Opera Ithaca Has Expanded Their Apprentice Artist Program

Opera Ithaca has announced that it has been awarded a $45,000 grant over two years from the New York State Council on the Arts and Regional Economic Development Council to amplify and diversify the Apprentice Artist Program. The company is looking forward to welcoming its first class in the revised program starting with the upcoming 2020-2021 season.

The new program will be divided into two tiers, Young Artists and Studio Artists. Young Artists will be singers on the verge of major professional careers who are in Ithaca for a six-week residency in the fall of 2020. This quartet of singers will receive competitive weekly compensation along with housing, as well as major role experience, mentoring with the Opera Ithaca staff and guest artists, coaching, and national-level exposure.

Three Studio Artists will be selected who are finishing, or have recently finished, school in one of the vocal programs in New York's Southern Tier. These singers will be with Opera Ithaca for an eight-month residency, and will receive a monthly stipend, coaching sessions, mentorship with the Opera Ithaca staff and guest artists, and cover and role opportunities as appropriate.

The selection process for the 2020-2021 Opera Ithaca Apprentice Artist Program will be made through the Fourth Annual Edward M. Murray Vocal Competition. As such, the application deadline has been extended to Friday, January 24, 2020. Singers will be notified of their audition status by Friday, January 31. The vocal competition (serving as auditions for the program) will be on Sunday, March 1 in Ithaca. To apply for the Apprentice Artist Program, visit: www.operaithaca.org/competition-open. For more information about the program, visit: www.operaithaca.org/apprentice-artist-program.

Co-founded in 2014 by Zachary James and Lynn Craver, Opera Ithaca is Ithaca, New York's professional opera company. Under the new leadership of Artistic Director Ben Robinson, Opera Ithaca is in the middle of its sixth season. The company has produced a wide range of repertoire since its founding, from Bartok's BLUEBEARD'S CASTLE to DON GIOVANNI, DIE FLEDERMAUS, HAMLET, ABDUCTION FROM THE SERAGLIO, THUMBPRINT, CENERENTOLA, LA BOHÈME, CARMEN, the professional premiere of IL SOGNO by Kristin Hevner Wyatt, and the world premiere of Billy Blythe by Bonnie Montgomery. Opera Ithaca maintains its commitment to produce a work by a female composer on every season. The 2019-2020 season concludes with the second installment of the innovative series, Inside the Creative Process, which is exploring a new opera in development by Sally Lamb McCune, Rachel Lampert, and Yvonne Gray, and Mozart's LE NOZZE DI FIGARO. In addition to stage productions, Opera Ithaca is committed to providing a consistent venue for classical vocal concerts and community outreach events in Ithaca and the surrounding region. For more information, visit: www.operaithaca.org.

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