Opera Workshop at WSU

09/21/2026

The last of the castrati

For centuries, European music, especially opera, prized a very specific kind of voice: powerful, agile, and eternally high. To produce it, thousands of boys were castrated before puberty, a practice driven by poverty, ambition, and the hope of fame. Most never became stars. A few rose to extraordinary celebrity, commanding huge audiences and shaping the sound of Baroque and Classical music. By the 19th century, the practice was widely condemned, and laws across Europe shut it down.

Alessandro Moreschi, born in 1858, was one of the last boys subjected to the procedure. He grew into a celebrated soprano, known for his emotional delivery and dramatic vocal style, techniques that sound unusual to modern ears but were standard for castrati. His career unfolded during the final years of the tradition, when audiences were shifting toward more natural voices and the old system was fading.

In the early 1900s, Moreschi recorded several tracks on primitive equipment, creating the only existing audio of a castrato voice. The recordings are imperfect, scratchy, and historically priceless. When he retired in 1913, the era of castrati effectively ended. Moreschi died in 1922, leaving behind a haunting record of a musical world that vanished, one built on extraordinary artistry and extraordinary harm.

09/14/2026

Detroit Opera's Resident
Artist Program offers emerging professional singers an intensive season of individualized artistic development and meaningful professional experience.

Led by Nathalie Doucet, Head of Music and Director of the Resident Artist Program, the program is designed to support the individual needs, strengths, and goals of each artist. Resident Artists receive regular coaching and training in voice, languages, drama, performance, and career development while gaining valuable experience on Detroit Opera's mainstage and through performances and engagement opportunities throughout the community.

Through intensive training, performance opportunities, and direct experience within a major American opera company, the Detroit Opera Resident Artist Program prepares its artists to take the next steps toward professional careers.

Exact Program Dates To Be Confirmed (approximately September 2027-May
2028).

ELIGIBILITY
Applicants must be eligible to work in the United States.

APPLICATION MATERIALS
Applicants must submit:
• Completed YAP Tracker application
• Résumé (PDF format)
• Repertoire list
• Two professional references
• Prescreening video recordings

PRESCREENING REQUIREMENTS
Submit two (2) arias of contrasting styles and languages.
• Recordings must be no more than 12 months old.

LIVE AUDITION REQUIREMENTS
Applicants invited to a live audition must prepare arias of contrasting styles and languages, one of which must be composed within the last 50 years.

At least:
• One aria in Italian
• One aria in another language (e.g.
English, French, or German)
• One aria from the 20th or 21st century

Please ensure selections demonstrate stylistic versatility, technical command, and expressive range.

AUDITION MATERIALS For the Live Auditions
Please bring:
• Clearly marked scores for the pianist
• A printed repertoire list

Email your repertoire list in advance to:
[email protected]
A pianist will be provided at no cost.

For questions about the Resident Artist Program or auditions, contact Nathalie Doucet, Head of Music and Director of Resident Artist Program at [email protected]

08/15/2026

Beverly Sills

04/19/2026

George Shirley

ON THIS DAY - APRIL 18, 1934

George Shirley is a distinguished American operatic tenor whose career helped break racial barriers in classical music. Born in 1934 in Indianapolis, Indiana, and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Shirley developed his musical talent early, singing in church and school ensembles. He pursued formal training at Wayne State University and later served in the U.S. Army, where he was a member of the prestigious Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

In 1961, Shirley made history as the first Black tenor—and one of the first Black artists overall—to perform a leading role at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. His debut marked a significant milestone in the integration of one of the world’s most prestigious opera institutions, following earlier breakthroughs by artists such as Marian Anderson. Shirley’s performances challenged longstanding racial exclusion in classical music and expanded opportunities for future generations of Black opera singers.

Throughout his career, Shirley performed internationally, appearing in major opera houses and concert halls across Europe and the United States. His repertoire included works by Mozart, Verdi, and Puccini, showcasing his lyrical voice and refined technique.

Beyond the stage, Shirley became an influential educator, serving on university faculties and mentoring young singers. His contributions to music and education earned him numerous honors, including a Grammy Award and recognition as a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award recipient.

George Shirley’s legacy endures as a testament to excellence, perseverance, and the transformative impact of representation in the arts.

01/07/2026

An opportunity

Nine men and nine women are needed for an upcoming production of “The Handmaid's Tale" at the Detroit Opera House.

01/01/2026

Happy New Year from La Profesora.

12/19/2025

10/30/2025

Guido of Arezzo (Italian: Guido d'Arezzo;[n 1] c. 991–992 – after 1033) was an Italian music theorist and pedagogue of High medieval music. A Benedictine monk, he is regarded as the inventor—or by some, developer—of the modern staff notation that had a massive influence on the development of Western musical notation and practice. Perhaps the most significant European writer on music between Boethius and Johannes Tinctoris,[3] after the former's De institutione musica, Guido's Micrologus was the most widely distributed medieval treatise on music.

By around 1013 Guido began teaching at Pomposa Abbey, but his antiphonary Prologus in antiphonarium and novel teaching methods based on staff notation brought considerable resentment from his colleagues. He thus moved to Arezzo in 1025 and under the patronage of Bishop Tedald of Arezzo he taught singers at the Arezzo Cathedral. Using staff notation, he was able to teach large amounts of music quickly and he wrote the multifaceted Micrologus, attracting attention from around Italy. Interested in his innovations, Pope John XIX called him to Rome. After arriving and beginning to explain his methods to the clergy, sickness sent him away in the summer. The rest of his life is largely unknown, but he settled in a monastery near Arezzo, probably one of the Avellana of the Camaldolese
order.