The partnership, launched in Fall 2022, has welcomed Detroit Opera Artistic Director Yuval Sharon, whose production of La bohème was produced by BLO, and Metropolitan Opera soprano superstar Karen Slack, who also performed in Boston Conservatory’s Center Stage concert, Song of Hope. Future guests include mezzo-soprano Nina Yoshida Nelsen, cofounder of the Asian Opera Alliance and BLO artistic advisor and legendary stage director Anne Bogart, who directed BLO’s 2018/19 production The Handmaid’s Tale and will direct the upcoming production of Bluebeard’s Castle | Four Songs in March 2023.

Both BLO and Boston Conservatory are committed to preserving the integrity of opera as an art form while finding new ways to advance the genre and connect it to contemporary communities.  

Want to watch? Stream any of our Opera Innovator events for free: https://bostonconservatory.berklee.edu/seully-hall

Up Next

Tuesday, January 23, 2024 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm EST
Opera Innovators | Sasha Cooke, Mezzo Soprano – Masterclass

American mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and Boston Conservatory at Berklee faculty pianist Jessica Chow Shinn present a recital as part of the Conservatory’s Opera Innovators Series.

Cooke is a Grammy Award winner who has been called a “luminous standout” by the New York Times and “equal parts poise, radiance, and elegant directness” by Opera News. She has sung at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, English National Opera, Seattle Opera, Opéra National de Bordeaux, and Gran Teatre del Liceu, among others, and with over 80 symphony orchestras worldwide, frequently performing the works of Mahler. 

As a dedicated recitalist, Cooke was presented by Young Concert Artists in her widely acclaimed New York and Washington debuts at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall and the Kennedy Center. She has also appeared in recital at Alice Tully Hall, the Wigmore Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the 92nd Street Y. Her recordings can be found on the Hyperion, BIS, Chandos, Pentatone, Naxos, Bridge Records, Yarlung, GPR Records, and Sono Luminus labels. 

Her most recent recordings include Intonations: Songs from the Violins of Hope by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer; Michael Tilson Thomas’s Meditations on Rilke with the San Francisco Symphony, which won the 2021 Grammy Award for Best Classical Compendium; L’enfance du Christ with Sir Andrew Davis and the Melbourne Symphony; and Mason Bates’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, which won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.

A graduate of Rice University and the Juilliard School, Cooke was appointed codirector of the Lehrer Vocal Institute at the Music Academy of the West in 2023.

This event is open to Berklee students, faculty, and staff with a valid Berklee ID, and invited guests only.

Livestream will be available day of the performance: https://bostonconservatory.berklee.edu/seully-hall

Sasha Cooke is presented as part of Boston Conservatory at Berklee’s Opera Innovators Series in partnership with the Boston Lyric Opera. 

Thursday, January 25, 2024 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm EST
Opera Innovators | Sasha Cooke, Mezzo Soprano – Recital

Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke presents a master class as part of Boston Conservatory at Berklee’s Opera Innovators Series. Cooke has been called a “luminous standout” by the New York Times and “equal parts poise, radiance, and elegant directness” by Opera News. Cooke has sung at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, English National Opera, Seattle Opera, Opéra National de Bordeaux, and Gran Teatre del Liceu, among others, and with over 80 symphony orchestras worldwide, frequently performing the works of Mahler. 

As a dedicated recitalist, Cooke was presented by Young Concert Artists in her widely acclaimed New York and Washington debuts at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall and the Kennedy Center. She has also appeared in recital at Alice Tully Hall, the Wigmore Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the 92nd Street Y. Her recordings can be found on the Hyperion, BIS, Chandos, Pentatone, Naxos, Bridge Records, Yarlung, GPR Records, and Sono Luminus labels.

Her most recent recordings include Intonations: Songs from the Violins of Hope by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer; Michael Tilson Thomas’s Meditations on Rilke with the San Francisco Symphony, which won the 2021 Grammy Award for Best Classical Compendium; L’enfance du Christ with Sir Andrew Davis and the Melbourne Symphony; and Mason Bates’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, which won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.

A graduate of Rice University and the Juilliard School, Cooke was appointed codirector of the Lehrer Vocal Institute at the Music Academy of the West in 2023.

Livestream will be available day of the performance: https://bostonconservatory.berklee.edu/seully-hall

This event is open to Berklee students, faculty, and staff with a valid Berklee ID, and invited guests only.

Sasha Cooke is presented as part of Boston Conservatory at Berklee’s Opera Innovators Series in partnership with the Boston Lyric Opera.

Tuesday, February 27, 2024 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm EST
Opera Innovators | Shawn Marie Jeffery, Master Class

This past year, Jeffery joined the team at UIA Talent Agency, having been an integral part of the ADA Artist Management team since 2005. Deeply dedicated to providing the next generation of artists with the tools to succeed, she often speaks with emerging artists, sharing her insight on business and artistic trends within the industry in lecture and master class settings. She has presented at many American opera companies and academic institutions, and has served as a judge for the Opera Birmingham Vocal Competition, Opera Connecticut’s American Opera Idol, and the AMICI Vocal Competition. She also has been a panelist for feedback auditions at the Classical Singer Convention.

During her career as a mezzo-soprano, Jeffery performed throughout the United States. A recipient of the Heinz Rehfuss Singing Actor’s Award, she was well-regarded for her keen dramatic abilities, and now shares her dramatic tools and insights into character development in private consultations and coachings through her studio, Stage and Self.

Livestream will be available day of the performance: https://bostonconservatory.berklee.edu/seully-hall

This event is open to Berklee students, faculty, and staff with a valid Berklee ID, and invited guests only.

Shawn Marie Jeffery is presented as part of Boston Conservatory at Berklee’s Opera Innovators Series in partnership with the Boston Lyric Opera.

Past Events from This Year

September 15, 2023 – Master Class with David Angus

September 20, 2023 – Master Class with Rodell Rosel

October 20, 2023 – Master Class with W. Stephen Smith

October 27, 2023 – Master Class with Cecilia Hall

December 8, 2023 – Master Class with Sandra Piques Eddy