Opera Making

VAL 5. Experience in an opera production: assistant stage direction

(Title to be announced)

Period of the EOA module in 2023-2024:

From 1 March 2024 to 30 April 2024

(Easter holidays from 29 March to 8 April 2024)

Description of the EOA module:

  • Specific training working in the preparation of a fully staged opera production (title to be announced).
  • This includes:
    • Spanish language training
    • Working with the scenic director, set designer, costume designer, lighting designer, and the producer, as well as the singers, pianists and the choir
    • Ensemble rehearsals with the orchestra, stage director, conductor, choir and singers
    • Dress rehearsal with the orchestra, stage director, conductor, choir and singers

Opera performances in our Auditorium and other venues

Specialty of this module in comparison with other courses:

Valencia is a major cultural centre and encourages immersion into the professional opera and music scene:  Palau de les Arts Opera House, concerts and presentations by major international musicians,..

In addition, there are many events and festivals throughout the year (i.e. Las Fallas). With a rich history in modern architectural masterpieces (City of Arts and Sciences), Valencia’s deep, multicultural roots, cosmopolitan flavor, and warm climate to make it a true Mediterranean gem.

Also, Valencia is one of Spain’s (and Europe’s) most affordable cities for student accommodation.

Names of the professors of this module: 

  • Stage director: Jaume Martorell
  • Costume designer: Miguel Ángel Jiménez
  • Producer: TBA
  • Set designer: TBA
  • Lightning designer: TBA

Possible extras besides the module:

Masterclasses

Participation in other projects:

  • “Ópera sofa”: Concerts of highlights from operas performed in other venues.

Attending opera performances at Palau de les Arts

Exchange and collaboration with other students of the Conservatory working on the same production

Number of teaching/production hours of the EOA module: 

Teaching: The first 8 weeks

  • Spanish language training
  • Working with the scenic director, set designer, costume designer, lighting designer, and the producer, as well as the singers, pianists and the choir

Production: The following 4 weeks

  • Ensemble rehearsals with piano, stage director, conductor, choir and singers
  • Ensemble rehearsals with the orchestra, stage director, conductor, choir and singers
  • Dress rehearsal with the orchestra, stage director, conductor, choir and singers

Opera performances in our Auditorium and other venues

Number of ECTS: 

25 ECTS

Entrance examination:

Contact the coordinator:

Charo Vallés

master.opera@csmvalencia.es

The materials to submit with your application are:

  • CV
  • Repertoire
  • Two Videos (it can be a link to YouTube or any other platform)

Deadline:

  • 1st deadline: 1 June  2023
  • 2nd deadline: 15 September 2023

Date for expected answers:

  • 1st deadline: 15 June 2023
  • 2nd deadline: 30 September 2023

Description of the final Examination:

Public performance of a fully staged chamber opera at the Concert Hall of the Conservatory Superior of Music

Teaching language:

Spanish, English, Italian, French and German

Total expenses of the EOA module per student and what is included/excluded in this price:

  • Free for students in Erasmus Programme
  • Module is available within an Erasmus exchange
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GEN 4. So British!

Period of the EOA module in 2023-2024:

From 22 April to 23 June 2024

Open for:

  • 1-4 students

Content:

At the centre of this module is a fully staged opera production with orchestra of The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten. Students will prepare their roles with students studying on the repetiteur course and their respective teachers whilst receiving regular singing lessons from teachers in our vocal department.

Special attention will be paid to English pronunciation through individual diction lessons. 

At the beginning of May 2024, students also have the possibility of participating in a masterclass centering on operatic repertoire and art song in English.

Pianists who wish to join this module will be coached by teachers of collaborative piano course, take part in the English repertoire master class and also play in the rehearsals during the production of the Turn of the Screw. 

Kind of voice and role:

The singers can apply for these roles:

  • The Governess
  • Mrs Grose
  • Miss Jessel
  • Quint

Speciality of this module in comparison with other courses in Europe:

An opportunity for singers and pianists to perfect their knowledge of the English repertoire and to participate as a soloist/repetiteur in a full-scale production of The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten.

Name(s) of the professor(s) of this module:

  • Stuart Patterson, vocal studies, master class
  • Susanne Schimmack, vocal studies
  • Yves Coudray, stage director
  • Sacha Michon, diction
  • Nina Uhari and James Alexander, musical coaching for the singers and the pianists

Possible extras:

  • This module is open for Alumni students who have graduated in 2022 at the latest
  • Possibility to follow opera rehearsals at the Grand Théâtre de Genève

Number of ECTS:

24 ECTS

Entrance examination:

Required repertoire:

  • If the participant would like to audition for the production/scenic project, he/she should send a good quality video with an English aria by 15th of May 2023.

Description of the final examination:

  • Progress examination
  • and final public performance (only in Full time module)

Total expenses of the EOA module per student and what is included/ excluded in this price:

  • Full time module: free for students in Erasmus Programme (Swiss Mobility Programme)

Communication language:

English and French

Deadline for application:

  • 1st deadline: 8 May 2023. Answers from EOA are expected on 8 June 2023
  • 2nd deadline: 1 September 2023. Answers on 15 September 2023
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STO 2. Site specific opera performance

Period of the EOA module in 2023-2024:

Autumn semester 2023:

  • 28 August – 28 October 2023 (possible extension to 12/1 2024)
  • Open for: 1 to 3 vocal students

Content:

In this module, the singer students explore how working in other venues and spaces than the opera theatre can influence music-dramatic expression. The students work on selected Opera scenes with a stage director and an opera coach/pianist, and bring their work into the chosen venue to stage a performance for a small audience. The students, together with the teachers, take an active part in deciding how to use the chosen space and how to place the audience in the chosen space.  Recently the venue has been the “Reactor Hall” of the Stockholm institute of Technology, an underground former nuclear reactor plant, now an exciting cultural venue for the Institute of Technology. The module, besides the stage work in preparation for the performance, includes singing lessons, musical interpretation sessions. It also includes coaching in Italian lyric diction where appropriate to the chosen repertoire. The repertoire is for the performance is chosen in June and will be based on the vocal and dramatic needs of the students.

The module can be extended to include the entire term  into December with  work on a staged concert with conductor and piano or orchestra.

Name(s) of the professor(s) of this module:

  • Stina Ancker, Assistant professor of music dramatic performance
  • Martin Hellström, Assistant professor of musical performance

Number of ECTS:

13,5-30  ECTS

ca. 120 hours

Possible extras:

  • seminars on aspects of opera as an artform and of the opera singer’s profession
  • seminars on artistic research

Entrance examination:

We choose our EOA-students via recorded material. With the application we need recordings of sound and video. Formats:

  • Sound: Wav or AIFF
  • Video: Mov or mp4

Description of final examination:

  • Students are examined through the staged performance in the chosen space, through the staged concert and a subsequent reflective discussion in the group.

Teaching language/ Required level of language:

  • Communication language: EN, level 5

Total expenses of the EOA module per student and what is included / excluded in this price:

  • There are no tuition fees for EU/EES citizens

Deadline for application:

  • 1st deadline: 8 May 2023. Answers from EOA are expected on 8 June 2023
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POR 3 A. Preparing an Operatic Production for Stage Designers: Stage Design with Technical Supervision (Costume, Set and Light Design)

Period of the EOA module in 2023-2024

8 October 2023 – 28 January 2024

Description of the module

Stage Design with Technical Supervision (Costume, Set and Light Design)

Stage Design is, of course, divided according to specialties (Costume, Set and Light Design), and the aim of each module now offered within each specialty is to facilitate technical and artistry improvement through the use of different and specialised techniques and knowledge, according to the philosophy of building up costumes, sets and light designs within the preparation and performance of specialised operatic repertoire (from Baroque to Contemporary repertoire). The emphasis is on artistry within the process of making an opera. Each year there will be a different Opera Production which will be the aim (Part B) and consequence of this Module development (Part A). This module (within the different specialties now offered) has as the goal to enable the student autonomy, both in achieving methodological processes as well as the consolidation of a Stage Design and an artistic identity. This process will bring the student a new approach to Opera and Opera making, and it will enable the student to experience a live performance in front of an audience.

Name(s) of the professor(s) of this module:

  • Costume Design – Manuela Bronze
  • Set Design: Helder Maia/Marta Silva
  • Light Design: Rui Damas

    Besides that, Porto is a culturally interesting and beautiful city. Here you can profit from the musical and cultural activity at Casa da Música of Porto, a very active cultural point in the city, as well as the Teatro Nacional de São João, Rivoli Theatrre and Coliseum of Porto.

    Minimum and maximum number of EOA students

    1-4 students

    Number of teaching/production hours of the EOA module

    • 10 -12 hours individual tuition
    • 45 hours group work

    Number of ECTS within master accreditation

    Up to 20 ECTS

    Entrance examination

    • CV
    • Portfolio
    • Video recording or link to video recording
    • Interview (The student will be contacted by ESMAE professors after assessing his/her materials)

    Deadline for application:

    • 1st deadline: 8 May 2023. Answers from EOA are expected on 8 June 2023

    Teaching language

    English – level 3

    Total expenses of the EOA

    • This module is only available within Erasmus exchange (Master´s level), during the academic year 2023/24.
    • Students must provide their own accommodation, meals and traveling costs.
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