Department of Voice & Opera
The Department of Voice & Opera is a vibrant and diverse community dedicated to fostering artistic excellence and academic rigor. Through our broad curriculum, private voice lessons, specialized coachings in operatic and song literature, and intensive language training, our students develop the technical proficiency and expressive depth necessary to excel in today’s artistic landscape.
Central to our department is our robust opera program, offering a holistic approach to the art of opera performance. Students have opportunities to study and perform operatic works across the breadth of the standard and emerging repertoire, from Baroque to the 21st century. For both undergraduate and graduate students, our curriculum encompasses many other essential elements to building a successful and sustainable career in today’s opera landscape, including acting, body movement, stagecraft, audition techniques, and navigation of the business aspects of a career in opera.
A wide range of additional courses includes African American Art Song, Oratorio Repertoire, Vocal Chamber Music, Czech Vocal Literature, and performance classes in European and American Art Song. Our curricular offerings are enhanced by frequent master classes and residencies of guest artists and industry professionals, who provide additional insights and networking opportunities.
Rooted in our tradition of commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, we empower emerging artists by championing diversification of repertoire and performance techniques, embracing innovative approaches to pedagogy, and amplifying traditionally under-represented voices of wide-ranging backgrounds and identities.
Faculty
The Department of Voice & Opera boasts a seasoned and outstanding faculty, with a wealth of performance, teaching, and research experience. At Michigan, private study goes beyond a weekly appointment. Professors are accessible and involved mentors, deeply committed to their students’ growth as individuals as well as musicians. The faculty’s range of experience creates an incomparable in-house resource, while their commitment to teaching provides students with the foundation and real-world guidance needed to flourish in today’s musical landscape.
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Timothy Cheek
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Thomas Hampson
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Freda Herseth
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Gregory Keller
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Caitlin Lynch
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Amanda Majeski
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Rose Mannino
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Stanford Olsen
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Ana María Otamendi
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Chía Patiño
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Scott Piper
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Kirk Severtson
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George I. Shirley
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Matthew Thompson
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Louise Toppin
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Daniel Washington
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Stephen West
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Mo Zhou
Degrees
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Undergraduate
Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Musical Arts
Graduate
Master of Music
Specialist in Music
Doctor of Musical Arts
Opera at Michigan
Opportunities abound for students to refine their performance skills at SMTD, including two fully produced mainstage operas each year, two smaller-scale chamber operas, workshops of new works, opera scenes programs, and student-initiated performance projects.
2024-25 Season
Opera at Michigan is a highly collaborative endeavor, bringing together faculty and students in the Department of Voice & Opera, players from SMTD’s two stellar orchestras, faculty and student designers and stage managers in the Department of Theatre & Drama, and staff in University Productions, to present our two mainstage opera productions each year. The fall semester production is performed in the Power Center, and the winter semester production is in the historic Mendelssohn Theatre. The chamber operas are performed in smaller venues, providing students the opportunity to learn performance skills appropriate to a variety of non-traditional spaces.
![HANSEL UND GRETEL](https://smtd.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/hansel-and-gretel-logo-e1714600170657.png)
Department of Voice & Opera
November 14 at 7:30 pm
November 15 & 16 at 8:00 pm
November 17 at 2:00 pm
Power Center for the Performing Arts
Reserved Seating $35 / $29 / $16 Student Tickets (fees included)
10% discount on 4 (or more) tickets
Hänsel und Gretel
Composed by Engelbert Humperdinck; libretto by Adelheid Wette
Based on the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm
Sung in German
Conducted by Kirk Severtson
Director(s) TBD
In this charming fairy-tale opera for audiences of all ages, Hansel and Gretel are banished to the woods to search for strawberries and stay out of trouble. Alas, trouble is inevitable when they come upon a mysterious gingerbread house with a frightening witch inside.
Recommended Ages: 3+
![L'ORFEO](https://smtd.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/LOrfeo-Title-transp-e1719605770313.png)
Department of Voice & Opera
March 27 at 7:30 pm
March 28 & 29 at 8:00 pm
March 30 at 2:00 pm
Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre
Reserved Seating $35 / $29 / $16 Student Tickets (fees included)
L'Orfeo
Composed by Claudio Monteverdi
Libretto by Alessandro Striggio
Music Director Joseph Gascho
Stage Director Chía Patiño
L’Orfeo explores the mythic tale of the love story between Orfeo and Euridice, cut short by Euridice’s untimely departure. Refusing to accept his fate, Orfeo descends to the underworld to retrieve his bride. Thanks to the persuasive power of music, Orfeo forges a deal to bring Euridice back, but his doubts and fears ultimately foil his plan. With a rich and musically sophisticated score that is both emblematic of the period and allows for new interpretations, L’Orfeo connects audiences to opera’s origins and its contemporary possibilities.
Performed with the U-M Baroque Chamber Orchestra
Recent Productions
Our Stories
Alumni Notes
Some Notable Alumni
Janai Brugger | Seth Carico | Ashley Dixon | Michael Fabiano | Jonas Hacker | Samuel Kidd | Josh Lovell | Aundie Moore | Jessye Norman | Sean Panikkar | Amy Petrongelli | Nicholas Phan | Elisa Quagliata | Rehanna Thellwell | Alan Williams | Samantha Rose Williams | Melody Wilson
About George I. Shirley, Joseph Edgar Maddy Distinguished University Emeritus Professor of Voice
- Access Shirley’s creative:impact radio interview
- The George Shirley Vocal Competition is held annually
- The George Shirley Voice Scholarship Fund endowment provides need-based scholarship support for undergraduate voice majors.
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Most applications for 2024-2025 are due by December 1 – check for exact dates on the appropriate admissions page below.
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