The Peabody Opera Theatre Program mounts about eight productions each year, for a combined total of around 40 performances. The various program names—Opera Workshop, Opera in Action, and Peabody Opera Theatre—may sound confusing at first, but they are designed to give students a variety of experiences during their time on campus.
Opera Workshop offers students a chance to further develop their preparation, rehearsal, and performance techniques for the music-theatre stage in a performance-based classroom environment. The semester begins with an in-class audition for the instructors. Students then work with coaches and directors to prepare and perform scenes in various dramatic and musical styles. Every other year, Opera Workshop also includes the Opera Études initiative to create new works for the operatic stage. As the focus of Opera Workshop shifts every semester, students may enroll in multiple times during their course of study.
“Who gets to make and to experience opera?” Opera in Action students will explore these questions and pose their own, using a short opera performance as the catalyst for both classroom and community engagement. Students will work with instructors from various fields to devise activities and foster conversations around music, theatre, and performance. Emphasis will be placed on developing each individual student’s musical/dramatic skills in the context of community. This course is open by audition only, and both Voice and Music Education students with a singing background are encouraged to apply.
Information about the 2022-23 season is coming soon.
Peabody Opera Theatre is the banner under which we present our largest productions, with full orchestra, scenery, costumes, and lighting. Peabody Opera Theatre productions are presented in a variety of musical and dramatic styles, both on campus and in venues around Baltimore. Students involved in these operas typically collaborate with a mix of staff and guest directors, conductors, choreographers, and designers. Roles are open by audition, and students must be in good academic standing and have their primary voice teacher’s approval to audition for the opera.
The 2021-2022 repertoire for Peabody Opera Theatre is: Postcard from Morocco (Argento), La scala di seta (Rossini), and a double bill of Hin und Zurück (Hindemith) and Les Mamelles de Tirésias (Poulenc).