<p>Anyone know about the quality of Classical Voice (opera) programs in Australia? I see the University of Sydney - Sydney Conservatorium of Music has a program.</p>
<p>Note: I’m primarily interested in Graduate Programs, but any info would be helpful.</p>
<p>For an Australian student or as an international student? Prices for international students are very expensive, and the graduate music scene in Australia is not fantastic as most Australians go overseas (undergrad. programs can be good). Look at Sydney Con, Victorian College of the Arts, University of Western Australia and possibly Queensland Conservatory. Australian National University in Canberra is in the process of shutting their music school/conservatory unfortunately.</p>
<p>I’m not an expert on voice programs, but can give you more info on Australia or particular schools if you like.</p>
<p>Aussie singers seem to get out of the country and head for Europe at the earliest possible opportunity, and I haven’t been even slightly impressed with the quality of those winning national competitions restricted to that country’s residents. I know several singers working now in Germany and Austria and they were far behind the curve when they landed in the EU.</p>
<p>Thanks. There is an opportunity to be in Australia for other reasons. No reason now to consider it further.</p>
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<p>Seems a little harsh, don’t you think? I agree with you that Australia is not the best destination for graduate music programs, but if someone was there for other reasons, I don’t think there is any reason to dismiss the quality of teaching. Since I don’t know much about voice programs I just checked out the Australian laureates from major international competitions, and there are a number of singers included on the list… winning 1st prize in the ARD Munich competition is hardly “behind the curve”.
[url=<a href=“http://www.wfimc.org/Webnodes/en/Web/Public/Laureates?name=&discipline=0&nationality=au&competition=&year=0]Laureates[/url”>http://www.wfimc.org/Webnodes/en/Web/Public/Laureates?name=&discipline=0&nationality=au&competition=&year=0]Laureates[/url</a>]</p>
<p>No, I don’t think it’s harsh at all, fishee, and this is an area I do know about. Winning a contest is a crap shoot- all dependent upon who else enters that year and in Europe there are a great many competitions. That large number (and now the dire economic conditions in quite a few EU countries) leads to a very uneven pool of singers at any given time- one might have many top-level entrants while another will have lesser talents. One young woman I know of won a major Australian prize and went to Europe where she placed in another small contest which led to a YAP-type position with a good opera company. After determining that it would be years, if ever, for her to break bad habits and learn solid technique, she’s been relegated to occasional chorus gigs. Had she stayed home, she might well have had a solid career there because it was only in comparison that the faults became glaringly apparent.
That’s not to say that there aren’t some good voices coming out of Australia, but one woman winning the ARD Munich in 2009 is not a sterling record especially when you look at the successes of those coming from Asia, in particularly Korea, in EU competitions over the past 5 years. If one takes the time to look in Spain, France, Italy, Germany and Austria, Aussie singers are not well represented and their conservatory training for voice at the graduate level is not where one would hope it to be. There are, however, a couple of private teachers there who are excellent- whether they’d have room to take on a private student from the US is another matter.
Interestingly, the lovely Sydney Opera House, sees far more ballet on it’s stage than opera, and the ballet company there is considered world class.</p>
<p>I don’t know why your reply irks me so much - maybe its just too long since my last shipment of vegemite.</p>
<p>What you say about competitions is absolutely true, however I think with a competition with the prestige of ARD Munich, we can discount the possibility of singers not turning up, or prize winners that might not be up to standard.</p>
<p>Your comments about the Sydney Opera House seem somewhat uninformed - I just checked the opera house season, and Opera Australia is doing 6 productions, while the Australian Ballet is only doing 3, and the number of ballet performances overall is likewise less.</p>
<p>All of this is not to convince anyone to do graduate voice study there, but just to put another (valid and informed) view out on the net. I think given Australia’s very small population, and even smaller cultural recognition, Australian musicians do pretty well, and this is mainly due to good teaching studios. If you know excellent private teachers there, perhaps it would have been helpful to mention that you could give their names by PM in the first instance rather than suggesting that there was no point even considering the Australian musical scene.</p>