For the first time ever, the Oper Leipzig, in collaboration with the Hochschule für Musik und Theater »Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Leipzig« (HMT), will sponsor a two-week intensive development program for five vocal students from the HMT Leipzig. This pilot project, bearing the name “Oper intensiv – the Booster Edition” will support young singers as they prepare to make their way into the professional world. It is designed to introduce them to the daily routine at an opera house and help them develop realistic sense of the demands of an opera career.
The program for this next generation of operatic talents will include body work and scenic exercises, as well as audition training and agent feedback. In addition, the young musicians will have the opportunity to engage in dialogue with more experienced working musicians. They’ll also have a chance to learn about professional basics, such as stage law or the mechanics of working with a prompter. The two-week program will conclude on November 6, 2021, with a final concert open to the public: a musical Salon Extra, held in the Konzert Foyer at the Opera House.
Five young talents try out the professional world at the Oper Leipzig
Initiated by Franziska Severin, Opera Director at the Oper Leipzig, and Prof. Karoline Gruber, from HMT’s department for classical voice/music theater, will accompany five students: Kristín E. Mantyla, Anna Maria Schmidt, Sebastian Seibert, Wenzheng Tong, and Annika Westlund. The Program Kick-off will take place on October 25, 2021, on World Opera Day. Celebrated across the globe, World Opera Day will take place for the third time this year and has the goal of spreading the positive impact opera has on society. With this in mind, the development of young talent plays an important role, and the Oper Leipzig’s new “Oper intensive” program is dedicated to just that.
#WorldOperaDay, #OperIntensiv, #OperLeipzig, #HMTLeipzig
Who is participating in the program:
Kristín E. Mantyla
Born in Reykjavik/Island, Mantyla is completed her master’s program in opera in 2021 with honors at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater »Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy« in Leipzig with Prof. Brigitte Wohlfarth. She subsequently enrolled at the HMT in the Meisterklasse program. She has appeared on stage at the Oper Leipzig, the Icelandic Opera, the Anhaltisches Theater Dessau, and the Theater Nordhausen. She won an award from the »Junge Stimmen Leipzig«, and is a stipend-holder of the Richard-Wagner-Verband Leipzig, the Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Leipzig e.V, the »Vilhjálmur Vilhjálmsson«, the »Marinó Pétursson« stipend, and the »Ingjaldssjóður« stipend.
Anna Maria Schmidt
Born in Berlin, Schmidt studied voice in Weimar with Marietta Zumbült. She is currently a student in the Meisterklasse for opera at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater »Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy« in Leipzig with Prof. Brigitte Wohlfarth. She has sung roles such as the Queen of the Night (»Die Zauberflöte«), Gretel (»Hänsel und Gretel«), Sophie (»Der Rosenkavalier«), Rosina (»Il barbiere di Siviglia«), and the First Elf (»Rusalka«). She has appeared with the Junge Mitteldeutsche Kammeroper, at Szene 12 Dresden, as well as at the Internationale Händel-Festspielen Göttingen. She won first prize at the Albert Lortzing Competition in 2019.
Sebastian Seibert
Born in Gießen, Siebert is as master’s student in opera in Prof. Brigitte Wohlfarth’s studio at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater »Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy« in Leipzig. He has appeared at the Stadttheater Gießen. He made his debut in 2019 as Jean in César Cuis’ opera »Der gestiefelte Kater« and bowed as Tamino in 2020 in a concert performance of Mozart’s »Die Zauberflöte«. He is a stipend-holder of the Cusanuswerk.
Wenzheng Tong
Born in 1994 in Shandong/China, Tong was a preparatory student in classical voice at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna. He has been a student at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater »Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy« in Leipzig since 2017, where he is a member of Prof. Brigitte Wohlfarth’s studio. He has appeared previously at the Oper Leipzig, and in the 2021/22 season bows there as Marchese d’Obigny in »La traviata«.
Annika Westlund
Born 1996 in Pinneberg, Westlund studied voice at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock with Martina Rüping. She has been a student at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater »Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy« in Leipzig since 2019, as a member of Prof. Elvira Dreßen’s studio. She has appeared at the Theater Vorpommern and the Staatstheater Braunschweig, as well as with the Ensemble »Cantando Admont« at the Salzburg Festival. She is a member of the contemporary music theater project »Workers Union« (second prize at the Freisprung Theaterfestival in Rostock). She is a member of the steering committee for the opera collective »operationderkuenste«.
The Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” is a public academy in Leipzig. It was founded in 1843 by Gewandhaus Kapellmeister, composer, and pianist Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy as the Conservatorium der Musik, making it the oldest music academy in Germany. It quickly developed into one of the most renowned academies in Europe. The institution is also home to the tradition-laden Kirchenmusikalische Institut, founded by Thomaskantor and organist Karl Straube in 1919. Die HMT Leipzig was renamed in 1972 in honor of its founder. The Theaterhochschule “Hans Otto” Leipzig, Germany’s first theater academy, was incorporated in 1992.
Leipzig’s traditional conservatory offers a wide spectrum of practical training in classical music, early music, jazz/popular music, theater and dramaturgy, music education, music pedagogy, musicology, and church music. The academy’s core mission is to professionally educate the next generation of musicians, music teachers, and actors at the highest international level.
http://www.hmt-leipzig.de
The program for this next generation of operatic talents will include body work and scenic exercises, as well as audition training and agent feedback. In addition, the young musicians will have the opportunity to engage in dialogue with more experienced working musicians. They’ll also have a chance to learn about professional basics, such as stage law or the mechanics of working with a prompter. The two-week program will conclude on November 6, 2021, with a final concert open to the public: a musical Salon Extra, held in the Konzert Foyer at the Opera House.
Five young talents try out the professional world at the Oper Leipzig
Initiated by Franziska Severin, Opera Director at the Oper Leipzig, and Prof. Karoline Gruber, from HMT’s department for classical voice/music theater, will accompany five students: Kristín E. Mantyla, Anna Maria Schmidt, Sebastian Seibert, Wenzheng Tong, and Annika Westlund. The Program Kick-off will take place on October 25, 2021, on World Opera Day. Celebrated across the globe, World Opera Day will take place for the third time this year and has the goal of spreading the positive impact opera has on society. With this in mind, the development of young talent plays an important role, and the Oper Leipzig’s new “Oper intensive” program is dedicated to just that.
#WorldOperaDay, #OperIntensiv, #OperLeipzig, #HMTLeipzig
Who is participating in the program:
Kristín E. Mantyla
Born in Reykjavik/Island, Mantyla is completed her master’s program in opera in 2021 with honors at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater »Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy« in Leipzig with Prof. Brigitte Wohlfarth. She subsequently enrolled at the HMT in the Meisterklasse program. She has appeared on stage at the Oper Leipzig, the Icelandic Opera, the Anhaltisches Theater Dessau, and the Theater Nordhausen. She won an award from the »Junge Stimmen Leipzig«, and is a stipend-holder of the Richard-Wagner-Verband Leipzig, the Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Leipzig e.V, the »Vilhjálmur Vilhjálmsson«, the »Marinó Pétursson« stipend, and the »Ingjaldssjóður« stipend.
Anna Maria Schmidt
Born in Berlin, Schmidt studied voice in Weimar with Marietta Zumbült. She is currently a student in the Meisterklasse for opera at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater »Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy« in Leipzig with Prof. Brigitte Wohlfarth. She has sung roles such as the Queen of the Night (»Die Zauberflöte«), Gretel (»Hänsel und Gretel«), Sophie (»Der Rosenkavalier«), Rosina (»Il barbiere di Siviglia«), and the First Elf (»Rusalka«). She has appeared with the Junge Mitteldeutsche Kammeroper, at Szene 12 Dresden, as well as at the Internationale Händel-Festspielen Göttingen. She won first prize at the Albert Lortzing Competition in 2019.
Sebastian Seibert
Born in Gießen, Siebert is as master’s student in opera in Prof. Brigitte Wohlfarth’s studio at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater »Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy« in Leipzig. He has appeared at the Stadttheater Gießen. He made his debut in 2019 as Jean in César Cuis’ opera »Der gestiefelte Kater« and bowed as Tamino in 2020 in a concert performance of Mozart’s »Die Zauberflöte«. He is a stipend-holder of the Cusanuswerk.
Wenzheng Tong
Born in 1994 in Shandong/China, Tong was a preparatory student in classical voice at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna. He has been a student at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater »Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy« in Leipzig since 2017, where he is a member of Prof. Brigitte Wohlfarth’s studio. He has appeared previously at the Oper Leipzig, and in the 2021/22 season bows there as Marchese d’Obigny in »La traviata«.
Annika Westlund
Born 1996 in Pinneberg, Westlund studied voice at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock with Martina Rüping. She has been a student at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater »Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy« in Leipzig since 2019, as a member of Prof. Elvira Dreßen’s studio. She has appeared at the Theater Vorpommern and the Staatstheater Braunschweig, as well as with the Ensemble »Cantando Admont« at the Salzburg Festival. She is a member of the contemporary music theater project »Workers Union« (second prize at the Freisprung Theaterfestival in Rostock). She is a member of the steering committee for the opera collective »operationderkuenste«.
The Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” is a public academy in Leipzig. It was founded in 1843 by Gewandhaus Kapellmeister, composer, and pianist Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy as the Conservatorium der Musik, making it the oldest music academy in Germany. It quickly developed into one of the most renowned academies in Europe. The institution is also home to the tradition-laden Kirchenmusikalische Institut, founded by Thomaskantor and organist Karl Straube in 1919. Die HMT Leipzig was renamed in 1972 in honor of its founder. The Theaterhochschule “Hans Otto” Leipzig, Germany’s first theater academy, was incorporated in 1992.
Leipzig’s traditional conservatory offers a wide spectrum of practical training in classical music, early music, jazz/popular music, theater and dramaturgy, music education, music pedagogy, musicology, and church music. The academy’s core mission is to professionally educate the next generation of musicians, music teachers, and actors at the highest international level.
http://www.hmt-leipzig.de
