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

Jonathon Field,
Associate Professor of Opera Theater

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
Jonathon Field

Associate Professor of Opera Theater
Daniel Michalak

Vocal Coach and Accompanist
Christopher Mirto

Assistant Professor of Opera Theater
Kyung-Eun Na

Associate Professor of Opera Coaching

Salvatore Champagne ’85

Robert W. Wheeler Professor of Voice

Kendra Colton ’83

Assistant Professor of Voice

Mathilda Edge

Assistant Professor of Voice

Katherine Jolly

Associate Professor of Voice

Timothy LeFebvre

Professor of Voice

Opera Music

29

Oct

7:30 pm

Birenbaum Innovation and Performance Space

Oberlin Opera Theater presents one-act operas by Offenbach and Rossini

10

Nov

8:00 pm

Hall Auditorium

Oberlin Opera Theater presents one-act operas by Offenbach and Rossini

11

Nov

8:00 pm

Hall Auditorium

Oberlin Opera Theater presents one-act operas by Offenbach and Rossini

12

Nov

8:00 pm

Hall Auditorium

Oberlin Opera Theater presents one-act operas by Offenbach and Rossini

13

Nov

2:00 pm

Hall Auditorium

Oberlin Opera presents "Alice Tierney" (world premiere)

27

Jan

7:30 pm

Finney Chapel

Oberlin Conservatory Joins Consortium Created by the Denyce Graves Foundation

September 28, 2022

On Friday, September 30, two Oberlin Conservatory vocal performance students will travel to Howard University in Washington, D. C., to participate in the launch of Shared Voices , a new classical...

Side-by-side headshots of students Ava Paul (L) and Travis Guillory.

How Opera Rep Gets Prepped

March 22, 2022

Opera coach Kyung-Eun Na helps bring “Il Matrimonio Segreto” to the stage.

Pianist Kyung-Eun Na coaching opera singers.

2022 Winter Term Recap

March 11, 2022

More than 2,290 students explored projects and research opportunities outside of their normal course of study during Winter Term. In this wrap-up gallery we look back at some of the group projects students performed.

A student works in a lab surrounded by books and instruments.

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