Halifax Summer Opera Festival and Workshop

Some roles still available for 2013 Halifax Summer Opera Workshop

admin — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 01:06:28 +0000

Are you interested in performing in Halifax with the Halifax Summer Opera Workshop or with the Yorkshire Opera Workshop in England this summer? We’re looking to fill a few places. While there are offers out on some of these roles, if the individuals don’t respond, or respond negatively, we want a possible backup Apply now (application fee waived – scholarships available in some cases)

INFORMATION HERE: http://halifaxsummeroperaworkshop.com/?page_id=476

Yorkshire Opera Workshop – May 5 to May 25 in Saltburn, Yorkshire, England

***We need one or two tenors – for Scorpio in Seymour Barab’s Mushroom Pizza and for the Sailor in Dido and Aeneas – we are willing to offer a full scholarship for a tenor for this place as well as a nice place to stay for the first successful applicant.

Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas (mezzo) – one role available

Aeneas/Count Formaggio (baritone) – one role available

Halifax Summer Opera Workshop – July 22 to August 18 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Le nozze di Figaro – with orchestra

Antonio (bass baritone) – 2 roles available

Les dialogues des carmélites – with piano

Marquis de la Force (baritone) – 1 or 2 roles available

The Jailor/Second officer (baritone)– 2 roles available at chorus price ($600)

Chorus members – 1 role available at chorus price ($600)

A Little Night Music – with piano

Madame Armfeldt (contralto) – 1 role available.

Mr Erlanson (tenor)– 2 roles available

Mrs Nordstrom (mezzo)– 1 role possibly available

Petra (mezzo) – 1 role possibly available

To apply for any of these roles please fill in the form on the HSOW website. You’ll be given an opportunity to upload files, send us links or mail in your materials, and you’ll also be given access to a scholarship form you can fill out.

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Blair Salter named Music Director for A Little Night Music with Halifax Summer Opera Workshop 2013

admin — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 15:31:38 +0000

I’m so happy to announce that collaborative pianist Blair Salter will be joining us as the music director for Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music next summer!

Blair is a recent graduate of the University of Western Ontario’s Master of Music program in Collaborative Piano where she studied with John Hess and Mark Payne. Her credits include work with the Canadian Operatic Arts Academy, Opera NUOVA, La Musica Lirica in Novafeltria, Italy and UWOpera’s productions of La Griselda in 2011 and Die Fledermaus in 2012.

Welcome to the faculty, Blair!

Nina Scott-Stoddart
Artistic Director

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Audition Update – Friday and Sunday are Full, Saturday still has some space

Marja — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:50:34 +0000

Hello Everyone,

Just a quick update on the audition tour. Our Wednesday auditions in London are over. Thanks to everyone who auditioned there – some very fabulous singers!

Friday night auditions in Toronto are full, though there may be some last minute cancellations. Let me know if you wish to be added to the cancellation list.

Saturday (also in Toronto) still has a few audition spaces left, mostly around 5:00 pm.

Sunday in Montreal is full. If you haven’t been able to book your audition, but have paid for an audition slot, please email me, and I will manually book you a time.

Tuesday in Halifax still has some slots still available.

If you are suffering from illness, or are unable to attend your audition for any other reason, let me know as soon as you have a chance. You are permitted to switch your audition type to a distance application if you wish – the deadline for distance applications is November 30.

Regards,

Marja Ernst
Administrator & Producer
HSOW

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Announcing HSOW “Extras” for 2013

Marja — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:38:15 +0000

At HSOW, we strive to keep your tuition low, and realize that many programs charge far more than participants can afford to spend, especially as attending one usually means giving up on a summer job. Unfortunately, this means that our budgets are quite limited, and we can only afford to provide so many services.

However, we also realize that you may be able to afford more than the base tuition. If this is the case, you may wish to take advantage of our list of ‘extra’ offerings, which can be purchased separately from your base HSOW tuition.

Please comment and tell us what you think of our extras, and let us know if there is anything else you would like to see added to the list!

WHAT YOUR TUITION COVERS

Stagecraft 101 Classes:
Taught by Nina Scott-Stoddart and Ed Franko during the first two weeks of the workshop, these classes are designed to introduce you to the basic stagecraft that all actors and singers should know: starting with the basics of working on stage with Ed and leading to how to act for singers with Nina. Through the use of group exercises and libretto work students will get coaching and feedback to help them bring authenticity to their performances.

Vocal Coaching:
Each of our productions has an associated Vocal Coach, with whom you will work for for the first two weeks of the workshop. During the first two days, they will sit in on the music rehearsals, see where you are vocally, and determine where you most need work. Later, you will have two one half hour sessions working on what they deem most necessary to enable you to perform your role to your fullest potential.

Masterclasses:
HSOW offers a variety of masterclasses, from diction and singing to acting and auditioning. You are encouraged to attend all masterclasses, and are guaranteed one masterclass performance slot.

Production:
Provided you come with your role well rehearsed and memorized, you will perform in two performances of your show’s production, and may be asked to sing in our “A Night at the Opera” (public concert) or “Thanks from HSOW” (private concert for fundraisers, sponsors, and donors) concerts.

EXTRAS PACKAGES

Alexander Technique:
Series of nine 45 minute classes: $90
For the sum of $90, you can attend a series of nine structured Alexander Technique classes offered during the first two weeks of our workshop. These are offered by Tasha Miller of Alexander Technique Atlantic, who is also a singer, and has taught Alexander Technique for over 20 years. Classes will be held at the Dalhousie Arts Centre, and private one-on-one tuition is available should you wish to continue your studies following the first two weeks of classes.

Waltzing 101:
Two one hour classes: $25
Every opera singer should know the basics of dancing, and the waltz is one of the most used in the operatic field. Join Andrew Pelrine as he offers two one hour workshops in this fun and useful form of dance. The cost is only $25 to participate. This will be especially beneficial for those in A Little Night Music.

Vocal Coaching:
2 extra coaching sessions: $70
4 extra coaching sessions: $120
8 extra coaching sessions: $200

You are guaranteed two half hour vocal coachings with your production’s vocal coach as part of your base tuition. However, should you wish to continue with more in-depth vocal coachings, you can purchase one of our extra vocal coaching packages. These come in quantities of two, four, and eight, and each session is one half hour of vocal coaching. When you sign up to for one of these packages, please specify whether you would like to exclusively study with your production’s vocal coach, or whether you would like the chance to study with any of HSOW’s other fine coaches as well

Advanced Vocal or Dramatic Studies:
Book an extra slot with one of our guest masterclass leaders. These have very limited availability, so please book early to avoid disappointment! Their rates will vary.

Lorna MacDonald – voice
Jessica McCormack – voice
Andrew Pickett – voice
Anthony Radford – voice and acting
Nina Scott-Stoddart – acting
Edward Franko – acting
Lucy Hayes-Davis – voice and diction

Should you be accepted into HSOW, you will be sent a form detailing these extras in your acceptance package, and you can choose to opt in or not. Have any questions? Email Marja

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Application deadline extended — Friday Nov. 9 auditions in Toronto totally full

Marja — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:10:41 +0000

WE WILL ACCEPT APPLICATIONS FOR IN PERSON AUDITIONS AS LONG AS WE HAVE AUDITION SPOTS AVAILABLE — at the moment only Toronto on Friday November 9 is totally booked — there are some spaces available at all other auditions.

APPLICATIONS for distance auditions, uploaded digitally, will be accepted until November 30.

The Friday night auditions are booked to the max, but there is still room on Saturday afternoon. If you’ve applied, and are having trouble scheduling a slot, do contact us and let us know!

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Leaving for audition tour today

admin — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 13:56:58 +0000

I’m leaving for the airport for the 2012 Audition Tour for HSOW and YOW.

We’re accepting applications right up until auditions are full this week. We’re close, but still have some times available.

If you need to make changes or ask questions, please contact Marja Ernst, our Administrator and Producer, at marjae@eastlink.ca. If you have to reach me, personally, I’ll be on my mobile. Text, emails or calls — 902 521 8577 There will be long periods of time when I cannot answer, because I’ll be in a plane, or listening to lovely singers, or driving :) Text messages might be best!

Can’t wait to see you all!

Nina

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Sondheim’s A Little Night Music added to HSOW’s 2013 lineup

admin — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 01:41:10 +0000

Because we’ve had to put off our productions of City Workers in Love for a year, we’ve made some replacements for the programs of both the Halifax Summer Opera Festival and Workshop and the Yorkshire Opera Workshop.

We’re thrilled to announce that the third show for HSOW will now be Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. This will replace City Workers in Love and Seven Deadly Sins. We’ve long wanted to offer a musical theatre piece as part of the workshop, and this will let us explore that repertoire. Look for special workshops and masterclasses focusing on musical theatre repertoire and skills, including Andrew Pelrine’s Waltzing 101 :) Sondheim is a great cross-over composer whose work I think should be studied by both classical and musical theatre singers.

The repertoire forfor YOW will now be Dido and Aeneas and Mushroom Pizza.

You can find more information about these shows on the websites:

A Little Night Music: http://halifaxsummeroperaworkshop.com/?page_id=11

Dido and Aeneas: http://yorkshireoperaworkshop.com/?page_id=25

We’ve updated the application form.

If you’ve already filled in the form for one or both of the workshops, we will automatically consider you for one of these roles, depending on the workshop you’ve chosen.

If you’re auditioning in person, you’ll have a chance to fill in another form at the audition where you can indicate your role preferences: you don’t need to contact us.

If you’re sending in a distance application, we’ve extended the deadline to November 10 (for postmarked auditions) and November 30 (for uploaded digital auditions). If you want to indicate a strong preference from the new repertoire, please feel free to email us or upload a covering letter. We’ll make sure it gets put with the rest of your package.

If the only shows you were interested in were City Workers in Love or Seven Deadly Sins, then please contact us, and withdraw your application. We’ll refund your fee.

I hope that if you have a serious interest in exploring musical theatre that you’ll consider HSOW 2013!Sincerely,

Nina

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HSOW is proud to announce our new Internship Program!

Marja — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 18:55:16 +0000

At HSOW, we want to support not only our singers and performers, but production personnel as well. For our 2013 season, we are proud to support internships in collaborative piano, stage directing, stage management, arts administration and publicity.

An internship is an excellent stepping stone to bridge the gap between training and a career. These positions are unpaid, but offer hands on, practical, meaningful experience in your discipline all in a supportive and non-exploitative environment.

July 22nd – August 18th, 2013

Internships are available for the following positions:

Collaborative Pianists
If you have a real interest in working with opera singers, experience accompanying singers and are a very proficient sight reader, this position may be for you. As a key member of the musical team, you will be assigned to coachings, repetiteur work, and accompanying masterclasses or one of the extra concerts and events. This is a great way to get the experience to supplement your education in collaborative piano.

Assistant Directors (July 22 – August 9)
You will be assigned to one of the three shows and given opportunities to assist and observe our directors at work as well as potentially being given hands-on time actually directing, depending on your experience and aptitude.

Assistant Stage Managers
You will be assigned to one of the three operas and will work closely with the Stage Manager for that opera, gaining hands on experience depending on your experience and aptitude. Typical duties might include attending production meetings, dealing with props, running rehearsals, notating blocking, and working backstage during performances.

Intern Assistant Producer (July 22 or earlier to August 9)
The successful applicant will assist Producer Marja Ernst in scheduling, attending production meetings, working with participants, keeping financial records, updating the website, overseeing the guest blogging program and other activities based on experience and aptitude.

Intern Assistant Publicist (July 1 to August 9)
This can be an entirely distance position, or a distance position from July 1 to July 22, and an onsite position from July 22 to August 9. You will assist Producer and Administrator Marja Ernst in contacting media outlets, arranging interviews, distributing promotional materials, updating our website, blogging, and various other publicity related tasks based on experience and aptitude. You ideally have either a strong interest or training in publicity for arts related events. This position would require approximately 10 hours per week leading up to the workshop, and can be combined with the assistant producer position during the workshop if desired.

All interns and assistants may attend all HSOW events for free — acting classes, masterclasses, rehearsals (as your schedule allows) and all performances.

These are non-paying positions, but we give really good references and we’re a positive and supportive group of people to work with.

Any questions? Feel free to ask Nina or Marja!

To complete the online form, you’ll need the name, email address and phone numbers of three references, plus your cv or resume and a covering letter explaining why you want to intern with HSOW (these latter two documents can be in .doc, .pdf or .rtf formats). You’ll upload them right on the form.

Application Form for Internships

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Extra time added to Toronto auditions on Friday November 9.

admin — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 15:11:39 +0000

We have a very busy audition week coming up next week, and were totally booked for Friday evening in Toronto on November 9. We’ve just added some more time there: there are now slots available for 5 pm to 6 pm and 9:10 to 9:30 pm.

Can’t wait to see you all!

Nina

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Auditions now being scheduled for Halifax, NS — Tuesday November 13

admin — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 14:52:30 +0000

We now have a location and times for the Halifax auditions for the Halifax Summer Opera Workshop and Yorkshire Opera Workshop. We’ll be hearing singiners in Halifax on Tuesday November 13, from 3 to 7 pm in room 121 of the Dalhousie Arts Centre at 6101 University Avenue, Halifax.

Check out the Application Requirements and then fill in the Application Form and we’ll see you in Halifax!

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