National Opera Studio Expands Offering and Welcomes New Cohort Of Young Artists For 2023/24

The UK's foremost opera training institution, the National Opera Studio (NOS), this week welcomes a new cohort of Young Artists from all over the world to its flagship Global Talent Programme.

Following in the footsteps of Studio alumni including Ivor Bolton, Susan Bullock and Gerald Finley among many others, these handpicked young musicians begin a fully funded, nine-month bespoke training programme that aims to prepare them for the myriad challenges of a complex and demanding industry.

Emily Gottlieb, Chief Executive of National Opera Studio, said, “As we embark on this new era of opportunity at the National Opera Studio, we welcome our cohort of 2023/24 Young Artists for our established Global Talent Programme. They will benefit from fully funded, tailored training in partnership with the six leading opera companies in the UK. We're also delighted to welcome the singers joining our National Talent Programme, and we look forward to seeing them develop over the coming year. With our Diverse Voices initiative, we are delighted to have further extended opportunities for more talented young artists than ever before.”

A full list of the 2023/24 NOS Young Artists can be found here.

The 16 joining the Global Talent Programme in 2023 comprise five sopranos, two mezzo-sopranos, two tenors, two baritones, a bass-baritone and four repetiteurs. Along with the UK, they hail from as far afield as China, Croatia, Poland, New Zealand and South Africa. In addition to funding the training, the National Opera Studio provides the Young Artists with a performance stipend, a bursary and additional funding for external lessons and auditions.

Following a successful trial last year, the National Opera studio also welcomes a new generation of opera talent joining its newly developed shorter, flexible pathway opportunities for UK-based artists in the early stages of their careers, with particular focus on UK-based singers who identify as a member of the global majority. The National Talent Programme supports two exceptional artists to train on a part-time, flexible basis alongside the Global Talent Programme. The National Talent Programme is part of the Studio's Diverse Voices initiative, which provides support, guidance, and encouragement to young singers at various stages of their paths to opera careers working with artists, singers, and choirs across a variety of levels and platforms, connecting young children to local musical communities all the way to training artists who are already singing professionally on stage.

Having undergone an intense application process, participants on the Global Talent Programme will hone their skills and leverage the Studio's partnerships with the six leading UK opera companies: English National Opera, Glyndebourne, Opera North, the Royal Opera House, Scottish Opera and Welsh National Opera.

The intensity of the training reflects the environment of the professional opera world, exposing artists to the huge range of skills necessary for working in opera at the highest level. In addition to the musical tuition, the comprehensive and holistic training includes coaching, mentoring, skills development and stagecraft classes, audio-visual technical training, coaching in physical and psychological resilience, marketing advice as well as performance opportunities.  These are taught with unparalleled one-to-one supervision, allowing for individually tailored learning, helping them progress and open pathways not necessarily otherwise available, and providing a springboard from which to launch international careers.

Artists on the Global Talent Programme will have the chance to work closely with leading directors, conductors and opera orchestras to prepare scenes for public performance, and benefit from residencies at Glyndebourne, Opera North, Welsh National Opera and Scottish Opera, learning to tackle the challenges of world-class stages. Their numerous opportunities culminate in a performance with the English National Opera orchestra at Cadogan Hall next summer.

In addition to weekly Lunchtime recital performances each Wednesday, the first major public performances for the Global Talent artists are a collection of fully staged operatic scenes directed by the legendary Keith Warner on 6 and 7 December 2023.