Program Overview

Opera Theater

Opera Theater program courses focus on various acting technique, musical style, linguistic accuracy, performance readiness, and audition skills. The faculty and coaches provide training in role study, movement and dance, staging, musicianship, directing, and diction and language skills. Each semester’s coursework culminates in a performance of scenes from the standard 18th- through 20th-century repertory and selected contemporary works.

Program Facts

Program Type: Program
Division: Vocal Studies

Program Director

Timothy LeFebvre,
Professor of Voice

Quick Links

On stage, two women sit next to a basket. — Oberlin Opera Theater's production of the “Rape of Lucretia” was complemented by a series of programs that addressed the often tragic role of women in art throughout the ages to Lucretia’s relevance in 21st-century America.

Photo credit: Yevhen Gulenko

Opera Theater Productions

Oberlin Opera Theater presents two major productions with orchestra each year, in addition to a small-scale opera that is usually produced during winter term. Recent shows have included La finta giardiniera, Albert Herring, Street Scene, and the Rape of Lucretia. Students enrolled in various opera classes also perform in a program of opera scenes presented each semester. During the summer, consider performing off campus and in the community via the annual Oberlin Summer Theater Festival.

Thomas Bandy

Associate Professor of Vocal Accompanying
Daniel Michalak

Vocal Coach and Accompanist
Kyung-Eun Na

Associate Professor of Opera Coaching

Salvatore Champagne ’85

Robert W. Wheeler Professor of Voice

Kendra Colton ’83

Associate Professor of Voice

Mathilda Edge

Assistant Professor of Voice

Katherine Jolly

Associate Professor of Voice

Timothy LeFebvre

Professor of Voice

Concert: Opera Scenes II

07

Dec

7:30 pm EST

Kulas Recital Hall

Webcast Available

Oberlin Opera Theater presents Monteverdi's "L'Orfeo"

14

Mar

8:00 pm EDT

Hall Auditorium

Oberlin Opera Theater presents Monteverdi's "L'Orfeo"

15

Mar

8:00 pm EDT

Hall Auditorium

Oberlin Opera Theater presents Monteverdi's "L'Orfeo"

16

Mar

8:00 pm EDT

Hall Auditorium

Oberlin Opera Theater presents Monteverdi's "L'Orfeo"

17

Mar

2:00 pm EDT

Hall Auditorium

Award-winning Stage Director Stephanie Havey Talks Opera

November 3, 2023

In this Q&A with Havey, she shares her throughts about the framing of this production of Albert Herring as well as women in leadership roles in the opera world.

woman with bob haircut wearing a green top

Oberlin Opera Theater presents Benjamin Britten’s “Albert Herring” November 2-5

October 23, 2023

The Oberlin Opera Theater is back this fall with another social commentary comedy about finding your place in the world. The acclaimed chamber opera will be presented in four performances in Oberlin College’s Hall Auditorium.

graphic created for Albert Herring opera, purple curtains, pink flowers, and green tiles

Victor Hymes ’79 Named to Audubon Society Board

August 31, 2023

Entrepreneur and financier Victor Hymes, a 1979 graduate of Oberlin College and Conservatory, has been named to the Audubon Society’s national board of directors. A resident of San Francisco,...

Victor Hymes.

Life After Oberlin

Denyce Graves ’85

Mezzo-soprano featured with opera companies worldwide and voice faculty at Peabody and Juilliard

Daniel Okulitch ’99

Bass-baritone featured with opera companies worldwide

Elizabeth DeShong ’03

Mezzo-soprano featured with opera companies worldwide