Bringing Opera to the Margins
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I have earned major roles in two different Wagner operas taking place in New York and Berlin this summer, and I need your help to make them happen.
These roles are extremely important for developing my career, and provide a concrete stepping stone to my long-term goals.
THE DREAM: Access and Education
To encourage everyday Americans to interface with opera, I believe we need to provide this art in "found spaces" (a brewery? an art studio? a rec center?) that patrons can afford, and competitive compensation for both singers and instrumentalists. At the same time, opera training and performance opportunities for historically marginalized communities are necessary to include new and "other" voices in a traditionally European artform. Could this be more community college opera programs? Or subsidized voice lessons for students in low-income high school networks?
These are some of the thoughts and questions that inform my long-term vision. Since beginning my Master's degree at UCLA in 2016, I have pushed to intentionally synthesize my experience as an educator with a performance career in opera.
But I'm not in a position to create or promote these things -- yet. To develop as a performer, I need experience on stage. This summer I have the opportunity to sing two roles that are designed for my "Fach" (how a singer's voice is classified). These roles are a great match for where I am as a singer and offer ample challenge, musically and dramatically. IT'S A PRETTY BIG DEAL, FOLKS!
I have been cast as Gerhilde, a Valkyrie, in Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) by Richard Wagner (you know, with the horns and the breastplates?). I am delighted to be joining the Manhattan Opera Studio Wagner Division for this role in July. As part of the program, I'll be singing in a concert at Carnegie Hall!
After this, I travel to Germany for the Dramatic Voices Program Berlin, where I'll sing Woglinde, a Rheinmaiden, in Wagner's Das Rheingold in August.
THAT'S TWO FULL WAGNER ROLES, with orchestra, in the span of two months. The impact, experience, and training that results from these programs cannot be overstated. I am humbled and thrilled to have earned these opportunities. (You may have, uh, seen the fancy social media posts.)
But I know, financially, I cannot do this alone. The programs are $3,000 and $4,500 respectively, not including housing and travel. I am asking for your support because of the strength and generosity of the cadre of communities I am blessed to be a part of. So many people have been participants in my journey getting to this point, and I am reaching out because this is a concrete way you can help sustain my work. And I really need it. And, with encouragement from friends and colleagues, I'm not going to be afraid to ask.
I will be hosting a fundraising recital in Denver in May in conjunction with this campaign. At this recital, I will talk about Wagner's Ring Cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen, from which both of these operas come. This easy-access recital will feature opera arias as well as art songs in German and French. I'm inviting my current theology students, the senior class at Arrupe Jesuit High School, as guests of honor. It will be an opportunity for education and celebration, for seasoned patrons of opera and for those just now discovering it. Please come join us!
If you are moved to contribute to the cost of these programs, please do! I also welcome you to reach out to me directly with any questions or suggestions. Thank you for your continued patronage, and the many ways you support my passion and work.
Here's the breakdown:
MOS (New York): $2,950 program cost
"The MOS Summer Festival is the first Summer Program of its kind in Manhattan. Selected singers will participate in an aria and opera scenes concert at Carnegie Hall, masterclasses with some of the most prestigious agents of New York City, feedback auditions with conductors of the Metropolitan Opera House, and coachings in music and diction. All the participants in the 2019 Summer Festival will receive HD Recordings and photos from their performances. On our 7th anniversary, we are happy to introduce the Wagner Division. This Division will be focused on the development of young Wagnerian voices. In the first edition of the Wagner Division, we will be casting for all roles of Wagner's "Die Walküre."”
DVPB (Berlin) : 3,850 EUR program cost (~$4,500)
“The Dramatic Voices Program Berlin Opera Residency offers two voice lessons a week, daily music coaching and German language coaching, two acting coachings a week, and daily role preparation. Those cast have two performances in a fully-staged production of Wagner's "Das Rheingold" with orchestra. There will be three public master classes and half a Lieder recital per artist, as well as agent coachings with individual feedback.”
Airbnb in Berlin, August 11-31: $800
(I'm staying with a friend in New York, so no housing costs there!)
5 weeks of food in New York: ($160/week): $800
3 weeks of food in Berlin: ($160/week) $480
____
$9, 480 total
You can buy tickets to these operas, read my full bio and peruse my resume here:
www.stephaniedeprez.com
IG: steph.deprez
"Stephanie DePrez holds a Masters in Music in Voice from UCLA, where she was the recipient of the Mimi Alpert Feldman Scholarship for Voice and the Fritz Altmann Scholarship, and was the 2018 Graduate Commencement Speaker for the Herb Alpert School of Music. Stephanie sang the lead role of Susan B. Anthony in Opera UCLA's spring 2018 production of “The Mother of Us All.” Previous roles include Aunt Norris in “Mansfield Park,” Dorothée in “Cendrillon,” Antonia in “Les Contes d’Hoffmann,” Béatrice in “Béatrice et Bénédict,” and Marthe in Gounod’s “Faust.”
"Stephanie has been featured in recital with LA Opera Composer-in-Residence Matthew Aucoin and composer Mark Carlson. Stephanie is also an accomplished ensemble singer, most recently performing as an inaugural member of the UCLA Ensemble Artist Program, an educational collaboration with GRAMMY® nominated professional ensemble Seraphic Fire. She performed as a guest artist with Seraphic Fire during their 2017–2018 season across southern Florida in Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” and Arvo Pärt’s “Passio.” This past August, Stephanie received a full scholarship to attend the Professional Choral Institute with Seraphic Fire at Aspen Music Festival and School.
"Stephanie holds a BA in Music and Film Production/Television Studies from the University of Notre Dame and is currently featured on Notre Dame’s Grotto Network as the subject of the short film, Singing Opera to Bring Beauty to the World (feature below)."
Stephanie currently studies with Sylvia Greenberg.
These roles are extremely important for developing my career, and provide a concrete stepping stone to my long-term goals.
THE DREAM: Access and Education
To encourage everyday Americans to interface with opera, I believe we need to provide this art in "found spaces" (a brewery? an art studio? a rec center?) that patrons can afford, and competitive compensation for both singers and instrumentalists. At the same time, opera training and performance opportunities for historically marginalized communities are necessary to include new and "other" voices in a traditionally European artform. Could this be more community college opera programs? Or subsidized voice lessons for students in low-income high school networks?
These are some of the thoughts and questions that inform my long-term vision. Since beginning my Master's degree at UCLA in 2016, I have pushed to intentionally synthesize my experience as an educator with a performance career in opera.
But I'm not in a position to create or promote these things -- yet. To develop as a performer, I need experience on stage. This summer I have the opportunity to sing two roles that are designed for my "Fach" (how a singer's voice is classified). These roles are a great match for where I am as a singer and offer ample challenge, musically and dramatically. IT'S A PRETTY BIG DEAL, FOLKS!
I have been cast as Gerhilde, a Valkyrie, in Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) by Richard Wagner (you know, with the horns and the breastplates?). I am delighted to be joining the Manhattan Opera Studio Wagner Division for this role in July. As part of the program, I'll be singing in a concert at Carnegie Hall!
After this, I travel to Germany for the Dramatic Voices Program Berlin, where I'll sing Woglinde, a Rheinmaiden, in Wagner's Das Rheingold in August.
THAT'S TWO FULL WAGNER ROLES, with orchestra, in the span of two months. The impact, experience, and training that results from these programs cannot be overstated. I am humbled and thrilled to have earned these opportunities. (You may have, uh, seen the fancy social media posts.)
But I know, financially, I cannot do this alone. The programs are $3,000 and $4,500 respectively, not including housing and travel. I am asking for your support because of the strength and generosity of the cadre of communities I am blessed to be a part of. So many people have been participants in my journey getting to this point, and I am reaching out because this is a concrete way you can help sustain my work. And I really need it. And, with encouragement from friends and colleagues, I'm not going to be afraid to ask.
I will be hosting a fundraising recital in Denver in May in conjunction with this campaign. At this recital, I will talk about Wagner's Ring Cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen, from which both of these operas come. This easy-access recital will feature opera arias as well as art songs in German and French. I'm inviting my current theology students, the senior class at Arrupe Jesuit High School, as guests of honor. It will be an opportunity for education and celebration, for seasoned patrons of opera and for those just now discovering it. Please come join us!
If you are moved to contribute to the cost of these programs, please do! I also welcome you to reach out to me directly with any questions or suggestions. Thank you for your continued patronage, and the many ways you support my passion and work.
Here's the breakdown:
MOS (New York): $2,950 program cost
"The MOS Summer Festival is the first Summer Program of its kind in Manhattan. Selected singers will participate in an aria and opera scenes concert at Carnegie Hall, masterclasses with some of the most prestigious agents of New York City, feedback auditions with conductors of the Metropolitan Opera House, and coachings in music and diction. All the participants in the 2019 Summer Festival will receive HD Recordings and photos from their performances. On our 7th anniversary, we are happy to introduce the Wagner Division. This Division will be focused on the development of young Wagnerian voices. In the first edition of the Wagner Division, we will be casting for all roles of Wagner's "Die Walküre."”
DVPB (Berlin) : 3,850 EUR program cost (~$4,500)
“The Dramatic Voices Program Berlin Opera Residency offers two voice lessons a week, daily music coaching and German language coaching, two acting coachings a week, and daily role preparation. Those cast have two performances in a fully-staged production of Wagner's "Das Rheingold" with orchestra. There will be three public master classes and half a Lieder recital per artist, as well as agent coachings with individual feedback.”
Airbnb in Berlin, August 11-31: $800
(I'm staying with a friend in New York, so no housing costs there!)
5 weeks of food in New York: ($160/week): $800
3 weeks of food in Berlin: ($160/week) $480
____
$9, 480 total
You can buy tickets to these operas, read my full bio and peruse my resume here:
www.stephaniedeprez.com
IG: steph.deprez
"Stephanie DePrez holds a Masters in Music in Voice from UCLA, where she was the recipient of the Mimi Alpert Feldman Scholarship for Voice and the Fritz Altmann Scholarship, and was the 2018 Graduate Commencement Speaker for the Herb Alpert School of Music. Stephanie sang the lead role of Susan B. Anthony in Opera UCLA's spring 2018 production of “The Mother of Us All.” Previous roles include Aunt Norris in “Mansfield Park,” Dorothée in “Cendrillon,” Antonia in “Les Contes d’Hoffmann,” Béatrice in “Béatrice et Bénédict,” and Marthe in Gounod’s “Faust.”
"Stephanie has been featured in recital with LA Opera Composer-in-Residence Matthew Aucoin and composer Mark Carlson. Stephanie is also an accomplished ensemble singer, most recently performing as an inaugural member of the UCLA Ensemble Artist Program, an educational collaboration with GRAMMY® nominated professional ensemble Seraphic Fire. She performed as a guest artist with Seraphic Fire during their 2017–2018 season across southern Florida in Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” and Arvo Pärt’s “Passio.” This past August, Stephanie received a full scholarship to attend the Professional Choral Institute with Seraphic Fire at Aspen Music Festival and School.
"Stephanie holds a BA in Music and Film Production/Television Studies from the University of Notre Dame and is currently featured on Notre Dame’s Grotto Network as the subject of the short film, Singing Opera to Bring Beauty to the World (feature below)."
Stephanie currently studies with Sylvia Greenberg.
Organizer
Stephanie DePrez
Organizer
Littleton, CO