Fort Worth Opera Green Room Presents Music Speaks: The Language Of Poetry & Libretti Workshop Series

Fort Worth Opera (FWO) has announced that the company will kick off the New Year with Music Speaks: The Language of Poetry and Libretti Workshop Series, led by distinguished opera coaches Lucy Yates, J.J. Penna, and Rachelle Jonck. Part of the new digital initiative FWO Green Room, this free, five-week language intensive will be held on Zoom, January 7, 9, 16, 23, and 30, and February 6, 2021, from 2:00-3:30 p.m. EST, and streamed live to the company's official Facebook page. Conceived by General Director Afton Battle and Artistic Director Joe Illick, Fort Worth Opera's innovative virtual series will present a unique educational experience for voice students to hone their craft and continue developing their language skills, as they pursue careers on the operatic stage.

Beginning the second week of January, the company's talented Lesley Resident Artists and select graduate-level voice students from across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex will receive unparalleled access to three of the opera world's top language specialists. On January 7 and 9, Lucy Yates, pianist, conductor, librettist, Italian grammar and poetry teacher, and Lecturer in Opera in the Herb Alpert School of Music at UCLA, will hold seminars on Italian art songs and arias. Additionally, she will provide an online poetry game for Zoom audiences to play together, with instructions and a link to be provided when auditors register.

On January 16, highly sought-after collaborative pianist and Juilliard School vocal literature professor J.J. Penna will guide students through the performance of French art songs and arias. On January 23, he will return to explore German Lieder and arias - from Schubert, Heine, and Schumann, to Wagner, Strauss, and Meyerbeer. The series will continue on January 30 and conclude on February 6 with two additional workshops led by South African-born, New York City-based opera coach, pianist, and acclaimed conductor Rachelle Jonck, concentrating on Italian art song literature and arias. This exciting workshop series will give classical music lovers an exclusive insider's look into the anatomy of art songs and arias. FWO's Music Speaks will also offer emerging local singers an opportunity to perform their audition repertoire in front of a virtual audience and be guided by some of the opera industry's leading coaches and language experts.

FWO Green Room presents Music Speaks: The Language of Poetry & Libretti Workshop Series featuring renowned operatic coaches Lucy Yates, J.J. Penna, and Rachelle Jonck.

Learn more at https://www.fwopera.org/music-speaks.