Friends of Eastman Opera

The Voice, Opera & Vocal Coaching Department of the Eastman School of Music cherishes its relationship with an organization known as the Friends of Eastman Opera, which is unique in academic opera programs. For more than a decade, this large group of vibrant opera lovers has lent its support to Eastman Opera Theatre in a variety of ways. It has provided the funds with which the program purchased both the super title projector, used for many productions, a state-of-the-art DVD recorder used for staged productions and made available to Eastman singers for the recording of audition DVDs. FEO is a very visible presence at all of our events and, as our most passionate “fan club,” spreads the word throughout the Rochester community about opera in general and Eastman Opera Theatre in particular.

FEO’s commitment to the nurturing of young singers has made a real difference in the quality of our program, including through the FEO sponsors an annual Vocal Competition in which a number of Eastman’s very best singers, selected by their teachers, compete for significant cash awards. It provides an opportunity for these singers to perform for a nationally or internationally recognized conductor, stage director, or impresario serving as adjudicator who give them valuable feedback. Recent judges have represented the opera companies of Pittsburgh, Fort Worth, Des Moines, Chautauqua, Chicago Lyric Opera, Florentine Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Berlin, Bayreuth, and the Opera Orchestra of New York. The finalists who perform in this event are selected by the members of the Voice, Opera & Vocal Coaching Faculty at a preliminary audition.