Opera, the passionate art where tempestuousness, jealousy, agonizing sorrow, cosmic romance, seduction, flirtation and comedic behavior come to life in grand and even grandiose style, has brought thirty three very talented young Mexican and U.S. singers to San Miguel de Allende to study at the San Miguel Institute of Bel Canto. The program will end in befitting style on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016, at 7:00 pm, when the Institute’s senior level students demonstrate their passion at the Young Professionals Gala Grand Finale.
The concert of arias and staged scenes to take place at the Teatro Ángela Peralta (Mesones 82) will showcase accomplishments achieved through study at the Institute, which provides an intensive, four-week program for young singers with major career potential. Tickets at 100 pesos ($5.48) for the balcony and 200 pesos for the mezzanine are now available at the Peralta box office. The Young Professionals have demonstrated success toward an early professional path by either skill level or professional experience. Their course of study has focused on opera and especially on role preparation. Its participants include winners of international contests as well as some who have received accolades for their performances with professional companies.
Led by a faculty of professionals, who hail from the Metropolitan Opera and other renowned world companies, and international trainers, the Institute has a holistic approach to the Bel Canto pedagogical legacy that goes back to 17th-century Italy. The style emphasizes natural, organic control. It promotes the concept that when the singer’s voice, body, breath, dramatic intention and musicality function together in harmony and freedom, real artistry can be achieved. Bel Canto has been credited by popular as well as classical singers for prolonging the health of their voices. Included among them have been Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan, Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole.
The Institute was co-founded and is co-directed by Joseph McClain and Michael Sylvester. McClain, the founder and former general director of the Austin Lyric Opera, was the founder and is Director Artístico Emeritus of Ópera San Miguel and its Concurso San Miguel. Sylvester, one of the most important American tenors on the international stage, appeared in leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera and other world renowned companies before retiring. “In designing the Institute,” McClain said, “Michael and I envisioned creating a transformative Bel Canto program comprising faculty from the United States and Mexico who have proven track records of bringing winners to important competitions, placing lead singers in the ensembles of major houses, and, most importantly, building a healthy vocal/musical foundation that would last a lifetime.”
The generosity of the Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramírez, “El Nigromante,” del Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, has enabled the Institute to be headquartered at Bellas Artes for its 2015 and 2016 summer seasons.
For more information, contact Joseph McClain at 154-9837 or email him at info@smibelcanto.com
Follow the San Miguel Institute of Bel Canto on Facebook or visit online at http://smibelcanto.com
ALEXIS WHITE