Opera, Lieder, Language and Culture of Germany:
Music in Germany 2009

Summer 2009 (tentative dates)*:
Session I: May 17 to June 15
Session II: May 17 to July 5

James Madison University’s Summer Music in Germany was created to give pianists and singers the opportunity to perform and study Opera and Lieder in Saxony, Germany, where they will work with both American and German instructors and colleagues. If you are just starting your collegiate academic career, or are an advanced student who feels the need to expand your musical horizons, this course will help you to understand the cultural norms and differences in musical practices between American and German societies and give you an opportunity to experience living and working in Germany.   You’ll have opportunities to observe the German musical theater, operatic and concert systems and to gain insight into professional-level performance attitudes and practices. You’ll have chances to perform, and the journal you’ll keep will be a record of concerts and performances you participate in, as well as excursions to concert and opera performances you will attend.

Program Location & Academic Program

Session I: Chemnitz May 17 to June 15

Session I Course Content:  Students will study conversational German, study German Lieder and arias, and perform solo roles in Opera Scenes in a workshop co-production with the Wieland Müller Werkstatt für Musik und Theater.  Musical directing, coachings, preparations for performances and masterclasses will also be given by German and American instructors. Students will also attend opera, operetta and musical theater performances in Chemnitz, Freiberg, Dresden and Leipzig. Special excursions to Dresden, Leipzig, and other points of interest will be arranged.  This session will also offer a special auditor’s section appropriate for teachers of singing.  Depending on the suitability of younger applicants for this session, Mozart’s Bastien and Bastienne may be performed.

Roles and Repertoire to be cast:   Casting for arias and scenes will be made to suit the ability levels and vocal types of students who enroll in the course.  In addition, the complete Mozart Opera, Bastien and Bastienne will be cast for the following roles:

1. Bastienne, Soprano
2. Bastien, Tenor (or pants role)
3. Colas, Baritone

Opportunities for pianists:  Pianists will have the opportunity to collaborate on Lieder and concert repertoire, as well as accompanying scenes rehearsals, which will be assigned according to the student’s abilities and interests.

Session I Location:  Chemnitz, Germany.  The Saxon industrial city of Chemnitz lies in a wide stretch of the valley of the river Chemnitz, in the Erzgebirge Basin. In the 16th century an important textile center in the Electorate of Saxony, Chemnitz developed in the 19th century into a major industrial town, its economy centered on engineering.  Chemnitz, a city with a progressive approach to the arts, has a wealth of cultural attractions including many museums and its’ “A” class opera house with a full season of symphony concerts, opera, operetta and musicals for students to attend.

Session II: Freiberg May 17 to July 5

Session II Course Content:  Students will be selected by audition with Jan Horstmann, General Musical Director of the Freiberg Opera House, to remain in Germany and perform as soloists in John Frederick Lampe’s Pyramus and Thisbe and in chorus or small roles in the theater’s production of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca with performances on June 13th, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25 and July 4.  Rehearsals will also take place during Session One.  These students will also continue German Language Studies for an extra thirty hours of language instruction.  Students will start their course on May 17th in the first session and continue through until July 5th.

Roles and Repertoire to be cast:

Chorus and possible small roles in Tosca

John Frederick Lampe’s Pyramus and Thisbe

The Wall: Tenor
Pyramus: Tenor
Thisbe: Soprano
Lion: Bass
Moon: Tenor or High Baritone (?)

Opportunities for pianists:  Pianists are auditioned by General Music Director Jan Horstmann, who will invite them to collaborate on projects proposed by the Freiberg Opera House.

Session II Location:  Freiberg, Germany.  Freiberg has a late-medieval city center, with narrow alleyways and cobble-stone streets.  The Freiberg Technical University, as well as the intimate 300-seat Mid-Saxony Opera theater provide the educational and artistic base for the former silver mining capital which created the original wealth of near-by Dresden.  Points of historical interest include the oldest and most important silver mine of Saxony "Reiche Zeche'' (rich mine), as well as the cathedral St. Marien, where an original Silbermann organ (famous as the organ builder for Bach) is still used regularly for concerts and worship.  

Courses

Undergraduate students will enroll for a minimum of 6 credits.  Graduate students will enroll for a minimum of four credits.  Students will enroll in the following courses as appropriate:

• MUS 490, 690 Special Topics: Opera, Lieder, Language and Musical Culture in Germany: Summer 2009, Sessions One and Two, 2-4 Credits.

• GER 490 Conversational German, 2 Credits each session.  Students completing 60 hours of instruction German Language Instruction by attending both sessions will have their course changed to GER 101 on their JMU transcript.

Accommodations

Session I: Our program now has a central location within walking distance of Studio W.M. where rehearsals and performances take place, and the Chemnitz Technical University where German classes are held.  The Residenz Hotel Chemnitz offers a clean, safe, and central environment.  Each double room has its’ own bath and kitchenette. Check out the website at:  http://www.residenz-hotel-chemnitz.de.

Session II: Dormitory style student housing will be arranged with the Freiberg Opera House Administration.  Accommodation is within walking distance of the theater and German classes, and bicycles are available for rent.

Program Costs*

For the current projected costs for this program, please click on the following link to the Fees for JMU Study Abroad Programs page.

Application

For more detailed instructions and to download the application, please click on the following link to the Applications and Forms section for JMU Short-Term Programs.

In addition, all applicants should apply to the director of the program, Dr. Dorothy Maddison with the following information:

Session I applicants should:

1. Submit a resumé including their educational background, performance experience and repertoire.
2. Audition in person or send a DVD, CD or VHS with a minimum two contrasting pieces.  For singers, if possible, one piece should be in German.  A musical theater song is also recommended.  Advanced singers should include an appropriate operatic aria.  Pianists are invited to submit a recording collaborating with a singer on German Lieder and/or operatic repertoire. 
3. Applicants should also send a recommendation from their current piano/singing teacher, or have their teacher e-mail the recommendation directly to Dr. Maddison at maddisdx@jmu.edu. 
4. If possible, students may also audition for Wieland Müller during a USA masterclass (see tentative dates below).

Session II applicants should:

1. Submit a resumé including their educational background, performance experience and repertoire.
2. Audition in person if possible (see tentative dates below). If a live audition is not possible, send a DVD, CD or VHS with a minimum two contrasting pieces. 
3. Applicants should also send a recommendation from their current singing/piano teacher, or have their teacher e-mail the recommendation directly to Dr. Maddison at maddisdx@jmu.edu. 
4. Since works performed during session two will include an Lampe’s Pyramus and Thisbe and Puccini’s Tosca, singers and keyboardists are invited to include appropriate audition selections that reflect training appropriate to English baroque opera and/or Italian Romantic Bel Canto performance practices. 

Note: Session two is open only to students who have been auditioned and accepted by Jan Horstmann, GMD of the Freiberg Opera House. 

Tentative dates for Auditions and Masterclasses in the USA:

• Session One with Wieland Müller, November 3-15
• Session Two with Jan Horstmann, November 16-23rd or January 19-27

For More Information

For additional information about the Opera, Lieder, Language and Culture of Germany: Music in Germany 2008 program, please contact the program director:

Dr. Dorothy Maddison
School of Music
Tel: 540-568-8042
E-mail: maddisx@jmu.edu

*Trip calendar, program fees and international faculty information will be available shortly.

Summary of 2008 Program

James Madison University’s Opera, Lieder, Language and Culture of Germany Summer 2008 course for singers and pianists incorporated performance and German Language study in Saxony.  Students from JMU, George Mason, Shenandoah, and Boston Universities combined to perform 13 concerts including German Art Song, Opera and Musical Theater repertoire.  Dr. William Reber, director of Arizona State University’s Lyric Opera program, acted as musical director and coach. Cultural excursions included trips to Weimer’s Musikhochschule, Goethe and Liszt museums, Zwickau’s Robert Schumann House and International Singing Competition, Leipzig’s J.S. Bach’s Thomaskirche, Dresden’s Frauenkirche, as well as symphony concerts, opera, operetta and musical theater shows at professional theaters in Freiberg, Chemnitz, Leipzig, Dresden and Weimar.

            Collaborating with many partners, the program created cultural exchanges with the Technical Universities of Chemnitz and Freiberg.  Students sang along side the young artist of Studio W.M. (Wieland Müller) in Chemnitz.  In Döbeln, the course integrated visits the local Music School, the Community College and the “ML Musical Company” youth group.  Masterclasses were held with Jan Michael Horstmann, GMD of the Freiberg Opera House, and visiting mezzo-soprano Lorraine DiSimone. During the second session, the Mid-Saxony Opera House of Freiberg gave eight of the ten students a chance to perform solo roles in eight performances Kurt Weill’s opera, Street Scene, and all ten students sang operatic excerpts in concert with the Mid-Saxony Philharmonic orchestra.

            Extra-ordinary success included a contract for tenor Bryan Ross Thomas of Shenandoah University, with the Cologne Chamber Opera.  He will be performing in The Merry Widow and Hänsel and Gretel during the Fall of 2008. 

Example Program from 2008

Related Internet sites to visit

The Residenz Hotel Chemnitz:  http://www.residenz-hotel-chemnitz.de

Mid-Saxony Opera of Freiberg and Döbeln:  www.mittelsaechsisches-theater.de

Studio W.M., Chemnitz: www.Studio-WM.de

City of Chemnitz: http://www.chemnitz.de/en/noflash.htm

Chemnitz Technical University (who help sponsor our German Courses) http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/en/

City of Freiberg:  http://www.freiberg.de/acaws/portal.nsf/framesets/freiberg

Freiberg Technical University (who help sponsor our German Courses): http://www.iuz.tu-freiberg.de/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1&lang=en

City of Döbeln (in German):  http://www.doebeln.de

Döbeln Music School (Friends of our program site in German): http://www.musikschule-doebeln.de/53272599640d66106.html

FAQ’s

1. Do I have to enroll for academic credits?  Yes.
2. How old should I be to do this course?  Students have been from the age of 19-35.  There are no age limits, but students should have completed at least one year of college training as an undergraduate music or music theater major. 
3. Will this course get me a job in Germany?  Possibly.  Some of our older graduate students have been offered and accepted professional contracts as a result of attending this course, but it is NOT a part of the course.  If you are an undergraduate student it is more realistic to think of this course as a training and cultural orientation program that will help you later on in your career when you have finished your academic and pre-professional training.
4. What music should I prepare?  If you have been offered a an opportunity to perform a specific aria or role for the course, the better you have prepared and learn it before starting the course, the more positive your experience will be.  You should also have a selection of German Art Songs that you have studied but perhaps not yet perfected to offer for further study.  We also assign Art Songs, scenes and arias to study from “scratch,” but practice and study time is limited, if you are not a really quick learner, it is a good idea to bring a set of repertoire that you have already begun.  Also, the German audiences really love to hear you sing American Musical repertoire, so please bring along copies of American Musical Theater “party pieces” as well as some American Art songs that you might like to perform.
5. Will there be time on the weekends to travel?  No.  The weekends will be for excursions to see shows and tour for additional performances.  The best alternative is to plan to stay in Europe after the course is completed to take time to visit friends and/or relatives or to tour on your own.
6. Do I have to speak German?  Not before you go, but it would be a good idea to study a little if you have time.  You will learn basic conversational German while you are there.
7. What will the weather be like?  During the first two weeks of the course, it will still be early spring weather in Germany, and you should plan to bring a winter coat, hat, mittens and rain gear, including an umbrella.  An equal amount of winter and summer clothing is advised.
8. Should I bring stage make-up and stage shoes?  Yes.  Also bring comfortable clothes for movement and possible choreography.
9. What should I do about airfare?  You are responsible for your airfare, but we will be working with Lincoln Travel in Bridgewater to find a reasonable group rate for a flight that you can purchase individually between Washington and Dresden.  This flight will be met at the airport to transport you to Chemnitz.
10. What Music should I bring? Bring copies of the German Art Songs, Opera Arias, American Musical Theater selections and American Art Songs you have in your repertoire already performed as well as new repertoire you would like to study.
11. What textbooks and equipment will I need?  You should plan to purchase
1. A German Dictionary with International Phonetic Alphabet symbols.
2. A small, portable German Grammar textbook for reference, since the German Language classes will all be taught in German!
3. A small, portable keyboard for studying repertoire is advised for warming up and studying music.
4. A portable computer if you have one, along with appropriate transformers and adapter plugs. (This is optional).

What you’ll  get for your money

The basic fee and academic credit tuition costs will cover accommodation for the first session, all tuition costs, and admissions to shows, concerts and museums.  Transportation to and from events once the participant has arrived in Germany is also covered.  Transatlantic airfares and eating costs during the session are NOT included in the cost of the course. 

Comments from Participants and Parents

“I am very glad that I came.  This was a really great experience. I’ve learned so much, and I think it has been very valuable to me on many levels.  One of the things that I really appreciate about Germany is that the profession of being a musician is still revered and considered a noble….I’ve learned so much about being on stage and acting…The Freiberg opera is so nice….The members are all so generous and kind.  I will miss them.”  Natalie Naudus (2008 participant GMU sophomore).

“My trip to Germany during the summer of 2008 was an immensely rewarding experience.  In addition to singing multiple concerts with Wieland Müller’s studio, we had the opportunity to become friends with many of the studio singers….Events were often followed by a party including a very nice barbeque.  This portion of the program, the exchange of culture and ideas, was so much fun and one of the more memorable parts of our trip abroad.  I was provided with an opportunity to learn a complete role and perform with a professional opera company in Europe.  This experience will undoubtedly help me as I continue to build my career as both a professional singer and music educator.  Thank you so much for organizing this wonderful program. I learned so much and have so many wonderful memories.” James Myers (2008 program participant JMU and GMU Graduate student).

“I learned (most importantly of all) that I loved it enough to do it for the rest of my life, and that I am willing to put in the work to actually make that a possibility.”  (Kirsti Esch, 2008 participant, BU Freshman)

“I have had plenty of performance experience in Europe.  It is my first time playing with a professional orchestra. I really enjoy being a pianist in an orchestra doing concerts.  I am really glad that Herr Horstmann allowed me this opportunity.”  (Brad Rinaldo, 2008 JMU Senior pianist)

“Recently I was reading the blog of an opera director…She said this project made them stretch, and it sometimes hurt, and it sometimes brought relief, but it always left the people involved walking taller after.  I think this sentiment perfectly describes my time in Germany.”  Sarah Lennertz (2008 participant, GMU sophomore).

“I will miss Germany, and I will miss the friends that I’ve met there even more.  I know I will go back one day, and I can’t wait to be reunited with all of them and see how much we have all changes by that time….Thank you so much for what has been an incredible time in my academic career.”  John Holman (2008 participant, JMU Junior). 

“I will start my Masters of Business Administration at the University of Texas - Houston this August and am scheduled to graduate in summer of 2010.   I know that my diverse background was one of the factors that helped get in into school and I know it will help in my career. I look back on my time with you…in Germany with a great deal of fondness and I am so thankful that I had those experiences.”  Sarah Cuddy (2001 program participant).

What parents say:
I wanted first of all to thank you for all that you did for Kirsti this summer in the Opera Program in Germany. She had such an incredible experience - she absolutely LOVED it!
I had a fabulous time visiting Freiberg and many of the other towns around there - Dobeln, Chemnitz, Dresden, Meissen - all very charming and interesting! I took several day trips out and about while Kirsti was busy. The highlight definitely was the "Street Scene" opera in Dobeln. It was amazing, but most of all it was so great to see Kirsti so enthralled with performing and everything it entailed. There were so many wonderful people we encountered there as well, and Kirsti was able to develop many friendships with both the students and also the German acquaintances. She has so much more confidence now in her vocal performance and her voice really developed!It will definitely be a lifetime experience both of us will always remember.  Sonia Esch (Parent 2008)

We want to express our deepest thanks for all that you did for all the young people you worked with especially Sarah. We are sure it was a lot of work on your part to organize the trip, audition the students, arrange for their accommodations, meet them at the airport, transport them throughout the session, give voice lessons, etc.We were able to see Sarah and the other American students perform in Freiberg on June 28th. We also were able to attend the Opera twice in Dobeln. It was great!!!!Sarah had a wonderful experience that she will always treasure. Thank-you again.  Debbie and Tom Lennertz (Parents 2008).

Faculty/Staff

Instructors and Directors from the USA and Germany:

Dorothy Maddison, Director, received a BM degree St. Olaf College, her MM and DMA in vocal performance at Arizona State University, and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. During her professional career in Europe as a lyric-coloratura soprano, she was a full-time soloist with the Stadttheater of Döbeln, Germany, where she performed the roles of Olympia, Antonia, Giulietta and Stella in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Euridice in Offenbach's Orphée aux Enfers, and Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro. She toured Germany singing Christine in the Yeston-Kopit version of Phantom.  Dr. Maddison is co-author of Kein’ Angst Baby!, a book to help singers audition in Germany. Her discography includes the CD Christmas Art Songs and Songs for Brenda and Bertha featuring the song cycles ME(Brenda Ueland) by Libby Larsen and Brautlieder by Peter Cornelius. She is an associate professor of voice and opera at JMU, and recently appeared with the wind symphony under the direction of Patrick Rooney at the Kennedy Center. Off campus, she has performed in concert and oratorio in the USA, England, Germany and in October of 2007 she performed with the Camerati Amici Ensemble in Brazil, singing for Vice-President José Alencar at the Portuguese Embassy Palace in Rio de Janeiro. 

William Reber, Conductor, and Accompanist-Coach (Session One), earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Opera and Conducting at The University of Texas at Austin.  He is the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Lyric Opera Theatre and Professor of Music at Arizona State University.  From 1993 through 2004, he was head of the vocal coaching program for AIMS (American Institute of Musical Studies), in Graz, Austria. In addition to conducting symphony and chamber orchestra concerts in the United States and Europe, he has served as Music Director/Conductor for more than 125 productions of operas, musicals and ballets. Former Music Director of the Minnesota Opera Studio and conductor for the Minnesota Opera, he also served as conductor and vocal coach for the Altenburger Musiktheater Akademie in Altenburg, Germany.  He was Music Advisor to the StaatsOperette Dresden, Assistant Conductor for Arizona Opera's two productions of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, and a member of the music staff for the Minnesota Dance Theatre. Dr. Reber also served as Music Director for both the Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theatre at California State University, Fullerton, and was a member of the conducting faculty of The University of Texas at Austin where he founded the Chamber Orchestra and conducted productions of the Opera Theatre. As a recital accompanist, he has performed with singers and instrumentalists in Germany, Austria, Macedonia and throughout the United States. A frequent lecturer on opera and symphonic repertory, he has presented lectures to audiences and classes in Macedonia, Austria, Germany and several U. S. cities.  For Arizona Opera, he created and presented introductory lectures for more than twenty different productions and well as a series of special topic lectures for their two productions of Wagner’s Ring.

Eckart Sellheim (Session One Collaborative Artist Coach) . received his musical training in Germany and Switzerland; Adolf Drescher and Jakob Gimpel were among his teachers. He was appointed to the faculty of the two major conservatories in Cologne and continued his academic career as an Assistant Professor of Piano and Chamber Music at the University of Michigan. From 1989 until 2008 he was Professor and Director of Collaborative Piano at Arizona State University. He also served as a Guest Lecturer of Fortepiano and Performance Practice at various music academies in Germany (most notably at the Musikhochschule in Trossingen) and taught numerous master classes in the United States and in several European countries. Sellheim maintains an active performance schedule, having made concert tours in the USA, Latin America and the Carribean, the Middle East, Africa, and throughout Europe. He appears regularly on radio programs in the USA and abroad and has made more than 20 recordings as piano and fortepiano soloist and collaborative pianist, among them a great number with his late brother, celebrated German cellist Friedrich-Juergen Sellheim.

Sandra McClain, Voice Instructor, Coach (Session One), received the Bachelor of Arts degree from Meredith College, a Master of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music, and the Doctor of Education from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City. A national winner of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, has appeared extensively in opera and concert throughout the eastern United States. Her recent concert engagements have included performances in Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Texas, and Illinois. Symphonic engagements include Libby Larsen’s Mary Cassatt with the FAU Symphony, Mahler’s Fourth Symphony with the Charlottesville-University Symphony and Berlioz’ song cycle Les Nuits d’Eté with the Waynesboro Community Orchestra. Dr. McClain’s recording of American art songs entitled “Love’s Seasons” with renowned accompanist Margo Garrett is available on the Musicians Showcase Recordings label (MS1055).  Dr. McClain is Visiting Professor of Music at Florida Atlantic University where she teaches voice and is also a member of the graduate faculty. For eleven years, she was Professor of Music at Georgia Southern University where she was head of the Vocal/Choral Committee. She has also taught on the voice faculties of the University of Virginia, James Madison University, Mary Baldwin College, Teachers College (Columbia University), and The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. She is in frequent demand as a master class clinician and adjudicator and is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing with whom she has held state offices in both Georgia and Virginia.

Jan Horstmann, (Session Two Conductor) is currently the General Music Director, Freiberg Opera House. He studied at the Music Conservatory in Hamburg, Germany.  His first employment was as a repetiteur and conductor at the Wuppertaler Theater.  He also conducts regularly for the Dance theater company of Pina Bausch.  In 1996 he became the first conductor of the Magdeburg Theater and is now the General Music Director of the Middle-Saxony theater.  He has also been a guest conductor in Hamburg and Bonn and conducted in Amsterdam, Bonn, Brasilia, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, as well as leading the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra.  He also has a secret passion for Cabaret/Street Music and has a one-person Cabaret act which he performs regularly.

Wieland Mueller, (Session One Director) Coach, and Stage-direction, W.M. Studio Chemnitz, studied voice at the Dresden Music Conservatory from 1976-1981. In 1983 he took 3rd place in the Opera Singer Competition of the DDR.  He has studied singing with Christian Elssner, Siegfried Lorenz and Kammersänger Wolfgang Hellmich, and also studied German Lied with Gertraun Geissler and Semjon Skigin.  During his career he has been engaged in full-time contracts at the opera houses in Halberstadt, Cottbus and Chemnitz, and from 1990-1995 he had a full-time contract at the Staatsoperetta in Dresden.  Since 1997 he has been a free-lance artist with guest contracts in theaters throughout Germany, including, Berlin, Dresden, Postdam, Bautzen Görlitz and Plauen.  He has given concerts in England, Russia, Poland, Japan, Slovakia, Bosnia and Austria, and has also been a radio and television producer.  From 1993 to the present, he has also had various contracts as a singing teacher and director, and in 1997 he founded the Studio W.M. Workshop for Musik and Theater in Chemnitz, and has a special interest in developing young voices to sing in healthy Musical Theater vocal techniques. He regularly takes tours of student singers to resorts on the North Sea in Germany to perform during the summer holidays, where Studio W.M.’s musical reviews are received with great enthusiasm by large audiences.

Christa Heinicke, German Language Instructor. (Sessions One and Two), has special interests in Art and Culture.  From 1996 she has worked as a freelance Teacher of English and German at High Schools and colleges in Dresden and Radebeul and Chemnitz.  She has also worked as a professional translator for the Coltronic Company in Chesterfield, England.

Her employment experience also includes speech therapy, and work as secretary and counselor for addiction in Dresden alongside her other occupation a housewife who has raised four children.  She pursued post-graduate study at the Graduate School of Economics in Dresden and the Webster Graduate Studies Centre in London and also did further Postgraduate studies in European Marketing Consultancy. She has studied at the Linguistic School of Berlitz in Dresden in the subjects of economics, business management and marketing.  She received her diploma at the Humboldt University of Berlin, which qualified her to teach English and German.

Heinz Meißner, Conductor and Accompanist-Coach (Session One), has had a distinguished career as the first conductor of the Chemnitz opera house for many years.  He first began coaching Wieland Müller as a boy soprano for the Chemnitz Opera house production of Die Zauberflöte.  Now semi-retired, Mr. Heinz enjoys working with singers of all levels and abilities and continues a close musical association with Studio W.M. in Chemnitz, both as an opera conductor/coach and as a collaborative artist for concerts and recitals.

Anne Elgar Kopta, (Guest Lecturer) is a soprano and associate professor of Music in voice, at Arizona State University Herberger College School of Music. Under the stage name of Anne Elgar, she regularly appeared in leading roles with the New York City Opera and the opera companies of San Francisco, San Diego, Houston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Wichita.Her credits include Violetta in La Traviata, Gilda in Rigoletto, Mimi in La Boheme, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Blonde in The Abduction from the Seraglio, Pamina in The Magic Flute, Rosina in Barber of Seville, Baby Doe in The Ballad of Baby Doe, Abigail in The Crucible, and Sister Blanche in Dialogues of the Carmelites, among many others. She created the role of Margaret in the world premier of Lizzie Borden by Jack Beeson, a work commissioned by the New York City Opera. The original cast album released on Desto Records has recently been reissued on CDs by Composers Recordings, Inc./CRI. Miss Anne Elgar has also recorded opera by Rossini and Meyerbeer on the Vanguard (reissued on CDs) and the HRE labels. Under the sponsorship of Columbia Artists' Community Concerts Series, she was a popular recitalist. There were also many guest appearances at Tanglewood, Chautauqua, Caramoor, Newport, Saratoga and other summer music festivals.For more than 20 years, she has taught at major universities during the academic year and devoted the other months to summer music schools in Austria, Italy, Israel, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Formerly, Professor Kopta was a regular faculty member of the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. Her master classes at Mexico's National Conservatory of Music have become an annual event, and have resulted in special appreciation of ASU’s School of Music among students and faculty there.