The National Opera Studio in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England was established in 1977 by the

Arts Council An arts council is a government or private non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts; mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing arts events. They often operate at arms-length from the government to prevent pol ...

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 on the South Bank, and two in West London namely in North Kensington and in Chelsea, the ...

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

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 Kathryn Harries (15 February 1951 – 26 May 2023) was a British operatic soprano. She taught at Kingston Polytechnic (now Kingston University). For several years she worked as a presenter for Music Time beginning in 1977. Harries made her op ...

, Donald Maxwell,

Richard Van Allan Richard Van Allan CBE (28 May 1935 – 4 December 2008) was a versatile British operatic bass singer who had a lengthy career. He sang varied repertoire at Covent Garden and English National Opera, as well as at numerous important houses worldwi ...

, and Michael Langdon. Its funding comes in part from the six main UK opera companies

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British 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 E ...

Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) () is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales. WNO gave its first performances in 1946. The company began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its early days, the ...

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 Op ...

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 Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council o ...

National Portfolio Organisation (2023–26).

Programme

The National Opera Studio's nine month programme has places for up to 12 singers and four repetiteurs, who are offered residencies, opera scenes showcases and masterclasses with its constituent opera company sponsors.

Notable alumni

Peter Auty Peter Robert Auty (born 1969) is an English operatic tenor who has worked with most of the major opera companies in Britain and a number of companies in continental Europe. Choirboy Auty was a choirboy who sang at St Paul's Cathedral. At the a ...

* Barry Banks *

Jeffrey Black Jeffrey Black (born 6 September 1962) is an Australian baritone who has had an active international performance career since the early 1980s. A frequent performer with Opera Australia and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, he has performed lead ...

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

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 C ...

Susan Bullock Susan Margaret Bullock (born 9 December 1958 in Cheshire) is a British soprano. She has performed dramatic soprano parts at major opera houses, and also sung in concert and recital. Bullock was educated at Cheadle Hulme School, and further a ...

Alice Coote Alice Coote OBE (born 10 May 1968) is a British mezzo-soprano. Known internationally for her performances in opera playing both female and male roles, and her recitals with piano and concerts with orchestra, Coote has performed extensively acro ...

Wynne Evans James Wynne Evans (born 27 January 1972) is a Welsh opera singer, presenter and actor, known for his role as Gio Compario and latterly himself in Go.Compare insurance adverts on UK television. Evans hosted a regular radio programme on BBC ...

* Richard Farnes *

Gerald Finley Gerald Hunter Finley, (born January 30, 1960) is a Canadian bass-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 ...

* Catherine Foster *

Lesley Garrett Lesley Garrett, CBE (born 10 April 1955) is an English soprano singer, musician, broadcaster and media personality who 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 *

Julian Gavin Julian Gavin (born 1965) is an Australian-born British operatic tenor who has sung leading roles both in the United Kingdom and internationally. His full-length opera recordings include Don José in ''Carmen'' and the title roles in ''Ernani'' an ...

* Carl Gombrich *

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 Richard Strauss, St ...

* Alison Hagley * Caitlin Hulcup * Buddug Verona James *

Philip Joll Phillip Joll (born 14 March 1954) is a Welsh operatic baritone known for his portrayal of Wotan in Richard Wagner, Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen''. Born 14 March 1954 in Merthyr Tydfil, Joll was a pupil at Cyfarthfa High School, before joi ...

Paul Carey Jones Paul Carey Jones (born 11 March 1974) 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 a dual-nationality ci ...

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 Par ...

* Marie McLaughlin * Jean Rigby *

Kate Royal Kate Royal (born 1979) is an English lyric soprano. Royal was born in London and attended Talbot Heath School in Bournemouth, Dorset. She later studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and then the National Opera Studio, graduating in ...

* Claire Rutter * William Shimell *

Hilary Summers Hilary Summers is a Welsh lyric contralto. She was trained at Reading University, the Royal Academy of Music, and the National Opera Studio in London. She has performed on soundtracks such as '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'', '' The Li ...

* Jeremy Huw Williams

Other notable alumni

Alastair Miles Alastair Miles (born 11 July 1961, Harrow, England) is a British operatic and concert bass who has had an international career since the late 1980s. Biography Education Alastair Miles was educated at The John Lyon School, Harrow, and subs ...

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