The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University

Undergraduate Applicants

There is no separate program in Opera at the undergraduate level; it is but one of the many opportunities open to Voice majors, along with solo recitals, early music, vocal chamber music, and choral performance. Nonetheless, the Opera Department aims to provide sufficient classes and smaller performance opportunities to enable undergraduate singers to discover whether they are suited to opera, and to give them a solid foundation on which to build if they wish to do so. The majority of Voice undergraduates, in fact, do considerably more Opera than the minimum number of classes and performances which their program requires.

Although our major productions are cast by auditions open to all, it is not usual for undergraduates to come to Peabody and be given roles in full productions during their first year or so. This is not simply a matter of seniority. Opera places demands on the singer which cannot be met unless he or she has a secure technique; the first priority, therefore, is for the student to work with the teacher to build firm vocal foundations. On the other hand, there are several opera classes which can teach necessary stage techniques without making great vocal demands. The normal course is for students to take Movement for the Stage in their first year and Acting for Opera in their second; the latter class also includes performance segments which gradually increase in scale. Underclassmen may volunteer to sing chorus in the major productions; they quite frequently get cast in one of the smaller productions described below; and of course it is always possible that they might happen to fill a particular need in a major production of the Opera Theatre.

For more information, and to find out more about the various classes and performance opportunities offered by Peabody Opera, click here.

Graduate Applicants

Graduate students differ from undergraduates in that they usually have had time to discover whether opera is a career goal for them, and will have begun to acquire the vocal technique to help them attain it. Unlike undergraduates, however, they only have two years in which to pursue their goal (although many stay longer in a different program), and so need to hit the ground running. Graduate students who do not wish to pursue opera, however, are not compelled to do so; there are no opera requirements for Voice majors at the graduate level.

Although there is a very small and highly selective Graduate Performance Diploma [GPD] in Opera, the majority of graduate students are pursuing opera as an elective within one of the programs in Voice; the notes which follow are addressed to these students who are not GPD Opera majors. From the point of view of the Opera Department, it makes no difference whatsoever whether the student is doing the MM, DMA, or GPD in Voice. Although the Voice GPD is indeed a performance-intensive program, it does not confer special privileges in casting. It may, however, be attractive to those who do not need the academic qualification, who want to take fewer academic classes (which are, in fact, strictly limited in this program), who wish to give two recitals instead of one, or for whom the difference in price is important. GPD students who are cast in major leading roles may also petition the Voice faculty to count an opera performance as one of their required recitals.

Graduate students also differ from one another in the amount of operatic experience they have had as undergraduates. Their ability to “hit the ground running” as far as opera is concerned depends upon the extent of this experience. New students will interview with the department chair and take diagnostic auditions in their first week as a means of assessing their experience. Assignment to opera classes and to many of the season's roles are made as a result of these auditions. Students who have not had equivalent classes elsewhere will be assigned to one of the basic classes: Movement for the Stage or Acting for Opera. Students with a stronger background may elect one of the more advanced classes. In any case, the purpose of the basic classes for graduates is to bring them up to speed by their second year in the program.

Most graduate students will want to get onstage as soon as possible. The Opera Department mounts about 8 productions each year, for a combined total of around 40 performances. For more information, and to find out more about the various classes and performance opportunities offered by Peabody Opera, click here.

Student Perspectives for Prospective Students

If you are shopping for schools to attend, there is nothing better than asking actual students about their experiences. Please visit our Student Ambassadors page to read what current students have to say about Peabody Opera and to contact them with your questions.