"The Opera Academy of California summer program, located in San Francisco, CA and run under acclaimed stage director Yefim Maizel, was one of the best summer program experiences that I have had. Although on its inaugural season, Mr. Maizel set the bar unbelievably high. During the six week program a cast of around forty select singers from around the country staged three full-length operas, five two hour long scenes concerts, three Aria Recitals (which were located in the beautiful, historic Old First Church), and eight master classes with such distinguished technicians as Lotfi Mansouri, Sheri Greenawald, Erie Mills, Marcie Stapp, and Jane Randolph.

It might sound like a huge amount of work, and, frankly, it is; however, that is exactly the benefit in a program like this. Emerging artists are allowed the opportunity to feel what it is like to work alongside artistic directors, conductors, and stage directors to create professional-quality productions.

In addition to all this, the faculty at OAC truly care for each of the participants in the program. They are esteemed professionals who take the time to assist young singers in their journey. That alone made the entire six weeks worth it for me. The boost to my resume was just an added bonus. I highly recommend this program to any singer who wishes to learn a myriad of new repertoire in a short time under the guidance of working world-class professionals. This program prepares you for the real world and gives singers the tools they need to succeed in that world."

"My experience at Opera Academy of California exceeded and transcended all expectations.  From beginning to end, I felt fortunate to interact with such a distinguished and knowledgeable faculty, as well as a group of exciting, young talent.  

The opportunities to meet new people and perform were continuously afforded to us, and every moment was utilized to its greatest extent.  This program is a paragon of variety and excellence.  Everyone who attends WILL walk away with better foundational skills, many valuable connections and friendships, but most importantly: new insights about their voice.  

I do and will continue to recommend this program to all the singers I know."  

"OAC is an intensive summer program for the dedicated performer who wants to expand his/her repertoire and network with some of the greats in the industry.  The artistic director, Yefim Maizel, conducts the program with high expectations that foster a ‘real-life’ professional attitude toward one's craft and colleagues.

The master classes were fantastic, the location was great (you can’t beat views of the Golden Gate bridge and Alcatraz island), and I was very pleased with the overall quality of the singers.  I made professional contacts and friends for life that I will surely run into down the road.  One piece of advice though: bring your jacket!  In the words of Mark Twain “The coldest winter I ever spent was the summer in San Francisco!”  

"Opera Academy of California is undoubtedly one of the most important steps I've taken thus far to becoming a professional singer. The performance experience and one on one attention from esteemed faculty gave me a much clearer idea of what to expect in the opera world than what I had before.  

Yefim Maizel offers a rigorous schedule and high expectations: the best environment for growth.  In addition to Yefim Maizel and his faculty's influence the friendships I made with colleagues has continued to provide a loving and constructive support group to this day. 

I recommend Opera Academy of California to the singer who is dedicated, intelligent, focused, and ready to take on the most rewarding challenge."

 

"Yefim Maizel provides a creative, safe, and collabrative environment for all levels of performers.  His knowledge in theatre history and tradition is accessible and vast.  Yefim has the ability to create performers and performances of opera that are stimulating, developed and musical. Personally, Yefim helped me fulfill becoming a character on stage."

"Jane Randolph has established herself not only as a wonderful performer, but also as a tremendous teacher.  In my few experiences with her, she made me feel completely comfortable and I was able to glean practical information that I could use immediately to enhance my vocal technique."

"This faculty is truly exceptional. This is a collection of some of the most important and influencial people in the opera community, and in the unique musical community of the bay area. Sheri Greenawald is a truly exceptional technician, and being an audience member for one of her master classes was profoundly inspiring. David Cox brings energy and insight to his stage direction, and puts great care with character development. Johnathan Kuhner, Jane Randolph and Robert Britton are all experts, extremely knowledgeable and invaluable resources for musical, and personal development. Collaborative pianists Codrut Birsan and Hatem Nadim were an indespensible part of my experience, they went above and beyond to offer a fantastic music making experience; they made themselves available with every free moment to help polish, refine and perfect every performance. The opportunity to work with these musicians was truly a privilege."

"Yefim Maizel is an incredibly meticulous director. He brings a very wide scope of knowledge and culture to his stage vision, but also an understanding of his actor-singers' particular energies. Above all, his keen musicianship sets him apart from any other director; it is a tremendous learning opportunity for younger performers to work with him.  

Jun Nakabayashi is a sensitive and knowledgable maestro. Perhaps more importantly in his work with younger, pre-professional singers, he is also good-humored and, though demanding, very patient. It can be difficult to learn to sing with a conductor, but doing so with Maestro Nakabayashi feels like a safe growing experience.

Jonathan Khuner is diligent and demanding, both in his way to conduct and to coach. His deep knowledge of the music, as well as performance practice and context, make him a wonderful tool for singers. He is patient and unrelenting, a golden combination for someone working with pre-professional singers."

"I had the great pleasure of working with Jonathan Khuner in a Mozart scene from Don Giovanni, as well as a Richard Strauss scene from Arabella. I learned the very different styles of recitative in a standard Mozart scene, as opposed to an accompanied recitative in Arabella from Jonathan's recitative class, as well as our private coachings. Jonathan's strict attention to diction, detail, and style aided me not only in these particular scenes, but also in my study of current repertoire."

"Working with Rod was fantastic. He has so much passion for what he does and can easily express what he’s looking for. He truly helped me in all aspects of my performance and characterizations for my role."

"As an opera stage director, Yefim Maizel brings a level of preparedness to rehearsal that is foreign to most of today's young American performers. As compliment, he is also an attentive listener and collaborator. Forever raising the bar to meet, and further test, the potential of the idividual artist, his is as great a leader as he is a mentor, and worthy of our trust. It has been an honor.

Jun Nakabayashi made our recent production of La Callisto an unforgettable one. In addition to a great sense of humor and adaptability to various levels of preparation on the part of the singers, he adheres adamantly to his own secrets to great recitative. For example, to paraphrase: Just because a syllable is unstressed does not mean one should let the air out of the balloon and allow the entire word to become indistinguishable.

Valery Ryvkin is another world class coach and conductor. Take note my fellow singer friends, he misses absolutely nothing! He conducted a recent summer performance of Suor Angelica and amazed me with the number of irons he kept in the fire throughout every single rehearsal. An astoundingly perceptive musical leader and, refreshingly, a bit of a comedian as well! I think any budding professional singer would feel honored to work with him."

"Ryan Murray was a great pleasure to work with. He is very energetic and passionate about the music. I felt very confident and secure with him as my conductor and hope to again work with him in the future."

"I enjoyed working with Yefim Maizel. His committed directing work with singers impressed me. Yefim cares about singers, meets singer-actors coming from various levels of experience and brings them to a higher level. He is interested in what YOU, the artist, have to say. He will guide you and give you suggestions/angles until you give him the character that is unique through your experience with the part.
As a leader of a summer program, he operates with integrity and skill and cares deeply for all participants."

"Jonathan Khuner has incredible musical insight and after working with him I strive constantly to be a more accurate, sensitive singer- especially when dealing with difficult music. He pushed me to be better musically than I had ever been before and I am a better singer because of it. 

Jun Nakabayashi requires an intellectual component from his singers that I had not previously been expected to capture. He showed me that there is always an emotional/textual consideration that the music describes and he asks the singers to find that for themselves. The result is a very intimate and personal performance. I believe that I interpret music more personally since having worked with him. 

Working with David Cox really forced me to be a better actor. His acting approach made me take the stage and not apologize for it- and that is such a great lesson in so many ways. I definitely take that with me into every role I do now. "