Opera
Northern Arizona University opera theater studies provides many enriching operatic experiences for both graduate and undergraduate performers. You will have the opportunity to work with dedicated educators who bring a wealth of international professional experience into the classroom.
Who you’ll be working with
- Nando Schellen, Director of Opera Theater, movement and acting for singers, opera history
- Judith Cloud, Professor, voice, vocal pedagogy, and vocal literature
- Margaret Gunderson, Principal Lecturer, voice and diction
- Ricardo Pereira, Associate Professor,voice and vocal literature
- Deborah Raymond, Associate Professor, voice and diction
- Robert Allen Saunders, Assistant Professor,voice and vocal pedagogy
About the program
Our goal is to provide singers with the skills necessary to perform on the operatic stage with confidence and to prepare them for further study in the field of opera. Singers have the opportunity to work with Nando Schellen, who oversees and directs both opera scenes performances and full productions, as well as artist teachers and dedicated educators who bring a wealth of international professional experience into the academic setting. Full opera productions and opera scenes programs are performed in the original language. Foreign language coaching is provided through the Modern Language Department in the College of Arts and Letters.
All roles performed within Northern Arizona University Opera productions are double cast whenever possible, and students for smaller productions, as well as for scenes, are selected from within the program in an opera studio format. The voice performance program also offers a number of classes related to opera including Movement and Acting for Singers, Opera History, and an elective independent study in opera directing. All productions are performed in the original language with projected super titles and are typically mounted in Ardrey Auditorium on campus, which seats over 1400 patrons and has an orchestra pit capable of holding a full size Wagner Orchestra. For smaller sized productions, Prochnow Auditorium or Ashurst Hall on campus may be used.