The San Francisco Opera Center recently announced the recipients of the 2024 Adler Fellowship, and two SMTD alumni have been named to this prestigious cohort: coach/pianist Julian Grabarek (MM ’23, collaborative piano) and baritone Samuel Kidd (BM ’19, voice).
The 11 musicians begin the 2024 fellowship in January. They will receive individually tailored musical and performance training and a wide range of professional and personal development instruction. Adler singers are often cast in mainstage roles and leading cover assignments, while Adler pianists work closely with San Francisco Opera music staff to help prepare mainstage operas.
Training for San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows includes musical technique and preparation, foreign language skills, acting technique and movement, as well as financial management, leadership development, mental and emotional resilience, physical health and wellness, and other skills necessary for a musical career in the twenty-first century.
Julian Grabarek
Grabarek, who coached Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Janáček’s Cunning Little Vixen at SMTD last year, was recently a guest coach and chorus master at the University of Houston for a double bill of Offenbach’s Monsieur Choufleuri and Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges. He was also an apprentice vocal coach and pianist in the 2023 Merola Opera Program, where he worked on Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia and Act II from Verdi’s Otello and appeared in the Metamorphosis recital. “I am very excited to be joining the San Francisco Opera in January,” said Grabarek. “The myriad of opportunities I had while at SMTD prepared me for this next chapter, and I am so grateful to my mentors and colleagues who helped me grow as a musician and collaborator.”
Samuel Kidd
Recent highlights from Kidd’s career include singing Tarquinius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia as a participant in the 2023 Merola Opera Program, Belcore in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, Tarquinius with Yale Opera and the title role of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at Music Academy of the West. He has participated in several prestigious young artist programs and festivals, including Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artist Vocal Academy, Wolf Trap Opera Studio, Music Academy of the West, and the Merola Opera Program. “I’m excited to join the storied legacy of the Adler Fellowship,” Kidd shared, “and I look forward to working with world-class artists in further developing my craft.”