Alessandro Siciliani, Music Director
PO Box 14185
Columbus, OH 43214
www.operaprojectcolumbus.com
Opera Project Columbus is proud of its successful VIVA Festival, Virtual Intensive Vocal Academy which took place in late June.
Alessandro Siciliani, Music Director of Opera Project Columbus said of the festival, “Like many things right now, we needed something to keep our mission alive to help these artists maintain their skills. The subject matter of the VIVA classes was essential to the operatic career, and we were happy to offer them. We are looking forward to more VIVA classes in the future.”
Opera Project Columbus is one of the very few opera companies to offer continued educational opportunities during the Summer of 2020. Summer vocal festivals around the world have been canceled due to COVID-19. These festivals are pertinent to the training and continued education of vocal artists around the world. Opera Project Columbus was able to fill the void of these canceled festivals with a sold-out program welcoming vocal artist participants from across the globe, with many specific to Central Ohio. The courses, carefully selected by Opera Project Columbus’ Artistic Administrator, Ed Bak, covered a wide range of topics and dove deep into topics that are not typically covered. The faculty that conducted the classes are the highest regarded experts in their field.
Participants left the series noting that they gained knowledge, experience, motivation, perception, and had some wonderful feedback, some listed below.
“Each course was spectacular and I especially loved how each was different in content and rich with knowledge. I liked how they were laid out and offered a new perspective on a new topic each day. The speakers were clearly very well prepared and taught me so much more than I have ever known. I am so glad that so many topics were covered and talked about because it truly helped to open my eyes to the profession as a whole and not just one or two aspects of the career.”
“There was so much information each and every day that I found to be extremely helpful in my own professional and personal development as a musician and performer. Each day brought about new and exciting topics that taught me more than I have ever known about the field. The last class with Emilio Pons was especially enlightening in learning about the many realities of the profession. I enjoyed and retained all of the incredible advice and knowledge from each of the speakers and I am so grateful for the opportunity to have been able to learn from them.”
“The most valuable information came from the opera business discussion led by Mr. Pons. It was a revealing and sometimes a bit of a reality check into aspirations of being a successful international opera singer. It covered so many aspects of the industry.”
“My overall impressions are that the courses are geared towards highlighting the components of classical singing that aren’t really discussed much in-depth (at least in my experience) but are of high importance. The courses provided me with an “inside look” of what a profession in classical singing is really like. The VIVA Festival lectures were also diverse in the subject matter which is also obliging to what a young artist is looking for in value and enrichment.”
The esteemed faculty consisted of Ed Bak, Vocal coach and Artistic Administrator for Opera Project Columbus, with a course “The Music of Language”; Wendy Taucher, NYC stage director and choreographer, offered a course on “Performance skills for opera singers”; We welcomed Giuseppe Filianoti, Leading International Tenor, who taught a class on Italian text and recitative, “Singing the Italian Language” which will focus on the Italian language and proper pronunciation and articulation; Photographer and Makeup Artist, Devon Cass, covered the importance of image and how to create the strongest presentation with “How to get the Perfect Headshot and Image” and we rounded out the week with Emilio Pons, Founder of Sankt Goar International Academy, who joined us in a frank discussion about “Auditioning in Europe.” How to avoid pitfalls and common mistakes while seeking work in Europe and how to gain an advantage in overseas auditions. All of the classes were full of important information that the students would not have otherwise had access too. The feedback from participants was that they wanted more time with each of the faculty and that what they learned was invaluable. Opera Project Columbus is thrilled that they have more VIVA series in the works and will be making announcements when registration opens for each session.
While many performance organizations are on hiatus, Opera Project Columbus is proud to be able to continue to engage with our talent as well as our patrons with continuing educational opportunities such as VIVA Festival and our virtual opera, Una Furtiva Lagrima, which has been one of the only virtual operas done in perfection while all musicians and vocalist performed in separate locations. Quite a feat and one that we are very proud of.
Opera Project Columbus
Opera Project Columbus is a non-profit organization founded in 2011. We seek out, find, and nurture raw and emerging operatic talent as we reinvent the art form to appeal to contemporary audiences. We also aim to grow and raise the standards of the Central Ohio arts community by infusing it with our unique brand of opera. The company is led by Alessandro Siciliani, Artistic and Music Director. The company has received support from The Columbus Foundation/Ingram-White Castle Foundation, the Ohio Arts Council, and the Greater Columbus Art Council.
Contact: leslie@operaprojectcolumbus.com