top_tabs University of Alabama College of Arts and Sciences
Opera

 

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Paul Houghtaling, Director

***** Announcing THE DRUID CITY OPERA WORKSHOP hosted by the University of Alabama,  a pre-professional training program – May 16-28, 2010.  Click here for more information.

*** The UA Opera Theatre advanced to the finals in the National Opera Association’s (NOA) Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition.  Scenes from Menotti’s The Medium and Weill’s Street Scene were submitted on video; both were selected and were performed live at the NOA National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia on January 7, the same day that the UA football team the Crimson Tide won BCS national championship in Pasadena, California.  There IS more than football at Alabama!!

Opera at Alabama is exciting!

opera1Our training program includes opera as well as musical theater styles ranging from the Baroque to the 21st century. We perform Verdi and Sondheim, Monteverdi and Cole Porter, Mozart and Bernstein, side by side because we believe versatilty leads to marketability.  We study the art of the singer-actor, applying skills to the rehearsal process to bring music and theater to life on the stage.  We offer students the tools needed to have a career in the business today and the chance to find who you are as a performer. Join us in the pursuit of excellence in our craft, and start your career at the University of Alabama!

The UA Opera Theatre is a comprehensive opera and musical theatre training program encompassing:

  • Split-level opera workshop, with classes appropriate to all experience levels
  • Individual attention and personalized career guidance
  • Aria/song audition class
  • Improvisation, dance, movement, stage combat classes
  • Stage makeup classes
  • Technical theatre experience
  • Directing experience for graduate students and upperclassmen
  • Scenes, one-acts, and full productions with piano and orchestra
  • Visiting artists and instructors including managers, agents, conductors

2009-2010 visiting artist/instructors include (more TBA):

  • Kevin Chance – vocal coach
  • Andy Anderson – Artistic Director, Mobile Opera
  • Marian Montevani – acting, mask techniques
  • Guy Fauchon – acting
  • Jo Ann Kulesza – vocal coach
  • Paolo d’Alba – Alexander Technique

2008-09 visiting artist/instructors included:

  • Natalia Rivera – vocal coach
  • Kevin Chance – vocal coach
  • Elaine Sisman – opera history, Haydn opera
  • Noelle Partusch – ballet
  • Darin Michael Cabot – stage combat
  • Marian Montevani – acting, clown work
  • Emma Cullimore – stage make-up

2007-2008 visiting artist/instructors included:

  • Martha Wade, Wade Artist Management, New York
  • Victoria DaCosta - ballroom/Latin dance
  • John Virciglio – hip-hop dance
  • Darin Michael Cabot - stage combat 

Click here for photos of classes in action!

Click here for links to videos of past opera performances.

2009-2010 UA Opera Theatre season will include:

  • Masque:Music that Haunts – Friday, October 30 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 1 at 3:00 p.m. For more information (click here for photos)
  • The Gondoliers by Gilbert & Sullivan - March 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m. and March 7 at 3:00 p.m. For more information, click here.
  • One Night Only:  An Evening of Broadway Favorites – Tuesday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m. For more information, click here.

2008-09 UA Opera Theatre season included:

  • Suns, Moons, and Stars:  Celestial Music for the Stage (click here for photos)
  • Sister Angelica (Puccini)(click here for photos)
  • Pagliacci (Leoncavallo, sung in Italian with English supertitles)  (click here for photos)
  • One Night Only: an Annual Evening of Broadway Favorites

2007-08 UA Opera Theatre season included:

  • The Promise of Living: Scenes of Life and Love (click here for photos)
  • The Merry Widow (click here for photos)

Other recent full productions include:

  • La Bohème
  • The Magic Flute
  • Amahl and the Night Visitors
  • The Crucible
  • The Tragedy of Carmen
  • Cosi fan tutte