FESTIVAL ARTIST PROGRAM

TESTIMONIALS

The Festival Artist Training Program, which was renamed in 2023 to reflect changing attitudes towards the phrase “young artist”, has always been the heartbeat of Opera Saratoga. When the company was founded, in 1962, part of its mission was to hire young singers to sing leading roles in the repertoire.

Now, with the team of Laurie Rogers, Director of the Festival Artist program and coach at the Peabody Institute, and Mary Birnbaum, who has taught for 10 years in the Ellen and James Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts at The Juilliard School, the Festival Artist Program is poised to become a leader in the field for actual training of singers while they perform leading roles, not just serving as the chorus and covers, as in many other summer training programs. But instead of us explaining it, we thought that we’d let the artists speak for themselves:

The past two summers at Opera Saratoga have proven invaluable to me as an early-career musician.  Particularly, this past summer, I was given the opportunity to serve as music director and pianist for the world premiere of Clarice Assad's children's opera, The Selfish Giant.  Typically, as musicians working in opera, we don't get the opportunity to interface with our composers and librettists: getting the chance to work on the "ground level" of an opera's creation was an exciting and unique experience that I will carry with me the rest of my career and will set the stage for future new music collaborations. 

Due to the particular nature of this opera, we were also afforded opportunities to interact with our audiences in ways we don't normally, and that furthered my understanding and appreciation of audience engagement.  At times, we were even adapting real-time to the response of our audiences!  On a broader level, I have a great appreciation for the great networking opportunities Opera Saratoga has provided me.  Not only am I meeting and working with excellent colleagues my own age and experience level, but due to the structure of the program, festival artists are often working right alongside seasoned industry professionals.  Because our relationship with our fellow artists develops over the period of weeks, these relationships are collaborative rather than hierarchical, and allow room to develop a well-rounded view of the whole artist, rather than just focusing on what they offer on the surface.  Indeed, because these relationships can be so deep and nuanced, they have led to offers of further industry work for me.

-Nathan Cicero (Pianist & Music Director of The Selfish Giant)

My time at Opera Saratoga this summer was entirely revolutionary for my performance career. During my time there, I was encouraged, and enabled to become a better artist through my performances. Unlike other summer programs, I've been fortunate to be a part of, Opera Saratoga treated me with the utmost professionalism and offered new information to absorb in the current stages of my career. In particular, the guest speakers enhanced my experience and brought new vital information for the 21st-century performer. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had at Opera Saratoga this summer.

– Randy Ho, Tenor (Ernesto in Don Pasquale)

My time at Opera Saratoga was validating, fun, and inspiring. I had the opportunity to explore a new role and had the support to more deeply expand my acting experience and interpretive approach.  It has given me more confidence and, especially since COVID, reminded me how much I love being on stage and working with an ensemble.  The entire team of musicians and staff was incredible, and everyone was supportive, dedicated, and enthusiastic.  It was honestly one of the most encouraging and enjoyable production experiences I have ever had.  Under the leadership of Mary Birnbaum, the program is heading in an insightful, relevant, and progressive direction that is exciting to see as a developing artist.  I felt valued, respected, and trusted during the entire program.  I also believe that the friendships and connections I made while there will continue on into my professional career, and will lead to future collaborations.

 – Claire McCahan (Sibella in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder)

Opera Saratoga gave me a massive experience working as a Directing Fellow. All festival artists, the creative team, and the staff were like a family. Firstly, I have never assisted Children's Opera, which was The Selfish Giant, and this production had 8 performances at different places. I could know the American fairy tale and also learned how to approach children directing an opera: curtain speech (teaching Bravo/Bravi, interaction (sensory area), children's participation (bubbles, decorate boxes), etc. Directing opera scenes for Opera Saratoga sponsors was also a very memorable moment. Even though I had a short rehearsal time, I was pleased that many sponsors enjoyed the concert and it was a great time to have directing opportunities. Lastly, assisting Don Pasquale will be the most incredible career for me. The director has a music and theater background, and I could learn more about theatrical staging with the thrust stage. Furthermore, having an acting masterclass with Mary was one of my favorite experiences because my country does not have this kind of class for opera singers. Her class motivated me a lot for my upcoming career. I have worked as a stage director and assistant director for two productions for 6 weeks, and this experience gave me so much improvement as a Directing Fellow. 

-Helen Sohyun Park (Assistant Director of The Selfish Giant and Don Pasquale)

During my time at Opera Saratoga, I was able to create art while building community with artists from all over the country and world. The show I directed, ‘The Selfish Giant, was free and accessible to all. We performed at farmer’s markets, the library, and the theatre. Most moving of all was when we performed at a special needs school for kids in foster care. For most children, this was the first opera they have ever been exposed to, and for those children in particular, we were able to bring them an otherwise inaccessible art form with themes that directly related to their lived experiences. We made it participatory and immersive, blurring the lines between performers and audience—the children were engaged and enthralled. In the end, during our casual Q&A, they asked pertinent questions about the art form, expressing their curiosity to perhaps pursue a future in performance. I feel that we were able to sincerely inspire them to envision themselves as artists and creators. I’ve been talking about making a difference through art making for the past two decades, and yet, it was on that day that I felt I was truly “putting my money where my mouth is.”

This has also had an immediate and quantifiable effect on my career. The head of the Opera program at New School, who is a close contact of Opera Saratoga’s artistic director, Mary Birnbaum, came to see the show and has already offered me a project to direct in the fall.

My time there this summer was artistically, spiritually, and developmentally extremely fruitful.

-Jen Pitt (Director of “The Selfish Giant” & Assistant Director of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”)