The National Opera Studio in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England was established in 1977 by the Arts Council as a link between the music colleges and the six main UK opera companies. It was resident at

Morley College Morley College is a specialist adult education and further education college in London, England. The college has three main campuses, one in Waterloo, London, Waterloo on the South Bank, and two in West London namely in North Kensington and in ...

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area ex ...

until 2003, when it gained use for the first time of its own dedicated premises in Chapel Yard,

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

. Former directors are Kathryn Harries, Donald Maxwell, Richard Van Allan, and Michael Langdon, and its Head of Music is Mark Shanahan. It is responsible for the training of approximately twelve singers each academic year, as well as four piano répétiteurs. Its funding comes in part from the six main UK opera companies

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in Englis ...

Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) ( cy, Opera Cenedlaethol Cymru) is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales; it gave its first performances in 1946. It began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its ...

Scottish Opera Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow, it is the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. History Scottish O ...

Opera North Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays a ...

and the

Glyndebourne Festival Opera Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England. History Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, e ...

, and it is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (2018–2022). Representatives from each company sit on the final audition panel for selection of each year's intake. The nine-month course usually includes residencies at three of the national opera companies, as well as opera scenes performances in London throughout the year.

Notable alumni

* Peter Auty * Barry Banks * Jeffrey Black *

Alfie Boe Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe (born 29 September 1973) is an English tenor and actor, notably performing in musical theatre. He is best known for his performances as Jean Valjean in the musical ''Les Misérables'' at the Queen's Theatre in ...

Ivor Bolton Ivor Bolton Ivor Bolton (born 17 May 1958) is an English conductor and harpsichordist. Early life and education Bolton was born in Blackrod, Greater Manchester, England. He studied at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn and Clare Col ...

* Susan Bullock *

Alice Coote Alice Coote OBE (born 10 May 1968) is a British lyric mezzo-soprano. Life Coote was born in Frodsham, Cheshire, the daughter of the painter Mark Coote. She was educated at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London (though she did not ...

Wynne Evans Wynne Evans BEM MStJ (born 27 January 1972) is a Welsh singer and actor, known for his role as Gio Compario and laterly himself in the Go.compare insurance adverts on television in the United Kingdom. Evans sang the role of Ubaldo Piangi in ...

* Richard Farnes *

Gerald Finley Gerald Hunter Finley, (born January 30, 1960) is a Canadian baritone opera singer. Early life Finley was born in Montreal and studied music at St. Matthew's Anglican Church, Ottawa, the University of Ottawa, King's College, Cambridge and the R ...

Catherine Foster Catherine Foster may refer to: * Catherine Foster (soprano), English operatic soprano * Catherine Foster (murderer), English woman who murdered her husband * Cathy Foster, British sailor * Kitty Foster Catherine "Kitty" Foster (–1863) was a freed ...

Lesley Garrett Lesley Garrett, CBE (born 10 April 1955) is an English soprano singer, musician, broadcaster and media personality. She is noted for being at home in opera and "crossover music". Early life Garrett was born in the town of Thorne, near Doncas ...

Lisa Gasteen Lisa Kinkead Gasteen AO (born 13 November 1957), is an Australian operatic soprano, known for her performances of the works of Wagner. She won the Cardiff Singer of the World competition in 1991. She did not perform between 2008 and 2011, due to ...

* Julian Gavin *

Carl Gombrich Carl Gombrich is a British interdisciplinary educator, academic, former opera singer and co-founder of the London Interdisciplinary School. Early life and education Carl Gombrich was born in 1965, to Dorothea Amanda Friedrich and to renown Bri ...

Susan Gritton Susan Gritton (born 31 August 1965) is an English operatic soprano. She was the 1994 winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Award and has sung leading roles in a wide-ranging repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Britten, Janáček and Strauss. Life an ...

* Alison Hagley *

Caitlin Hulcup Caitlin Hulcup is an Australian mezzo-soprano, who has performed both in Australia and internationally, particularly in Europe. Early life and education Hulcup was born in Melbourne and grew up in Perth. At age eleven she took up the violin, goin ...

* Buddug Verona James * Philip Joll *

Paul Carey Jones Paul Carey Jones (born 11th March 1974 in Cardiff, Wales) is a Welsh-Irish bass-baritone opera singer. Early life and education Jones was born in Cardiff, to a Welsh father (from Carmarthenshire) and an Irish mother (from County Mayo), and is ...

Katarina Karnéus Katarina Esmé Marie Karnéus (born 26 November 1965) is a Swedish mezzo-soprano opera singer, winner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, active on many of the opera world's major stages such as the Metropolitan Opera and the ...

Marie McLaughlin Marie McLaughlin (born 2 November 1954) is a Scottish operatic soprano. A light lyric soprano, McLaughlin is noted for her performances as Susanna and Marcellina ('' Le nozze di Figaro''), Zerlina (''Don Giovanni''), Despina ('' Cosi fan tutte'') ...

* Jean Rigby *

Kate Royal Kate Royal (born 1979) is an English lyric soprano. She is the daughter of Steve Royal, a singer and songwriter for television, and of Carolyn Royal, a former model and dancer. Royal was born in London and attended Talbot Heath School in Bourn ...

* Claire Rutter *

William Shimell William Shimell (born Brentwood, Essex, 23 September 1952) is an English baritone who has had an active international career performing in operaForbes, Elizabeth. William Shimell. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmillan, London & New ...

* Hilary Summers * Jeremy Huw Williams

Other notable alumni

*Marie Arnet *Clive Bailey *Kim Begley *Matthew Best *Cora Burggraaf *Elizabeth Byrne *Bruno Caproni *Karen Cargill *Ashley Catling *John S. Craven *David Curry *Robert Dean *Imelda Drumm *Adrian Dwyer *Martin Fitzpatrick *Martene Grimson *Jonathan Gunthorpe *Gwyn Hughes-Jones *Thora Ker *Anthony Kraus *Garry Magee * Alastair Miles *Gerald Moore *Robert Murray *Steven Naylor *Steven Page *Joan Rodgers *Peter Rose *Rebecca Von Lipinski *Roland Wood

Notes

References

* Langdon, Michael (1982) ''Notes From A Low Singer'', Julia MacRae Books

External links

National Opera Studio website
{{authority control Music schools in London Performing arts education in London Opera organizations Opera companies Music venues in London