DETROIT, May 26, 2023—Singers between the ages of 8 and 17 are invited to audition for the Detroit Opera Youth Chorus (DOYC) for the 2023–24 season. This world-class training program is designed for young vocalists from a diverse range of backgrounds and experience who share a passion for singing and music. The chorus rehearses at the Detroit Opera House on Monday evenings from September through May, led by Detroit Opera professionals, who skillfully help build a solid foundation in music.
The 2023–24 DOYC season will include two major performances: a “Winter Fantasy” concert on December 3 at First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak, and a fully staged opera on the main stage of the Detroit Opera House. This year’s opera will be Ben Moore and Kelley Rourke’s Odyssey, an action-packed, colorful operatic rendition of Homer’s epic tale of a hero’s journey home to be presented in April 2024. In May 2024, singers from the Principal Chorus also will perform in the Detroit Opera’s professional presentation of Janáček’s opera The Cunning Little Vixen, with several small solo roles to be selected from the DOYC.
The next DOYC auditions will take place at the Detroit Opera House on Saturday, June 3 at 10am and Monday, June 26 at 5pm, and auditions will continue through the summer, until all positions are filled. In prior seasons, the chorus featured only treble voices—girls through age 16 and boys with unchanged voices. Beginning this season, the chorus is open to all voice types: sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses, ranging from elementary-school students to high-school seniors. In April 2024, DOYC’s choristers will take center stage in Odyssey, a one-hour opera with many solo roles, all filled by singers from the ensemble. Characters include Bard 1 (baritone), Bard 2/Siren (soprano), Penelope (soprano/mezzo), Odysseus (lyric baritone/tenor) Athena (soprano/mezzo), First Mate (lyric baritone/tenor), Circe (mezzo), and various other small solo roles sung by members of the chorus. Odyssey has been a critical and audience favorite since its world premiere at the Glimmerglass Festival in 2015; there have been subsequent performances by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City and at Minnesota Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Seattle Opera, and Walnut Hill School for the Arts. “Odyssey … with an ebullient, lyrical score by Ben Moore and a witty, tightly-rhymed libretto by Kelley Rourke, is more than just an opera for young audiences … it’s an opera for all ages.” (Opera News)
To register to audition, visit the 2023–24 Season Audition Registration page. Contact Chorus Administrator Twannette Nash at TNash@Detroitopera.org for more information about the chorus, including full and partial tuition scholarships based on financial need. Further audition dates will be added in July and August, and auditions will continue until all positions are filled.
About the Detroit Opera Youth Chorus
The Detroit Opera Youth Chorus (DOYC), led by Detroit Opera Chorus Master Suzanne Mallare Acton, is a permanent children’s ensemble for metropolitan Detroit youth interested in vocal musical theatrical art. The DOYC performs as a separate ensemble as well as with international opera stars in Detroit Opera mainstage productions. Past DOYC performances have included the Seymour Barab’s The Maker of Illusions—a children’s opera with characters who teach moral lessons—Cary John Franklin’s The Very Last Green Thing, Malcolm Williamson’s The Happy Prince, Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore, and Hans Krása’s Brundibár.
About Detroit OperaDetroit Opera (formerly Michigan Opera Theatre), one of the nation’s most vibrant nonprofit arts organizations, aspires to influence the future of opera and dance with a goal of invigorating audiences through new and re-imagined productions, relevant to current times. It is creating an ambitious standard for American opera and dance that emphasizes community, accessibility, artistic risk-taking, and collaboration. Founded in 1971 by the late Dr. David DiChiera, Detroit Opera is led by President and CEO Wayne S. Brown; Yuval Sharon, Gary L. Wasserman Artistic Director; Associate Artistic Director Christine Goerke; Music Director Roberto Kalb; and Board Chairman Ethan Davidson. For more information, visit www.detroitopera.org. Follow the company on Facebook and Instagram (@DetroitOpera), LinkedIn (Detroit Opera), and Twitter (@DetOperaHouse).
