GBH Music introduces new listeners to opera in a video series produced in collaboration with Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) and New England Conservatory (NEC). Designed for newcomers and seasoned enthusiasts alike, “Getting into Opera” aims to ignite a passion for the genre by showcasing how powerful performances are shaped by vocal coaching and stage direction. The innovative multi-platform video series will be filmed in front of a live audience in GBH’s acoustically acclaimed Fraser Performance Studio.
This event features renowned mezzo-soprano Susan Graham leading a masterclass for BLO Jane & Steven Akin Emerging Artists and New England Conservatory students. By pulling back the curtain on how great vocal performances are made, the masterclass will draw in new opera lovers while delighting fans of the genre.
“Getting into Opera” will be hosted by Anthony Rudel, author of Tales from the Opera, Classical Music Top 40, and Imagining Don Giovanni. Joshua Major, NEC’s Chair of Opera Studies and Bradley Vernatter, BLO’s Stanford Calderwood General Director & CEO, will also share perspectives on producing operas as part of the series.
“Getting into Opera” will be available free of charge on YouTube and other platforms.
This event is FREE but registration is required. Seating is general admission.
Event timeline:
9:15-10pm Dessert Reception in the Atrium
Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Susan Graham has performed in every major opera house and symphony hall worldwide. Her repertoire ranges from the earliest Baroque composers to contemporary opera, with Mozart, Strauss, Berlioz, and Massenet in between, among many others. A prolific recitalist, Miss Graham has many recordings of art song in many languages, specializing in the French repertoire. Earlier this season she appeared at Opéra de Paris in Donizetti’s La fille du régiment, and in early 2025 she will sing in concert performances of Samuel Barber’s Vanessa with the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center. Later in the spring she will appear at LA’s Wilshire Ebell Theatre and at Carnegie Hall in New York, in Richard Danielpour’s and Rita Dove’s epic chamber music song cycle A Standing Witness, which chronicles life in America from 1968 to the present. Miss Graham is an avid mentor, adjudicator, and teacher, working regularly with the LA Opera Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program, as well as many other institutions worldwide. She is thrilled to have this time in Boston with GBH Music and the New England Conservatory.