The Lorin Maazel Castleton Institute will be holding its fall master class sessions beginning October 7 in New York City, and I am pleased to once again be serving as the faculty coach and pianist. The first session, running from October 7 – 13, will be German Repertory Immersion – the Operas of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. The second session, running from October 16 -22, will be Performing Italian Opera: Tradition and Practice. Both sessions will be led by the peerless Elizabeth Blancke-Biggs, Mo. Michael Recchiuti, and Dietlinde Turban Maazel.
In addition, Jeremy Gerard, Chief Engineer of Gurari Studios, an engineer with over twenty-five years of professional experience, will give a class on the critical skills of how to optimize a singer’s experience in the recording studio, and will engineer “before and after” videos of the class performances.
For my admittedly old-fashioned sensibilities, these classes constitute the best source of the widest range of information a young singer can receive in New York these days. I am honored to be a part of it. And when I use the word “peerless” to describe my colleagues, I mean it in its most literal sense: they are truly without peer of any kind, and the very best in their respective fields.
The final concerts at the end of each session will take place in Scorca Hall at the National Opera Center, 330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY. The first will be on October 13, at 7:00 p.m., and the second will be on October 22 at 7:00 p.m. Admission is free, and open to the public.