A program of the Sewanee Summer Music Festival
June 30—July 14, 2024

OperaFest Sewanee is an artist incubator program that brings together emerging artists and leading experts in opera from around the world. Situated atop the Cumberland Plateau, our festival provides a beautiful environment for artists to escape, create, and grow, while only being a short drive from major cities.

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Directed by Laura Brooks Rice, OperaFest offers private coaching, masterclasses, various performance opportunities, and workshops exploring professional learning. Our program focuses on our three artistic pillars: creation, collaboration, and mentorship. Each session provides training on operatic style, diction and language, dramatic presentation, performance technique, and professional skills training portfolio artists. All participants will have the opportunity to perform in public concerts, including aria and opera excerpt evenings with piano and instrumental students.

Our encouraging, creative environment aims to give each participant the support and tools they need to continue developing and thrive. OperaFest participants will have a range of performance and coaching opportunities, including public master classes, aria showcases, a scenes program, and collaborative performances with SSMF student composers.

Program Director

Laura Brooks Rice

For more information about the OperaFest faculty, please visit our faculty page.

Who is the program for?

The program is most suitable for college and graduate students as well as post-grad singers in the pre-professional stage of their career.

Application Information

Required Materials
Headshot, resume, completed online application, 2 video recordings

Audition Requirements
Two video recordings—contrasting arias

Application Fees & Deadlines

Mid-November 2023
OperaFest Application Opens!
$50.00 application fee

January 29th, 2024
OperaFest Application Deadline

Tuition & Fees

Tuition: $2,000
This includes all lessons, masterclasses, coachings, and seminars.

Room & Board: $1,075
This includes all meals, a double occupancy room, and use of campus facilities including Fowler Athletic Center and duPont Library.

Refunds will not be granted, for any reason, if the inquiry is communicated to our office past May 19, 2024.

For more information, please contact ssmfadmissions@sewanee.edu

Header photo by David Andrews