The Verbier Festival Academy’s Atelier Lyrique is unique among voice programmes by offering the study of both opera roles and song repertoire in a supportive and inspiring setting as well as the opportunity to perform as part of a renowned international festival.
with generous support from
Fondation Juchum
Atelier Lyrique singers are offered vocal, language and stagecraft coaching in opera and song through private sessions and public masterclasses.
opera
All Atelier Lyrique singers are invited to perform in a public recital of arias and opera scenes during the first week of the Verbier Festival. Singers who are selected for a role in the Atelier’s featured opera — Verdi’s Falstaff in 2024 — will perform in a semi-staged production of the work in collaboration with the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra and its music director, James Gaffigan, on the Festival’s final weekend. A select few singers are often cast in supporting roles for the Verbier Festival’s Mainstage opera and are coached in preparation for these roles.
song
Singers can expect to work through six to eight songs in masterclasses and will have the opportunity to work on additional repertoire in private coaching sessions. Repertoire choice is free, although students are encouraged to bring a variety of songs in different languages and styles, including groups of songs in German, English (British and American) and French, as well as repertoire in other languages of their choice. Singers will perform in two recitals as part of the Festival’s afternoon Mainstage programme, one for voice and piano and another in collaboration with chamber musicians from the Academy’s Soloists & Ensembles Programme. Singers are also regularly recruited for creative cabaret projects produced by UNLTD, the Festival’s creative laboratory.
Students
Meet the 13 singers selected for the Verbier Festival Academy's Atelier Lyrique in 2024.
programme dates
includes arrival and departure dates
2024
14 July – 5 August 2024
2025
13 July – 4 August 2025
how to apply
Applications to our 2024 programmes have now closed. Applications to the 2025 edition of the Academy’s Atelier Lyrique will be accepted starting early September 2024.
Please read the guidelines at the following link before sending any questions to the Verbier Festival Team.
guidelinesmasterclasses
programmeInformation for students
Only singers accepted to the Academy’s Atelier Lyrique will perform during masterclasses. Singers will take part in both opera and song classes, regardless of whether they have been cast in a role in the Atelier’s opera of study.
Each student’s masterclass schedule is determined only at the very beginning of the training period, after preliminary coaching sessions with the programme heads.
Information for the public
programmementors 2024
James Baillieu Head, Song
Tim Carroll
Caroline Dowdle Head, Opera
Barbara Frittoli
James Gaffigan
James Garnon
Ken Noda
Leo Nucci
Sandrine Piau
Thomas Quasthoff
Golda Schultz
Additional mentors will be announced.
alumni mentors
In its quest for excellence, the Academy has developed collaborations with some of the greatest mentors and coaches. Returning 2024 mentors are marked with an asterisk.
Thomas Allen
Emma Abbate
Theo Adam
James Baillieu*
Barbara Bonney
Tim Carroll*
Diego Cossu
Lise Davidsen
Claudio Desderi
Caroline Dowdle*
Gian-Carlo del Monaco
Dan Ettinger
Brigitte Fassbaender
Renée Fleming
Barbara Frittoli*
James Gaffigan*
James Garnon*
Véronique Gens
Hàkan Hagegàrd
Thomas Hampson
Gundula Janowitz
Stanislav Kochanovsky
Yannis Kokkos
Jonathan Miller
Alexandre Naoumenko
Ken Noda*
Elena Pankratova
Dimitri Platanias
Franziska Roth
Thomas Quasthoff*
Peter Schreier
Andreï Serban
Neil Shicoff
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
Anna Tomowa-Sintow
Roger Vignoles
Anne Sofie von Otter
Susannah Waters
