Voice and Opera Curricula: Training for Sustainable Careers (Part 1)
Mary Birnbaum, director; general and artistic director, Opera Saratoga
Mary Birnbaum is a NYC-based stage director, artistic producer, and educator. She has directed reimaginings of operatic classics (La bohéme, Santa Fe Opera, 2019) and cutting-edge productions of world-premiere operas (In a Grove, Christopher Cerrone/Stephanie Fleischmann, Pittsburgh Opera, 2022.) Birnbaum's production of The Classical Style (Steven Stucky/Jeremy Denk) at the Ojai Festival, CalPerformances, and Carnegie Hall was called "genuinely insightful...vibrant" by The New York Times, and her "assured, affective and playful staging" of Luigi Rossi's L'Orfeo at Juilliard made the The New York Times' "Best Classical Music of 2021."
A member of the faculty at The Juilliard School since 2011, Birnbaum helps singers listen to their dramatic impulses and connect to the moment in her current role as dramatic advisor to the Masters of Music and Graduate Diploma Program in the Vocal Arts Department. She has developed curricula that include mask, ensemble, and physical work, and has taught acting for singers at UCLA, Bard College, IVAI, Mannes/The New School, the Santa Fe Opera, and the Lindemann Young Artists Program at the Metropolitan Opera. In 2023, Birnbaum became the general and artistic director of Opera Saratoga, which produces a summer festival as well as educational and therapeutic music programs and special musical events throughout the year. A graduate of Harvard College, Birnbaum trained professionally in physical theater at L’Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris.
Carl DuPont, baritone; artistic director, John F. Kennedy Center’s Washington National Opera Institute; associate professor of voice, Johns Hopkins Peabody Institute
Carl DuPont is an artist, innovator, and educator dedicated to transformational inclusion and care of the professional voice. His “rich, nuanced baritone” (Columbus Underground) has held center stage in performances at the New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Leipzig Opera, Opera Carolina, Opera Columbus, Annapolis Opera Company, First Coast Opera, Toledo Opera, Opera Saratoga, Sarasota Opera, Cedar Rapids Opera, El Palacio de Bellas Artes, Opera Company of Brooklyn, and The IN Series. Recent roles include Colline in La bohème, Hawkins Fuller in Fellow Travelers, Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville, and Leporello in Don Giovanni. His articles can be found in The Laryngoscope and the Voice and Speech Review. DuPont can be heard on the world-premiere recordings of the Caldara Mass in A Major and The Death of Webern and on his solo album, The Reaction.
A graduate of the Eastman School of Music (B.M.), Indiana University (M.M.), and the University of Miami (D.M.A.), he currently serves on the faculties of the Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Institute as associate professor of voice and the Executive Education division of the Carey Business School in the communications vertical. DuPont is director of Peabody’s Pathways to D.M.A. program and the artistic director for the Kennedy Center’s Washington National Opera Institute.
Shawn Marie Jeffery, vice president of classical and creatives, UIA Talent
Shawn Marie Jeffery joins the team at UIA Talent Agency having been an integral part of the ADA team since 2005, bringing with her a wide array of performance, directorial, and administrative experience. Her work with ADA has taken her to companies throughout the U.S. 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 masterclass settings, having presented at the Atlanta Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Charlottesville Opera, Pensacola Opera, Opera Company of Middlebury, Eastman School of Music, New England Conservatory, Hartt School of Music, Seagle Music Colony, Spotlight on Opera, and others. She has served as a judge for the Opera Birmingham Vocal Competition, Opera Connecticut’s American Opera Idol, and the AMICI Vocal Competition, and as a panelist for feedback auditions at the Classical Singer Convention.
Shawn recently added the title of executive producer to her skillset, bringing several regional opera companies together to produce the world premieres of The Trial of Susan B. Anthony, and most recently Unknown, a work that she also conceived, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Solider. She made her directorial debut staging Christopher Theofanidis' Virtue for the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, and for Spotlight on Opera, she has directed Così fan tutte, as well as scenes programs, and the innovative Don Giovanni in Quarantine — a digital adaptation of Mozart’s opera done remotely during the early stages of the COVID pandemic. Previously, she held the position of director of education for Opera New Jersey, for which she created and directed abridged versions of The Magic Flute, Hansel and Gretel, La Cenerentola, and The Pirates of Penzance, which toured schools in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York.
During her career as a mezzo-soprano, Shawn 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.”
Amanda Majeski, soprano; assistant professor of voice, University of Michigan
Internationally renowned American soprano Amanda Majeski has garnered critical acclaim for a voice of “silvery beauty” (Musical America). In 2019, Majeski added a new dimension to her career with her standout performance in the title role of Káťa Kabanová at Royal Opera, Covent Garden, which won Best New Opera Production at that year’s Olivier Awards. Of that performance, The Times declared: “If there is a more compelling solo performance on the operatic stage this year than Amanda Majeski’s in the title role of Janacek’s opera, I will need a new stock of superlatives. I unhesitatingly say that you are unlikely to encounter a Katya more profoundly acted than by the American soprano, nor more strikingly sung.”
For the 2023–2024 season, the soprano will make house returns to the Semperoper Dresden, singing Káťa in a Calixto Bieto production conducted by Alejo Pérez, and to Teatro Real Madrid, reprising her acclaimed portrayal of Marta in the Spanish premiere of Weinberg’s The Passenger. She also gives a recital under the auspices of her alma mater, the Curtis Institute of Music, as part of Opera Philadelphia’s O23 Festival. She returns to the role of Strauss’ Salome with a major European theater during the 2024–2025 season.
Majeski’s 2022–2023 season brought an exciting role debut as Salome, which she sang with Madison Opera in her home state of Wisconsin. She returned to the title role of Káťa Kabanová in a lauded performance with the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle, sang Bernstein's Kaddish Symphony with Teddy Abrams and the Louisville Orchestra, and performed Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the Tanglewood Music Festival with conductor Susanna Mälkki. Majeski is assistant professor of voice at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance.
Isaí Jess Muñoz, interim dean of music, Boston Conservatory at Berklee; president-elect, National Opera Association
Isaí Jess Muñoz serves as Boston Conservatory at Berklee’s interim dean of music. In this role, Muñoz directs artistic planning and strategy for the Music Division, supports its faculty and students, and works closely with faculty and administration to develop and refine the curriculum.
He joined the Conservatory in 2022 as chair of voice, overseeing and supporting all curricula and artistic programming for voice, opera, vocal pedagogy, and the choral arts. As chair, Muñoz drove several key initiatives, including an innovative partnership with Boston Lyric Opera that launched the Conservatory’s new Opera Innovators Series and brought several renowned professionals to campus, including Anne Bogart, Karen Slack, Stephen Powell, Yuval Sharon, and Martin Katz, to name a few.
In 2021, he was named president-elect of the National Opera Association (NOA), and will assume the role of president in 2024. He previously served as NOA’s vice president for conferences.
Muñoz has collaborated with some of the world’s leading ensembles, including the Israel Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, American Symphony Orchestra, Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center, Verbier Festival (Switzerland), New York City Opera, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
A champion for contemporary and underrepresented works, the tenor is featured on numerous audio recordings available on the Naxos, Albany, Sony Classical, and Decca Gold labels. His latest solo album, Visca L'Amor: Catalan Art Songs of the XX and XXI Centuries (Bridge Records/Naxos, 2021), is a BBC Music Magazine five-star honoree.
For teaching and interdisciplinary activities, Muñoz has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts, National Association of Teachers of Singing, American Prize, National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists, and the Grace Farms Foundation. From 2015–2021, he chaired the NOA’s Sacred in Opera Initiative, which explores the interplay between music-drama and the ideologies of world religions. His students appear in opera houses throughout the United States and abroad, on Broadway and with national companies, and on major recording labels including Sony, RCA, and Atlantic.
Muñoz is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and Stony Brook University, and has formerly served on faculty at the University of Delaware and Indiana Wesleyan University. As a guest lecturer and clinician, Muñoz appears with universities and performance programs worldwide. Muñoz, his wife, and three children divide their time between Boston and New York City.
Karen Slack, soprano; artistic advisor, Portland Opera
Known for performances that “ripped the audience’s hearts out” (Opera News), Karen Slack is “not only one of the nation's most celebrated sopranos, but a leading voice in changing and making spaces in classical music” (Trilloquy).
A recipient of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, Slack is a sought-after collaborator, curator, and artistic advisor known for her fiery charisma and ground-breaking approach to engagement. She is an artistic advisor for Portland Opera, serves on the board of the American Composers Orchestra and Astral Artists, and holds a faculty position at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Alberta, Canada.
Slack debuted the role of Billie in the 2019 world premiere of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones and made her film debut portraying the Opera Diva in Tyler Perry’s movie and soundtrack For Colored Girls.
Highlights of Slack’s 2023–2024 season include her solo debut with the New York Philharmonic, performing Beethoven’s "Ah, Perfido!" Op. 65 at David Geffen Hall, and her debut as a guest artist with Chamber Music Detroit, where she will give masterclasses and headline two programs: performing as a soloist in Of Thee I Sing, curated by Slack as a call for racial justice and an appeal to the healing power of love, and appearing alongside the Pacifica Quartet in works by Beethoven, Price, and James Lee III — whose featured work, A Double Standard, was commissioned for Slack and the Quartet by Carnegie Hall, Chamber Music Detroit, and Shriver Concert Series. In conjunction with Sparks and Wiry Cries, she performs in two productions of Songs in Flight, composer Shawn Okpebholo’s program exploring the stories of enslaved people who fled captivity, and she returns to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for selections from the Great American Songbook. Slack returns to Bogotá, Colombia for a recital at the Festival Internacional de Música Sacra Bogotá and continues her deep collaboration with the Pacifica Quartet later this season with performances presented by Denver Friends of Chamber Music.