Vocalists at Lamont study with Sara Bardill, Catherine Kasch, and Matthew Plenk, who have over five decades of combined experience in performance and teaching. Sahar Nouri is music director for Lamont Opera Theatre. Students also get to work on their foreign language diction with Beth Nielsen, who is equally versed in opera, art song, chamber music and musical theater. Collaborative pianist Ruth Baker works with students one-on-one and also serves as pianist for opera rehearsals.
In Fall 2021, dramatic soprano Heidi Melton joins the Lamont voice faculty. See below for more.
Lamont regularly welcomes distinguished guest artists for masterclasses and recitals. Recent guests have included Christine Brewer, Michelle DeYoung, Ailyn Pérez, Greg Carpenter, and Stefano de Peppo.
As part of Lamont Opera Theatre, students gain first-hand experience in all aspects of a professional career by performing in our annual fully staged operas and musicals. Undergraduates hold a majority in the voice program, and are frequently cast in major roles in productions. Voice students will also sing in our choirs, and have the opportunity to explore jazz. They rehearse and perform in the state-of-the-art Newman Center for the Performing Arts.
Faculty
Dramatic Soprano Heidi Melton Joins Lamont
Dramatic soprano Heidi Melton has been called “the Wagnerian voice we have been waiting for since Flagstad and Nilsson” (La Presse), with a voice that is “big, gleaming and tonally resplendent” (San Francisco Chronicle). Ms. Melton has performed across the globe with major symphony orchestras that include the New York Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and the Concertgebouw Orchestra under such conductors as Zubin Meta, Marin Alsop, and Sir Simon Rattle. She has enjoyed engagements at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Bayreuth Festival, Oper Frankfurt, Badisches Staatstheater, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and the Canadian Opera Company. She also is featured on recordings from Deutsche Grammophon, Naxos, and Musicales Actes. Read more.
Repertoire Requirements
Undergraduate (BM and BA)
- Two (2) pieces, with at least one of them classical in nature, preferably of contrasting character, exhibiting your skill, technique and understanding of musical phrasing and expression.
- Technical skills and sight reading tests may be requested at a live audition.
Undergraduate (Minor)
- One piece exhibiting your skill, technique, and understanding of musical phrasing and expression.
- Technical skills and sight reading tests may be requested at a live audition.
Graduate (MM and Certificate in Performance)
Perform all compositions from memory:
- Five (5) classical voice selections, including at least one operatic aria and at least three (3) art songs. In addition to English, at least three (3) languages, such as Italian, French, German or Spanish, must be represented.
- Technical skills and sight reading tests may be requested at a live audition.
Review Requirements for Artist Diploma
Review Requirements for Jazz Voice
