Washington National Opera's Opera Institute at American University

ills as performers while exploring how to use their full array of talents to build a life for themselves, a better field, and a better world. About the 2023 Program:

We are seeking future change-makers in the field of opera. After over 20 years of programming, we took time in the fall of 2021 to look at the needs of 21st-Century artists, aspiring opera professionals, and a dynamic and changing field to determine how we can ensure we are providing the best pre-professional training possible for our students. In the summer of 2022, we piloted a fully revamped program under the leadership of newly appointed Artistic Co-Leads Raymond O. Caldwell and Dr. Carl DuPont. This curriculum focused on:
- Building singers’ agency to effectively express their own ideas and to direct their own career paths
- Instruction in vocal and theatrical performance, with an focus on improvisation and students leading the creative process
- The 2023 program is open to high school singers from around the country (and beyond!) who are eager to examine their own potential as artists, creators, collaborators, and changemakers alongside their fellow students and our incredible faculty. The program will be held at the REACH at the Kennedy Center. The 2023 program will include:
- Vocal Training: Voice lessons, coachings, and master classes
- Theatrical Training: Instruction in fundamental aspects of acting and theater, with an emphasis on improv theater
- Repertoire: The opportunity to explore varied and diverse repertoire appropriate for teenaged voices; music by women, BIPOC, and American composers and writers will be featured alongside frequently performed works from the canon
- Citizen Artistry: Exploring the connections between one’s art, values, and communities
- College and Career Skills: Practical information sessions on topics such as finances, auditions, college applications, and navigating the professional world
- Student-Driven Performances: Our students understand that they must create the change—and the art—they want to see in the world. With an understanding that successful 21st-Century artists use a broad toolbox of skills as collaborators, contributors, and producers of their own creative projects, students will co-create unique performances with guidance from Institute faculty. These performances will include a short recital of opera scenes and both musical and theatrical improv games, and a culminating showcase in which students will perform an original opera co-created with one another and faculty during the course of the Institute, connecting art songs with their own writing and improvisation. The Kennedy Center welcomes all applicants. Scholarships and application fee waivers are available. See www.kennedy-center.org/operainstitute for more information.