Alma Schindler (Berliner Opera Verein); the role of Member of the Chamber in the premiere performance of Eric Sawyer's Our American Cousin (Composers in Red Sneakers); and the title role in the world premiere of Victoria Ellis' opera Darling (One of Us Foundation).
Solo concert engagements include J.S. Bach Jauchzet Gott in alles Landen (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal), Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut (Old North Concert Series), Magnificat in D (Fine Arts Chorale), Missa brevis in A (Fine Arts Chorale); Mozart's Requiem (Fine Arts Chorale), Missa Brevis in F (Sommerville Choir), Exultate Jubilate (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal), Vesperae solennes de confessore (Somerville Choir); Händel's Messiah (College Park Players), L'Allego, il Pensieroso, ed il Moderato (Berlin Classic Players, Berliner Philharmonie); Pergolesi Stabat mater (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal); Schubert Mass in G (Highnam Choir and Orchestra); Dubois Seven Last Words of Christ (College Park Players); Vivaldi Gloria (Old North Concert Series); Vaughan Williams Dona nobis pacem (Tufts University Orchestra, cover); Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream (Longy Chamber Orchestra); Berg Sieben frühe Lieder (Kirchberg Chamber Music Festival); Mahler Rückert-Lieder (Berlin Song Festival); Strauss Vier letzte Lieder (Berlin Song Festival, Kirchberg Chamber Music Festival, Walbrook Music Trust, Galerieforum am Meer); Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasilieras No.5 (Kirchberg Chamber Music Festival) among others.
As a concert artist, Ms. Nikolov has also given numerous concert recitals in the United States and in Europe.