What is the structure of the Young Artists' Programme? Expand The NOS runs a nine-month full-time Young Artists' Programme which begins in September each year. The Programme is open to singers and repetiteurs. All Young Artists benefit from: intensive one-to-one coaching; close links with the six main UK opera companies who monitor your progress; a strong emphasis on ensemble work; regular acting and movement sessions; professional coaches drawn from British and European opera houses; individual coaching in Italian, French and German; sessions on professional resilience; and much more. Please see the Programme page for more details.
Can anyone apply? Expand Yes. The application process is completely open to those aged 18 and above. There is no upper age restriction for applying to the NOS. However, applicants are reminded that the Young Artists' Programme is very intensive and is intended to benefit extremely gifted singers and repetiteurs who are at the beginning of their careers in opera.
How many places are there? Expand We can usually accept a maximum of 12 singers and 4 repetiteurs onto the Young Artists' Programme each year.
What happens if I am unwell on my audition day? Expand You should call 020 8874 8811 or email [email protected] as soon as you feel that you may not be able to attend your audition. The more notice you can give us, the better. We will do our best to talk through options with you, but in some cases there will be nothing we can do and the audition will be treated as a cancellation.
How do applicants from non EEA countries get a visa to come the audition? Expand The National Opera Studio does not handle visa applications. However, if you are applying for a visa to come to an audition in person, we can provide a Letter of Invitation to support your visa application. This letter will also be provided for EU citizens following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, should this be necessary. Please email [email protected] if you need a Letter of Invitation.
Is there financial assistance for travelling to and from auditions? Expand We regret that we are unable to offer any financial support with regard to travelling to and from auditions.
Will I get feedback from my audition? Expand Due to the number of auditions, we regret that we are unable to provide any feedback from the First Round. Following the Final Round, written feedback will be offered to all unsuccessful Final Round auditionees within one calendar month of the results notification, if requested.
How quickly will I find out about the result? Expand After the First Round, you will be notified by email by 5.30pm on Wednesday 16 February 2022 whether or not you have been successful. If you are successful, you will be invited to a Second (Final) Round audition. After the Final Round, every effort will be made to notify you within one week (seven days) of the final audition date.
What do I need to bring with me? Expand Please make sure you bring a copy of all of your audition music. This should be prepared for the accompanist before you arrive at the NOS. Please note that the panel will not receive a copy of your music.
What do I wear to the audition? Expand For the video audition, please dress in clothing that makes you feel comfortable and which does not impede your performance. For the Second and Final Round, please dress smartly in clothes that make you feel confident and comfortable. There is no need to wear formal evening wear at any stage in the process.
Can I bring my teacher, agent, family member or friend? Expand Please do not bring anybody with you to your audition. The audition days are very busy and there is no space for anyone to sit and wait for you while you audition. If someone is travelling with you, please ask them to wait in one of the many nice cafés nearby! If you have access needs that require you to have another person in the room with you, please let us know in advance by emailing [email protected].
Can I bring my own accompanist? Expand The NOS will provide a highly qualified and experienced accompanist for all auditions. You will not be able to bring your own pianist for your audition or for your warm-up time. This is for the sake of consistency and to serve all applicants to the best of our ability, equally and without prejudice. There will be no opportunity to rehearse with the audition accompanist. Please make sure you have a copy of all of your audition music prepared for the accompanist before you arrive at the NOS.
Can I sing the same repertoire in both rounds of auditions? Expand Yes. If you are invited to a Final Round audition you may, if you wish, bring the same arias as the ones you brought to your First Round audition. Remember, most of the Final Round audition panel will not have been present at your First Round audition.
What repertoire do I need to prepare for the audition? Expand For your First Round Audition, you must record at least three audition pieces, of which: all should be opera (no song or oratorio) at least two languages should be represented at least one should be in English at least one should be from a contemporary opera (post-1980) You may, if you wish, record additional arias (up to a maximum of five audition pieces) from which the panel may choose. You are welcome to bring a post-1980 English aria. Please name all of your videos in the following format: Applicant First Name_Applicant Surname_Aria_Composer Please check out our 'Video requirements and Guidance for First Round Auditions' page here.
Who will be on the audition panel? Expand The First Round panel will be made up of at least two members of the NOS Artistic Team, and at least one member of the artistic staff of one of our six partner opera companies on each day. The panel will consist of a minimum of three people. The Final Round panel will be made up of the NOS Artistic Team and representatives from each of our six partner opera companies: English National Opera, Glyndebourne, Opera North, the Royal Opera House, Scottish Opera and Welsh National Opera. The panel will consist of a minimum of nine people.
Where do auditions take place? Expand The first round will be by video selection. The second and final round of auditions take place in the National Opera Studio's Blackburn Hall: National Opera StudioThe Clore Building2 Chapel YardWandsworth High St.LondonSW18 4HZ
When is the deadline for submitting references? Expand The deadline for your referees to submit a reference for you is Thursday 20 January 2022 at 11:59pm. It is your responsibility to make sure that your referee has received the reference request and knows how to submit a reference. Make sure to remind them in plenty of time.
What language should references be in? Expand Where possible, references should be written in English. However, references in German, French, Italian or Russian will also be accepted.
How long do references need to be? Expand There is no word limit for references. However, as we receive so many applications, it helps if references are concise and relevant.
What information should references contain? Expand References must be written specifically for your application to the NOS. They should ideally refer to the following: how the referee knows you and how long they have known you their opinion on your: stage presence musicality command of languages reliability learning speed working relationships with colleagues.
How are the references submitted? Expand When completing the application form on YAP Tracker, you will need to provide the names and contact details of two referees who have agreed to provide a reference for you. When you submit your form, the YAP Tracker website will automatically send an email to each referee, asking them to upload a reference directly onto the YAP Tracker website. Please bear in mind when selecting your referees that references cannot be accepted in any other way.
Who should write my references? Expand References should be written by music or theatre professionals (for example: directors, agents, established singers, accompanists, heads of departments), but not your current singing teacher or any previous singing teachers.
Can I send my CV to the NOS? Expand Please don’t send additional materials such as CVs to the NOS. You will be able to give us all the information we need and upload your headshot in your YAP Tracker application. Additional materials will not be given to the panel.
What do I do if I have technical problems using YAP Tracker? Expand If you have problems uploading any part of your application or have other technical issues with YAP Tracker, please contact the YAP Tracker help team on [email protected]. We recommend that you give yourself plenty of time to submit your application before the deadline, just in case you experience technical difficulties.
How do I complete my YAP Tracker application? Expand Once you have registered on YAP Tracker, you can log in and view the NOS online application form. You then need to enter all the information you can provide into the form. The form also asks you to upload a headshot. At the bottom of the form, we ask for your debit/credit card information for the £25 fee (which will be taken from your card when you submit the online form). When you are sure everything is correct, click submit. After this, you will need to log back in to YAP Tracker regularly to check whether your referees have submitted their references.
Do I need a YAP Tracker membership to apply? Expand You do not need to pay for a YAP Tracker membership in order to apply to the NOS. Free 'guest' memberships are available on YAP Tracker for those who only wish to have access to the NOS application form. You can use your free 'guest' membership account to apply to the NOS, but you will not have access to listings / opportunities from other companies on YAP Tracker. When you sign up for the free 'guest' membership, you will be given a username and password to use every time you want to look at the status of your NOS application. Follow this link to get started: www.yaptracker.com/register-applicant
How do I get on to the YAP Tracker website? Expand A link will be published on the applications page when applications open on Monday 1 November 2021.
Will I need to pay an audition fee? Expand As part of your application you will be required to pay a First Round Audition and Admin fee of £25 via credit/debit card on YAP Tracker, which is non-refundable. If you are invited to a Second and Final Round (Friday 1st April 2022 and Saturday 2nd April 2022), you will be required to pay an additional £55.
Can my submission include videos of me in performance? Expand No, video submissions must be in an audition setting with piano accompaniment.
Can my video submissions use a pre-recorded piano accompaniment track? Expand For submissions, we require both the pianist and singer to be in the same room but in the current climate, if this isn't possible, we will accept submissions that use a pre-recorded piano accompaniment provided they are all recorded within the last three months.
Will NOS be hosting an Open Day? Expand Yes, there will be an Open Morning on 4 November where you will be able to visit the Studio and meet staff.
My videos in YAP Tracker appear not to have been viewed. Why? Expand We would like to reassure every applicant that all videos submitted in an application will have been viewed in their entirety at least twice. Our application portal YAP Tracker and have confirmed that due to the security encryption it uses, analytics tracking is blocked, therefore any videos viewed through YAP Tracker do not register click-throughs or views. An official statement from YAP Tracker is included below: “We use a privacy enhanced mode when embedding YouTube videos on YAP Tracker, and it is our understanding and our intention that viewing behaviour is therefore not tracked. We have made this clear on several occasions, including a recent forum on OPERA America. The video of that event can be viewed here if anyone would like further clarification. https://www.operaamerica.org/industry-resources/2021/202103/behind-the-table-demystifying-the-opera-audition/”