San Francisco Opera Center, Sheri Greenawald, Director, under the auspices of the internationally renowned San Francisco Opera, David Gockley, General Director and Donald Runnicles, Music Director and Principal Conductor, offers a continuing sequence of performance and career development opportunities for the best young professional singers, coach/accompanists and stage directors.

The Merola Opera Program is the entry-level program for all San Francisco Opera Center programs. The Adler Fellowship Program is a renewable yearlong residency offered to selected singers and coach/accompanists from the Merola Opera Program.

Since 1982, San Francisco Opera Center has held auditions for its programs. Successful auditionees are invited to participate in the Merola Opera Program, a summer program of performance and study. Selected artists are offered contracts for the prestigious Adler Fellowship Program. Additionally, selected artists may be offered contracts for a debut recital with the Schwabacher Debut Recital Series. This series, endowed in perpetuity by the generosity of celebrated Bay Area singer, scholar and teacher James Schwabacher, takes place each spring at a San Francisco venue.

Singers, coach/accompanists and stage directors must take part in San Francisco Opera Center auditions to be eligible for the Merola Opera Program and Adler Fellowship Program.

The Merola Opera Program is the cornerstone of training for singers, coach/accompanists and stage directors selected through the National Auditions. Approximately 23 singers, five apprentice coach/accompanists and one apprentice stage director will be invited to join this intensive 11 (12 weeks for apprentice coach/accompanists) week summer training program held at San Francisco Opera. Two opera productions, one staged scenes program with orchestra, and one concert with orchestra will be presented. Internationally renowned artists will conduct a series of master classes for the Merola Opera Program. In addition, career grants in the amount of $10,000 are available to each Merola alumnus/a by application for five years, with a maximum of $5,000 in any single year.

Repertoire will include:

Pietro Mascagni's L'AMICO FRITZ (sung in Italian)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's COSÍ FAN TUTTE (sung in Italian)

SCENES PROGRAM with orchestra
Extended opera scenes will be selected specifically for the strengths of the artists chosen and will be presented in a semi-staged performance with orchestra. Previous programs have included repertoire from Mozart to Verdi to Wagner. This program allows us to explore the talents of singers who may not be cast in the other productions.

Every singer will be cast in either an opera or the scenes program.

The 2009 Merola Opera Program will take place from June 8 through August 23, 2009 (coach/accompanists will begin June 1); singers, coach/accompanists and stage directors may apply. Application must be postmarked no later than the deadline date for the region where you are applying.

Applications in PDF form will be available to download from here soon--please check back.

For questions or concerns, you may email: merolaauditions@sfopera.com or call: 415-565-3277.