Accademia Solti
The Georg Solti Accademia offers highly sought-after, immersive training experiences for young opera singers and répétiteurs at the start of their careers. Created in 2004 to honour the memory of the late famous maestro Sir Georg Solti, the Solti Accademia has become one of the most successful and recognized training programs for young operatic professionals in the world.
Every year the Georg Solti Accademia Bel Canto summer school in Castiglione della Pescaia, Tuscany, offers up to twelve young singers a fully-funded, three-week immersion in Italian opera singing, with a focus on language, style and technique in the 19th and early 20th century Italian repertoire. Places are offered to twelve outstanding students from around the world. These hand-picked young singers are invited to immerse themselves in the language and culture of Italy, while also devoting focused time to mastering the art of bel canto, benefiting from master classes given by leading opera singers, language experts, and vocal coaches.
Artistic Director Jonathan Papp says, “The Italian vocal tradition, if properly learnt, gives singers a fundamental and sustainable technique, which is invaluable both in terms of having full control of the voice, as well as vocal longevity – something which is increasingly rare. This platform of technical stability underpins all repertoire. Not all students have specialist and idiomatic training in this bel canto tradition at colleges and conservatoires, and the time frame in which they have to achieve a multitude of languages and styles is brief. This Accademia fills a gap which is present in the training of most young singers, thereby giving them a musical toolbox and a dramatic and creative vision, which will allow them to reach their full potential.”
A combination of visiting and permanent faculty provide singers with an intense but supportive educational experience. The course is planned and led by the Accademia’s Artistic Director Jonathan Papp. Past vocal faculty have included Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Sir Richard Bonynge, Barbara Frittoli, Angela Gheorghiu, Carmen Giannattasio, Leo Nucci, Sir Dennis O’Neill, Frederica von Stade, Jose Carreras, Mirella Freni, Sir Thomas Allen, and many more of the world’s leading opera singers.
