Opera Institute

The Program

2025 is the 60th Anniversary of Opera at Brevard Music Center! In 2025, the Janiec Opera Company of the Brevard Music Center will enroll approximately 32 singers. This 9-week session will provide personal and intensive training with Director of Opera Dean Anthony, and will present three productions and one concert.

Some hallmarks of the Janiec Opera Company:

  • All roles are sung by students
  • Daily opera classes and coaching in style, diction, acting, musicianship, and movement
  • Audition technique workshop classes with professional staff
  • Masterclasses with faculty and other renowned visiting professionals, both in-person and virtual
  • Special performances including outreach opportunities and evenings of opera and musical theater

Students in the opera program will also participate in the BMC Festival Chorus, which will join Artistic Director Keith Lockhart and the Brevard Music Center Orchestra in the Season Finale performance on Sunday, August 3.

All mainstage opera productions and special concerts are presented in the Porter Center at Brevard College.

2025 Titles

The Elixir of Love - Gaetano Donizetti (sung in Italian)
Cinderella - Pauline Viardot (sung in French with English dialogue)
The Magic Flute - W.A. Mozart (sung in English with English dialogue)
An Evening of Operetta

All productions directed by Dean Anthony.

Dates and Deadlines

Program Dates: June 2 - August 3, 2025
Deadline: January 20, 2025
Offers: First week of February
Ages: 18-29
Scholarships: BMC offers both merit scholarship and financial aid support as part of the application process
Application fee: $25
How to apply: Online application including a video audition

2025 Opera Faculty

Dean Anthony - Director of Opera (Stage Director for The Elixir of Love, Cendrillon, The Magic Flute)
Emily Jarrell Urbanek - JOC Music Director, Chorus Director, Pianist (Conductor of Cendrillon)
Joseph Mechavich - Conductor (The Elixir of Love)
Steven White - Conductor (The Magic Flute)
Jason Ferrante - Voice Faculty
Elizabeth Futral - Voice Faculty
Sidney Outlaw - Voice Faculty
Phyllis Pancella - Voice Faculty
Dominic Armstrong - Voice Faculty
Caroline Worra - Voice Faculty
Dale Girard - Stage Combat Choreographer & Instructor

Audition Requirements

All applicants must upload a current resume, an 8x10 headshot, and a video audition. For your submission, please include or prepare the following selections:

  • Two contrasting arias (preferably one from this season's repertoire): one in English and one in Italian, German, or French
  • One song from the musical theater repertoire
  • One “Get to know you better” video. Please submit a short, personal video answering these three questions:
    • Why did you decide to sing for Brevard?
    • What would you hope to gain from a summer at Brevard?
    • Where would you like to see yourself in five years?

Upload links to YouTube video auditions directly into your application. Submissions do not have to be one continuous take; once you add one selection, the option to add another will appear.

Note About Video Submissions
  • Accompaniment is required (piano or piano track is acceptable)
  • Any location or background is acceptable
  • Lip-syncing and/or audio manipulation is not permitted

All videos will be reviewed using a stereo system, listened to in their entirety, and judged based on the content, not the recording quality. There is no pre screening at Brevard, and all auditions will be individually reviewed by the Director of Opera. For additional recording tips, watch this short video entitled "Self Tape Dos and Don'ts for Voice."

Tuition and Payment Schedule

Arrival is Monday June 2 and departure is Monday August 4, 2025. Tuition for the 2025 Janiec Opera Company will be announced soon for the nine-week program. (2024 tuition was $8950.) The tuition fee includes all instruction, housing, meals, on-campus health services, and concert admission. Each participant is responsible for travel to and from Brevard.

A non-refundable enrollment fee of $950 is due within 10 days of acceptance and applies toward the cost of tuition. All tuition is due by May 15.

Scholarships

Brevard Music Center offers scholarship support according to a student's audition and demonstrated financial need, and program need. In recent years, Brevard has provided scholarship support to more than 70% of its students. Scholarship support includes merit, need-based, and the BMC Opportunity Scholarship open to students of Black and Latinx descent.

Please visit the Scholarship section of our FAQ page for more information.

Refunds

All payments, except the $25 application fee and $950 enrollment fee, will be fully refunded if the Center receives notice of cancellation due to serious illness before May 15. Written verification from a medical doctor is required before a refund can be made. No reduction in fees can be made for late arrival or early departure. No refunds will be made after May 15.

Resident Assistants

Brevard Music Center students in the Janiec Opera Company may apply to serve as Resident Assistants for the program. A limited number of RA positions are available. Brevard's RAs supervise student living quarters and provide guidance to younger students.

RAs have the same educational and performance opportunities as other college division students. RAs pay only a non-refundable enrollment fee of $950 which covers tuition, room, and board.

Selected individuals will participate in a telephone interview, and, if chosen, submit to a formal background check and participate fully in the RA orientation sessions prior to student arrival. Note: Resident Assistants must arrive on Sunday, June 1 and depart on Tuesday, August 5, 2025.

Janiec Opera Company Facebook Page

For more information, please visit the Janiec Opera Company Facebook Page.

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