Mission

“A non-profit organization dedicated to providing world-class training to gifted artists while offering accessible, high-quality performances to our community. “

Chicago Summer Opera is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing world-class training and meaningful performance opportunities to emerging artists while presenting accessible, high-quality opera to the community.

Our program combines intensive artistic development with professional-level performance experience. Training emphasizes role preparation, vocal technique, dramatic interpretation, audition preparation, and stagecraft. Each singer is cast in either a full role or a cover role, with productions fully staged and performed with orchestra. Cover artists also have the unique opportunity to perform their roles in a fully staged cover run with piano. This combination of focused training, individual mentorship, and substantial performance experience allows developing singers to make significant artistic and professional growth in a short period of time.

Over the past 13 seasons, Chicago Summer Opera has had the privilege of working with an extraordinary roster of internationally recognized singers, teachers, directors, conductors, coaches, and industry professionals who have served on our faculty or led guest master classes. These distinguished artists have included Alexandra LoBianco, Allan Glassman, Elizabeth Byrne, Nicole Cabell, Norman Reinhardt, Soula Parassidis, Viktoria Vizin, Jeff Mattsey, John DeMain, Michael Ehrman, Julia Faulkner, Amy Hutchison, Codrut Birsan, Quinn Kelsey, Sunny Joy Langton, Mark Ross Clark, Adriano Spampanato, Cathy Dunn, Francesco Milioto, Andreas Mitisek, Steven Mosteller, Andrew Owens, Yasuko Oura, Matthew Ozawa, Philip Pierce, Susanna Phillips, W. Stephen Smith, Michael Sylvester, and Pedro Yanez.

Their expertise, artistry, and mentorship have helped shape Chicago Summer Opera into a program that challenges and inspires emerging artists while preparing them for the next stage of their professional development.

Key Features 

Performing a Role with Orchestra
Performing a fully staged role with orchestra. Each production combines all the artistic elements of opera into a transformative performance experience. Singers receive either a full role or a cover role (with only one cover per role). Covers have a dedicated staged cover run with piano.

Previous opera performances can be watched here.