Centenary to host prestigious opera training program in summer 2018
SHREVEPORT, LA — Spotlight on Opera, a professional development program for aspiring opera singers, will hold its 12th annual summer season at Centenary’s Hurley School of Music from June 24 through July 30, 2018. Spotlight founder and executive director Cindy Sadler, Artist-in-Residence at Hurley, is bringing the prestigious program to Centenary.
“I am thrilled that Centenary has chosen to welcome Spotlight. It’s a match made in heaven,” says Sadler. “The beautiful, intimate campus, gracious Southern hospitality, and genuine friendliness of our students and faculty make it a perfect place to bring a program like Spotlight, which prides itself on being part of the community in which it resides.”
Sadler founded Spotlight on Opera in 2007 as a one-week summer program at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. It has since grown into an independent non-profit organization, attracting students from all over the United States and foreign nations such as Canada, Taiwan, and Kenya. Spotlight alumni go on to distinguished programs and performing careers. Baritones Jesse Enderle (2011, 2014) and Josh DeVane (2012, 2014) both received major scholarships to attend graduate school at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Soprano Sarah Tucker (2008) is signed with ADA Artists Management in New York City, and has recently appeared with Dallas Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and the Seiji Ozawa Opera Project. Tenor Nicholas Simpson, who is now a member of Spotlight faculty, is on the roster of Neil Funkhauser in New York and has recently appeared with Fort Worth Opera, Performance Santa Fe, and the Berlin Opera Academy.
The five week Spotlight on Opera summer program focuses on artistic entrepreneurship and professional development for singers at all stages of their careers, both those who are working toward professional careers in opera and those who want to sing for fun and personal enrichment. The intensive program includes classes in the business of singing, finances, acting, movement, and social media as well as master classes with prominent practitioners in the opera world. Participants have the opportunity to perform in scenes, concerts, and full opera productions during the course of the program. Productions during the 2018 Spotlight on Opera summer season include La bohème, The Pirates of Penzance, a touring children’s opera, an opera scenes showcase, and several concerts.
“I fell in love with Centenary and its campus when I arrived here in fall 2017,” says Sadler. “I know that our Spotlight students, who come from all over the country and sometimes even from overseas, will too. We are excited to bring our intimate, accessible opera performances to Shreveport and to the Centenary communities.”
Auditions for the 2018 program will be held Saturday, March 17 at Centenary and Saturday, March 24 in Austin, Texas. Video auditions will also be accepted through April 31. Applicants should apply online at SpotlightOnOpera.com.
More information is available at SpotlightOnOpera.com or by contacting Cindy Sadler at csadler@centenary.edu.