Summer Programs--they are the both incredibly important and incredibly stressful for young singers. What is the best program for me to apply to? Where am I most likely to be cast? Where will I have the opportunity to work with the best teachers and coaches? What can I afford? Hopefully, this list can provide insight about some great programs in the United States for young artists ranging from the undergraduate level to post grad. Happy singing!

1) Opera Works

Location: Los Angeles, CA 

Length: 2 weeks (Emerging Artist) or 1 month (Advanced Program) 

Program Size: 15-20 

About: A typical day starts with group yoga and then breaks into daily classes. The day is filled with instruction in improv, performance techniques, audition techniques, acting, conducting for singers, and career planning. There are coachings and scene rehearsals held each day in addition to a movement class each evening. 

Performance Opportunities: Opera Scenes, Aria Concert  

 “It was the perfect program for what I needed at the time. It got me feeling so much more confident and free as a performer but also as a person. Improv was a big highlight for me. It's something I still incorporate and practice today. It gave me an incredible sense of freedom in my singing and helped me perform with a kind of abandon that's really exhilarating”. Shannon, 2013

2) Savannah Voice Festival: The VOICExperience 

Location: Savannah, GA 

Length: 3-4 Weeks 

Program Size: 40-60 

About: During this program, singers have daily lessons and coachings with the opportunity to work with a large portion of the faculty. Masterclasses are held each day on topics ranging from diction to acting, to resume building. Singer get to pick and choose which classes they want to attend based on their daily schedule. In the afternoon and evening, there are rehearsals for the studio opera and opera scenes program. There are also several public master class taught by Sherrill Milnes, the program founder, where each singer has the opportunity to perform.

Performance Opportunities: Opera Scenes, Studio Opera, Public Masterclasses 

“The most valuable thing about this program was the sheer number of lessons and coaching with people who have many different perspectives.You all get to sing for the founder of the program". Sarah, 2016 

3) Redwoods Opera Workshop

Location: Mendocino, CA

Length: 10 days 

Program Size: 15-20 singers

About: This program is an acting intensive for opera singers set in an intimate environment. A typical day consists of classes in movement, alexander technique, acting, opera stage craft, improvisation, and yoga. Each day singers have an individual coaching on an aria and group coaching on an assigned scene. Daily lectures are also a part of the curriculum; these lectures on are subjects ranging from how to manage your finances, to how to maintain relationships as a traveling artist. Dinner and a masterclass are held each evening in the program director’s home. 

Performance Opportunities: Opera Scenes, Aria Concert 

“The daily lectures where the highlight of the program for me because they addressed all the things singers wonder and worry about but that are not talked about in school” Sophie, 2016 

“Just having a break from a constant criticism of technique was refreshing. It was nice to focus on the interpretive aspect of singing for without being stopped every two seconds to correct a doubled consonant”. Alexia, 2016 

4) Cincinnati Conservatory of Music: Opera Bootcamp 

Location: Cincinnati, Ohio 

Length: 3 weeks 

Program Size: 25 

About: Each day there are classes in dance and movement, and conversational Italian. Singers have two weekly lessons with CCM faculty members and multiple coachings each week. In the afternoons there are rehearsals for the scenes program and for the MainStage production with the Opera Boot Camp program, a summer program for student conductors pursuing a career in opera. This program does not include any training in acting. 

Performance Opportunities: Evening of Arias, Main Stage Productions collaborating with Opera Bootcamp, Opera Scenes

 “The highlight of the program was the connections I made with Voice Faculty and music professionals working at the program. I feel that without going to this program and seeing CCM for myself, I would not have fallen in love with the school before applying this past December. I am writing this as I pack for my trip to CCM (leaving in a few hours) for my audition tomorrow. Now I feel confident and very comfortable with the voice and music faculty at this school, and have seen first-hand what this incredible conservatory has to offer.” Allison, 2015 

5) OperaNeo

Location: San Diego, CA 

Length: 3 and a half weeks  

Program Size: 20-25 

About: Each day begins with a movement class and then moves into various lessons, coachings, and rehearsals. Singers receive two to three private coachings and two to three lessons each week, in addition to scene coachings and rehearsal for the main stage opera. In the evening there are masterclasses, seminars on role preparation, and mock auditions in addition to more rehearsals.  

Performance Opportunities: Opera Scenes, Cabarets, Mainstage Production  

 “I just loved the positive, supportive learning environment. The faculty was focused on helping you grow as an artist and their passion for that made all the difference”. Logan, 2014 

6) Pittsburgh Festival Opera and The Young Professional Artist Program

Location: Pittsburgh, PA 

Length: 5 weeks 

Program Size: 30-40 

About: This is a very performance heavy program that gives singers a repertory theater experience, producing up to six operas in the summer season. Singers are cast in two or three productions for the summer. Days are spent in rehearsals, and each singer has a coaching and a lesson each week. Young artists are frequently cast as covers and in the chorus.

Performance Opportunities: Mainstage Operas, Donor Events, Post-Show Cabarets 

7) International Vocal Arts Institute

Location: New York, NY

Length: 3 weeks 

Program Size: 60 or fewer 

About: This is a performance heavy program for singers who want to learn music quickly and expertly. Lessons are optional, but singers have multiple coachings and masterclasses each day in addition to rehearsals for the many performances the program puts on. Each year the program is held in New York and an international city; last year the city was Tel Aviv and this year the city is Montreal. 

Performance Opportunities: Three mainstage Operas, Opera Scenes, Concerts with orchestra, Public master classes

 “The best part about this program was the faculty! I grew so much and learned more about my voice, my music, and myself than I ever would have guessed. They are so giving of their time and talents -- I was truly privileged”. Virginia, 2016 

8) Prelude to Performance 

 Location: New York, NY 

Length: 5 and a half weeks

Program Size: 30 

About: The focus of this program is role preparation. Singers partake in intense study of recit, libretto analysis, character and role preparation, and foreign language. In opera workshop, there is a focus on stage movement and character motivation. There are also many optional masterclasses in stage combat, makeup, costumes, management, and more. 

Performance Opportunities: Main stage operas 

9) You Don’t Have to Do a Summer Program 

You don't have to go to an expensive summer program to make the summer worthwhile. The best summer job I’ve ever had was working as a stage manager for a small opera company. Because of this experience, I now have incredible personal connections with directors and conductors who work at tier one houses around the world. 

You may also consider using the summer to really focus on language study. This is a great way to hone your diction skills and to really gain a true understanding of the languages you are singing in. Additionally, study abroad often warrants financial support from universities, so studying in another country is not a thing to dismiss.

Finally, you can just go out and audition for paid roles. Strawhat Auditions is a great place to start for this one. Unified auditions are held in cities around the U.S. and performers are cast in shows around the United States. Many companies who are associated with Strawhat produce classical musical theater which can be well suited for lighter and younger operatic voices. And of course, you can still take the summer off from programs and work on pulling together your own recitals! Find some friends and pull together some performances. Teach, get lessons, and make some more connections!