AMANDA HALGRIMSON-WALZER
(Deutsche Oper Berlin, Oper Köln, La Scala, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Opera Company, Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Prague Symphony, Berlin Philharmoniker)
RAINELLE KRAUSE
(Staatsoper Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Theater Basel, Dallas Opera, Royal Danish Opera,
Houston Grand Opera, Oper Köln, North Carolina Opera, Concertgebouw Amsterdam)
JANET WILLIAMS
(Metropolitan Opera, Berlin Staatsoper, Paris Opera, Frankfurt Opera,
Cologne Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera, Dallas Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre)
RACHEL ZATCOFF
(Broadway, New York City Opera, Anchorage Opera, West End, Israeli Opera House Tel Aviv,
Alte Oper Frankfurt, Syracuse Opera, Opera North)
(Deutsche Oper Berlin, Oper Köln, La Scala, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Opera Company, Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Prague Symphony, Berlin Philharmoniker)
RAINELLE KRAUSE
(Staatsoper Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Theater Basel, Dallas Opera, Royal Danish Opera,
Houston Grand Opera, Oper Köln, North Carolina Opera, Concertgebouw Amsterdam)
JANET WILLIAMS
(Metropolitan Opera, Berlin Staatsoper, Paris Opera, Frankfurt Opera,
Cologne Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera, Dallas Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre)
RACHEL ZATCOFF
(Broadway, New York City Opera, Anchorage Opera, West End, Israeli Opera House Tel Aviv,
Alte Oper Frankfurt, Syracuse Opera, Opera North)
JULIE WYMA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ANASTASIA INNISS, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
ANASTASIA INNISS, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
MASTERCLASS DESCRIPTION
The masterclass series brings together four internationally established coloraturas with very different career paths. Each of them will lead 120-minute masterclasses on everything coloratura - technique, repertoire from Baroque to cross-over, career, longevity, Fach transitions, image and so much more.
Artists will have the chance to sing for one or more of the masterclasses (up to all four) and be coached on the repertoire of their choice. In the beginning of each session each faculty member will speak shortly about their career path.
All Opera Programs Berlin's sessions are INTERACTIVE & ENGAGING, and we encourage artists to bring their questions and curiosity.
Artists will have the chance to sing for one or more of the masterclasses (up to all four) and be coached on the repertoire of their choice. In the beginning of each session each faculty member will speak shortly about their career path.
All Opera Programs Berlin's sessions are INTERACTIVE & ENGAGING, and we encourage artists to bring their questions and curiosity.
THE PROGRAM HAS NO AGE LIMIT
MASTERCLASS SESSIONS
Masterclass with
AMANDA HALGRIMSON-WALZER
Masterclass with
RAINELLE KRAUSE
Masterclass with
RACHEL ZATCOFF
Masterclass with
JANET WILLIAMS
AMANDA HALGRIMSON-WALZER
Masterclass with
RAINELLE KRAUSE
Masterclass with
RACHEL ZATCOFF
Masterclass with
JANET WILLIAMS
REGISTRATION
ACTIVE PARTICIPANT
The Masterclass Series will admit only up to 20 active participants.
Please note that all active participant spots have been filled. If you would like to be put on the waiting list for an active participant spot, please email [email protected].
To register as a passive participant/observer, please see below.
If you register as an ACTIVE PARTICIPANT, please email us to let us know which masterclass(es) you would like to sing for. Include your first and second choice. You can register for up to 4 masterclasses.
Register via your preferred payment method following the links below.
If you would like to apply for a scholarship, please see how below under 'Scholarships'.
Please note that all active participant spots have been filled. If you would like to be put on the waiting list for an active participant spot, please email [email protected].
To register as a passive participant/observer, please see below.
If you register as an ACTIVE PARTICIPANT, please email us to let us know which masterclass(es) you would like to sing for. Include your first and second choice. You can register for up to 4 masterclasses.
Register via your preferred payment method following the links below.
If you would like to apply for a scholarship, please see how below under 'Scholarships'.
SCHOLARSHIPS
Please note that all scholarships have been awarded.
Through the generous support of a private donor, we are able to give two full and a few partial merit-based scholarships for ACTIVE participants. If you would like to apply for a scholarship, please email us at [email protected] with:
If you are not applying for a scholarship, you can register to any fo the masterclass sessions above under 'Registration'.
- Curriculum Vitae/resume
- recordings of two arias/songs of free choice demonstrating coloratura singing
If you are not applying for a scholarship, you can register to any fo the masterclass sessions above under 'Registration'.
FACULTY
AMANDA HALGRIMSON-WALZER
Soprano Amanda Halgrimson-Walzer started her career with Chicago’s Grant Park Symphony after graduating from Northern Illinois University.
She performed two years with National Opera Company, traveling the US singing two hundred fifty performances. After singing Lucia and the Queen of the Night in Sacramento and Houston Grand she won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions and came to Europe in her debut as the Queen of the Night in the Netherlands. She moved on through the major houses in Europe including La Scala with Maestro Wolfgang Sawallisch.
Ms. Halgrimson-Walzer settled in Berlin Germany at the Deutsche Oper which was her home for 11 years. Amanda has sung everything from Handel to Wagner! Her recording career includes the Beethoven Missa Solemnis with Sir Roger Norrington and Gianluigi Gialmetti, The 9th of Beethoven with Norrington, Peter Maag, and the infamous “Matthausen 2000” performance at the concentration camp, with Sir Simon Rattle.
Ms. Halgrimson-Walzer's recordings include: The Beethoven 9th with Maestro Peter Maag. The Hummel Messe with Martin Haselböck, and The Creation as well with Haselböck Donna Anna in the EMI recording of Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Sir Roger Norrington and The Protagonist by Kurt Weil the role of Catherine with John Mauceri.
After 35 years in the business she retired from the stage but not from singing. She spends her time raising money for those in need and enjoying life with her husband Klaus, sons Charles, and Mark and his wife Nadja. Ms. Halgrimson-Walzer also has enjoyed teaching privately, sharing the wonderful things she learned from her voice teachers, Mae Barron, Dorothy Kittaka, Diane Ragains, Dr. Ronald Combs, Carlo Bergonzi, Renata Tebaldi, Richard Conrad and Dr. Irmgaard Hartmann.
Soprano Amanda Halgrimson-Walzer started her career with Chicago’s Grant Park Symphony after graduating from Northern Illinois University.
She performed two years with National Opera Company, traveling the US singing two hundred fifty performances. After singing Lucia and the Queen of the Night in Sacramento and Houston Grand she won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions and came to Europe in her debut as the Queen of the Night in the Netherlands. She moved on through the major houses in Europe including La Scala with Maestro Wolfgang Sawallisch.
Ms. Halgrimson-Walzer settled in Berlin Germany at the Deutsche Oper which was her home for 11 years. Amanda has sung everything from Handel to Wagner! Her recording career includes the Beethoven Missa Solemnis with Sir Roger Norrington and Gianluigi Gialmetti, The 9th of Beethoven with Norrington, Peter Maag, and the infamous “Matthausen 2000” performance at the concentration camp, with Sir Simon Rattle.
Ms. Halgrimson-Walzer's recordings include: The Beethoven 9th with Maestro Peter Maag. The Hummel Messe with Martin Haselböck, and The Creation as well with Haselböck Donna Anna in the EMI recording of Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Sir Roger Norrington and The Protagonist by Kurt Weil the role of Catherine with John Mauceri.
After 35 years in the business she retired from the stage but not from singing. She spends her time raising money for those in need and enjoying life with her husband Klaus, sons Charles, and Mark and his wife Nadja. Ms. Halgrimson-Walzer also has enjoyed teaching privately, sharing the wonderful things she learned from her voice teachers, Mae Barron, Dorothy Kittaka, Diane Ragains, Dr. Ronald Combs, Carlo Bergonzi, Renata Tebaldi, Richard Conrad and Dr. Irmgaard Hartmann.
RAINELLE KRAUSE
Known for her absolute precision and fiery coloratura, soprano Rainelle Krause is a versatile and compelling singer. She recently made debuts with Theater Basel as Tania in Al gran sole carico d'amore and with the Staatsoper Berlin, and Deutsche Oper Berlin as Die Königin der Nacht in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Other engagements include Pat Nixon in the Princeton Festival’s Nixon in China, the cover of Zerlina in Don Giovanni with The Dallas Opera, guest soloist with Voices of Change for their Holocaust memorial performance, and featured artist for Opus Opera’s event, Mystique, a circus and opera collaboration.
Performances for 2020-2021 included further engagements as Die Königin der Nacht in Die Zauberflöte with the Royal Danish Opera, Theater Basel, Staatsoper Berlin, and Deutsche Oper Berlin. The 2021-2022 season sees her as Oscar in Un ballo in maschera with Royal Danish Opera, debuts with Houston Grand Opera and Oper Köln for Die Zauberflöte, Die Zauberflöte with Theater Basel and North Carolina Opera, and the Princess in The Snow Queen under the baton of Kent Nagano in her debut with the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.
Ms. Krause has been awarded First Place in the Fielder Grant Competition, Third Place and Audience Favorite in the Orpheus Competition, and has been chosen as one of four winners in the Texas Camerata’s Baroque Aria Competition. She was a finalist in the Lois Alba Competition in Houston as well as the International Mildred Miller Competition in Pittsburgh, a Regional Finalist with the Metropolitan National Council Auditions in New Orleans and St. Louis, and a semi-finalist with the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation and Gari Foundation competitions in New York City. Ms. Krause trained as young artist with the Sankt Goar International Music Festival and Academy in Germany, the Opera Works Advanced Artist Program in Los Angeles in summer 2013, Opera Las Vegas in spring 2013, and the Taos Opera Institute and Opera Nova Costa Rica in 2012. In 2014, she was invited back to Taos as a guest artist, performing in venues all across Taos and Santa Fe.
Some Ms. Krause’s concert credits include a concert version of La Traviata with the Irving Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Plano Symphony Orchestra, Bach’s Jauchzet Gott with members of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Vaughan Williams' Dona nobis pacem and Haydn's Pauken messe with the Amarillo Master Chorale, Orff’s Carmina burana with the Plano Symphony, and Vivaldi’s Magnificat with the North minster Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis.
Ms. Krause has performed with Fort Worth's Casa Mañana Theatre in their production of The Sound of Music, as well as the Fort Worth Opera chorus in Le pêcheurs de perles, La Traviata, and Hamlet. She holds a Bachelor of Music (2010) and a Master of Music (2012) in Vocal Performance from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music in her hometown of Bloomington, IN. She currently lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and trains on aerial silks.
Known for her absolute precision and fiery coloratura, soprano Rainelle Krause is a versatile and compelling singer. She recently made debuts with Theater Basel as Tania in Al gran sole carico d'amore and with the Staatsoper Berlin, and Deutsche Oper Berlin as Die Königin der Nacht in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Other engagements include Pat Nixon in the Princeton Festival’s Nixon in China, the cover of Zerlina in Don Giovanni with The Dallas Opera, guest soloist with Voices of Change for their Holocaust memorial performance, and featured artist for Opus Opera’s event, Mystique, a circus and opera collaboration.
Performances for 2020-2021 included further engagements as Die Königin der Nacht in Die Zauberflöte with the Royal Danish Opera, Theater Basel, Staatsoper Berlin, and Deutsche Oper Berlin. The 2021-2022 season sees her as Oscar in Un ballo in maschera with Royal Danish Opera, debuts with Houston Grand Opera and Oper Köln for Die Zauberflöte, Die Zauberflöte with Theater Basel and North Carolina Opera, and the Princess in The Snow Queen under the baton of Kent Nagano in her debut with the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.
Ms. Krause has been awarded First Place in the Fielder Grant Competition, Third Place and Audience Favorite in the Orpheus Competition, and has been chosen as one of four winners in the Texas Camerata’s Baroque Aria Competition. She was a finalist in the Lois Alba Competition in Houston as well as the International Mildred Miller Competition in Pittsburgh, a Regional Finalist with the Metropolitan National Council Auditions in New Orleans and St. Louis, and a semi-finalist with the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation and Gari Foundation competitions in New York City. Ms. Krause trained as young artist with the Sankt Goar International Music Festival and Academy in Germany, the Opera Works Advanced Artist Program in Los Angeles in summer 2013, Opera Las Vegas in spring 2013, and the Taos Opera Institute and Opera Nova Costa Rica in 2012. In 2014, she was invited back to Taos as a guest artist, performing in venues all across Taos and Santa Fe.
Some Ms. Krause’s concert credits include a concert version of La Traviata with the Irving Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Plano Symphony Orchestra, Bach’s Jauchzet Gott with members of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Vaughan Williams' Dona nobis pacem and Haydn's Pauken messe with the Amarillo Master Chorale, Orff’s Carmina burana with the Plano Symphony, and Vivaldi’s Magnificat with the North minster Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis.
Ms. Krause has performed with Fort Worth's Casa Mañana Theatre in their production of The Sound of Music, as well as the Fort Worth Opera chorus in Le pêcheurs de perles, La Traviata, and Hamlet. She holds a Bachelor of Music (2010) and a Master of Music (2012) in Vocal Performance from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music in her hometown of Bloomington, IN. She currently lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and trains on aerial silks.
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.
RACHEL ZATCOFF
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Rachel Zatcoff is a Broadway actress and classically trained soprano. Rachel recently completed a year and a half run Off-Broadway as Tsaytl in Fiddler on the Roof (in Yiddish) directed by Joel Grey. She made her Broadway debut as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera. She has also performed with the International Tour of West Side Story in the role of Maria.
Rachel made her New York City Opera debut in Candide directed by Hal Prince. She later made her principal debut at the company with the new jazz opera, Dear Erich, in the role of Lili. Other favorite performances include A Little Night Music at Syracuse Opera, The Secret Garden at TUTS, and Street Scene at Opera North.
Rachel enjoys drinking red wine, talking to the moon, being a libra, eating all of the cheese, performing, auditioning, reading, teaching, learning, and celebrating life in New York City. Her favorite roles are wife to Seth and mama to Alfie.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Rachel Zatcoff is a Broadway actress and classically trained soprano. Rachel recently completed a year and a half run Off-Broadway as Tsaytl in Fiddler on the Roof (in Yiddish) directed by Joel Grey. She made her Broadway debut as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera. She has also performed with the International Tour of West Side Story in the role of Maria.
Rachel made her New York City Opera debut in Candide directed by Hal Prince. She later made her principal debut at the company with the new jazz opera, Dear Erich, in the role of Lili. Other favorite performances include A Little Night Music at Syracuse Opera, The Secret Garden at TUTS, and Street Scene at Opera North.
Rachel enjoys drinking red wine, talking to the moon, being a libra, eating all of the cheese, performing, auditioning, reading, teaching, learning, and celebrating life in New York City. Her favorite roles are wife to Seth and mama to Alfie.
