Coaching Insights
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Coaching insights
Filming audition videos
Nancy Holt (Mezzo-soprano 2024/25) offers practical advice on filming auditions using a phone. She discusses what camera settings to use, and how to light and frame your video.
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Coaching insights
Recognising the ‘inner critic’
‘The inner critic’ - How can we respond to it with self awareness and build a healthier internal dialogue? In this new series of shorts for performers, Ed Lyon - Tenor, Therapist, and Stress Management and Performance Coach (and NOS alum!) - will explore a new topic on mindfulness each week, and discuss its impact on musicians.
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Coaching insights
Bass Vocal Fachs
Basses are the foundation of the operatic world. There are several bass vocal fachs: Bass-Baritone, Basso Cantante, Buffo Bass, and Basso Profondo. These categories are based on vocal range, timbre, agility, and the kinds of roles each voice typically performs—but like all fachs, they’re not set in stone. Voices evolve, and many singers move fluidly between categories.
Podcasts
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Podcasts
Episode 10: Disrupting habits and reframing practice
What if the way you’ve always practiced is holding you back? In this episode of The Opera Training Companion, host Rachel Nicholls, alongside Soprano Olivia Rose Tringham (2024/25 alum), explore how disrupting habits and reframing practice can unlock deeper learning and artistic growth.
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Podcasts
Episode 9: The Role of Agents in an Operatic Career
What does an agent do for opera singers - and when should a young artist consider working with one? Host Rachel Nicholls sits down with Sue Spence (Director, Askonas Holt) and Katy Crompton (Associate Artist Manager at Askonas Holt and National Opera Studio alum) to unpack the vital role of artist managers in today’s operatic world.
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Podcasts
Episode 8: Young Artist Programmes
What exactly is a Young Artist Programme, and why do they matter so much to the future of opera? Host Rachel Nicholls – acclaimed soprano and NOS coach – is joined by two leading figures in the opera world: Eric Melear, Artistic Director of the National Opera Studio, and Laura Canning, General Director and CEO of Opera North.
Operas That Made Me
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Operas that made me
Nicky Spence
In this episode, NOS alum and sounding board member Nicky Spence takes us through his remarkable journey.
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Operas that made me
Brindley Sherratt
In this episode of Operas That Made Me, Brindley Sherratt reflects on the key people who inspired his journey and shares the story of how he found his path to becoming an opera singer.
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Operas that made me
Adele Thomas
In this episode of Operas That Made Me, director Adele Thomas reflects on her remarkable journey, from growing up in Port Talbot to becoming Joint General Director and CEO of Welsh National Opera.
Masterclasses
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Masterclasses
Masterclass with Kate Lindsey
We were delighted to welcome mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey for a masterclass and coaching sessions with our Young Artists.
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Masterclasses
Masterclass with Ryan Speedo Green
Named “the real showstopper” by the New York Times, three-time Grammy Award-winning bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green, leads a masterclass at the Studio for our Young Artists.
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Masterclasses
Masterclass with Stuart Skelton
Our 2024/25 Young Artists star in a masterclass with Grammy nominee and 2014 International Opera Awards Male Singer of the Year, Stuart Skelton.
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Podcasts
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Operas that made me
All Posts
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Coaching insights
Introduction to Vocal Fachs
What the F@¢# is a Vocal Fach?! Join Nicky Spence as he breaks down the Hogwarts Houses of opera.
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Podcasts
Episode 8: Young Artist Programmes
What exactly is a Young Artist Programme, and why do they matter so much to the future of opera? Host Rachel Nicholls – acclaimed soprano and NOS coach – is joined by two leading figures in the opera world: Eric Melear, Artistic Director of the National Opera Studio, and Laura Canning, General Director and CEO of Opera North.
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Masterclasses
Masterclass with Kate Lindsey
We were delighted to welcome mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey for a masterclass and coaching sessions with our Young Artists.
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Podcasts
Episode 7: Working Abroad
Host Rachel Nicholls is joined by baritone Nick Mogg (2018/19 alum), currently a member of the Solo Ensemble at the Staatsoper Hamburg, and Fiona Wells, servicing manager at Groves Artists, to explore the realities of working abroad as an opera artist.
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Operas that made me
Nicky Spence
In this episode, NOS alum and sounding board member Nicky Spence takes us through his remarkable journey.
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Coaching insights
Italian Ghost Vowels
Coach Matteo Dalle Fratte explains the importance of coarticulation - how consonants influence each other in Italian to keep diction fluid and rhythm precise.
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Coaching insights
Long and Short Consonants in Italian
Italian Coach Matteo Dalle Fratte shows how singing “bella” with a short ‘l’ turns “Beautiful daughter of love” into… “Bleat, daughter of love”!
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Coaching insights
Italian: Length not Strength
Italian coach, Matteo Dalle Fratte, explains why adding length to consonants makes your sound more idiomatic in Italian.
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Coaching insights
French Nasal Vowels
French coach Florent Mourier breaks down nasal vowels in this Coaching Insight.