A Note from the
Administrative Director

It hardly seems possible that we are about to begin the third Lyric Opera Summer Academy, but this year marks that milestone. We are very pleased with the prospects of new faculty joining us as well as new young rising stars who will join us from middle and  high Schools from throughout the San Diego County.

We are hoping to have forty students in the program this summer. Bill Cobb, the long time theater wizard of Dana Middle School, will be joining us this year to help administer the school and to direct and teach acting.  Shirley Giltner will also help to administer the school as well as choreograph and teach dance.  Nanae Greene will return as Music Director.  There will be master classes taught by Dianna Ruggiero, Leon Natker, Enrique Torál and several other master teachers and performers.

This year the Academy is one week shorter and one hour longer each day.  This is due to many parents who complained about the five week grid we had been using.  The extra hour in the day should help make the rehearsal process conform more to a professional schedule.  The Academy will have placement auditions on July 2, 2008 and the Academy will convene July 7, @ 9:00am.  On July 31, 2008 the Academy will present its Gala Showcase, the first half will feature all the students in work from their classes.  The second half will be a production of Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s CINDERELLA.

This year we have already received a generous scholarship package that will allow us to help some deserving children who might not be able to afford the Academy.  But we must point out that for $1000.00 this is a quality experience that will prepare the young people to do better in auditions here and for their college entrance in the performing arts as well.  Several of our Academy graduates have gone on to work at the Old Globe, San Diego Repertory Theatre, and La Jolla Playhouse, among others, and it is due to the work they did in Lyric Opera’s Academy to craft their auditions.  They were ready as a result of the work in the Summer program.

We look to our members to tell neighbors and grandparents that this is a very practical way to get talented young people in middle and high school pointed in the right direction for performing arts career goals.  We look forward to having many young people from our own Lyric Opera Family!

J. Sherwood Montgomery
Administrative Director of the Academy

ACTING
Students will focus on using acting skills as tools for creative development through a variety of excercises and improvisations. The class encompasses character and scene studies as well as audition monologue preparation.

DANCE
Students will learn a variety of musical theatre choreography and dance combinations according to skill level. The class is designed to increase their knowledge of dance terminology and accuracy at all levels in order to enhance their audition performance.

VOICE
Students will learn to establish a concept of vocal technique and develop vocal artistry. The focus of the class is on song and audition preparation and will include musical theater, classical training and repertoire.

WEEKLY SEMINARS
Learn from local professionals on various topics regarding the theater industry, including the following: headshots & resumes, makeup & hair, and audition etiquette.

FINAL PERFORMANCE
The final performance, in the illustrious Birch North Park Theatre, is a culmination of the students' training. It will include performance from the class studies as well as a full scale musical production: Rodger's and Hammerstein's CINDERELLA - July 31st at 7 pm - Open to the Public.

COST $1000
JUNE 1ST APPLICATION DEADLINE.

SUMMER ACADEMY
ENROLLMENT APPLICATION FORM - DO NOT SUBMIT BEFORE FEBRUARY

Click HERE to open the form as a Microsoft Word Document.

Click HERE to open the form as a PDF document in Adobe Acrobat Reader.

*Partial Scholorships Available

Upon acceptance into the Academy, Students will be required to sign the Academy Student Contract.

Academy Sponsors

Visual and Performing Arts Department of San Diego City Schools  - Partners with
Lyric Opera San Diego

The Mary Ann Blair Fund at

SUMMER ACADEMY STAFF 2008

J. Sherwood Montgomery (Administrative Director of the Academy) began his career as a child performer in San Diego. While earning a Bachelor of Arts from San Diego State University, he launched his producing career as president of the Aztec Theater Guild. He holds a Master of Fine Arts from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. In 1969 he made his professional debut as artistic director and producer at Circle Arts Theater on Kearny Mesa, with San Diego Artists Incorporated, an organization he founded. This led to a career as a stage designer in regional theaters throughout the country, from Juilliard’s Drama Division (where he worked with John Houseman) to Atlanta’s Alliance Theater and Missouri Repertory Theater in Kansas City. While working there, he was tapped to become the Artistic Director of the oldest community theater in the country, the famed Resident Theater of the Jewish Community Center in Kansas City, Missouri. He was then chosen by Joyce Hall to consult on Hallmark theater projects to be included in that company’s Crown Center Plaza development. Jack worked as co-producer and artistic director of both The Professional Performing Company at Kennedy-King College and the Shawnee Festival Theater in Bloomfield, Indiana. During an eight-year period with these two regional theaters he produced more than 60 productions. Jack was also involved in the founding of Chicago Opera Theater, served on that organization’s board of directors, and designed the productions for its first two seasons. Since returning to San Diego in 1986, Jack has directed, designed and produced at Starlight, The La Jolla Stage Company, Poway Center for the Arts, The Village Vaudeville, The Coronado Playhouse, San Diego Opera and San Diego Comic Opera. He was associate artistic director of Comic Opera for three seasons prior to being designated artistic director of the company in 1998. In that time he has been involved with more than 30 of the company’s productions.

William Cobb (Acting/Direction) is head of drama production at Dana Middle School.  He has been associated with Lyric Opera San Diego as a partner and a performer for fifteen years.  His very successful program at Dana Middle School and at Loma Portal Elementary School has been responsible for igniting interest in performing arts in thousands of students during his teaching career.  He has produced and directed a wide range of musical theater presentations using young talent all across San Diego County. He has been awarded many times for his innovative and successful programs with young performers.  He also continues to perform with Lyric Opera in our mainstage productions and was seen in last season’s production of Puccini’s The Swallow, onstage at the Birch North Park Theatre.

Shirley Giltner (Dance/Choreographer) has been teaching dance since the age of 14. She began her training at the age of 6 when she enrolled in her first tap class. By the age of 9 she was also studying ballet and jazz 4-5 days a week. Shirley taught dance for almost 12 years all over San Diego in various recreation centers and dance studios, while continuing her own dance training and attending dance competitions and conventions all over the country. Since then she has performed in various productions all over the San Diego area. Some of her favorites include Ain't Misbehavin', Smokey Joe's Cafe, Annie, Babes in Arms, and most recently, SideShow.

Nanae Green (Accompanist/Music Director) has been a vocal accompanist and coach for the opera theater department at SDSU for the past 4 seasons as a graduate assistant.  She earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance, graduating summa cum laude, from Jacksonville University in 2002 and recently graduated this year with a Masters in piano performance at SDSU.  She has experience accompanying in a variety of settings, including opera, vocal recital, musical theater and choir.  She has received many awards and scholarships including a Performance Excellence Award in Accompanying in 2003 and a Performance Excellence Award in Piano in 2004 from Jacksonville University.  She is also a member of the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honors Society. 

Leon Natker (Master Classes) launched his career at the age of twelve (as the Major General in The Pirates of Penzance) and has spanned two continents and included more than three hundred productions. He was accepted at New York’s Juilliard School (Drama Division) and studied with teachers including John Houseman, and also assisted Gian Carlo Menotti in a production of Don Pasquale. After earning a bachelors degree from Roosevelt University in Theater and Communications, Leon pursued a career in regional theatre and summer stock, performing works including Shakespeare, Chekhov and Williams. He began to seriously study voice at the age of 23 and was soon touring with the Lyric Opera Center for Young Artists in productions of La Cenerentola and The Barber of Seville. Leon made his directing debut at the age of 24 with a production of The Beggar’s Opera. He has worked with such companies as Lyric Opera of Chicago, Oak Park Civic Opera, DuPage Opera Theater, Lincoln Opera, San Diego Opera, The Goodman Theater, California Music Theater, Chamber Opera of Chicago, San Diego Symphony, La Jolla Symphony and San Diego Civic Light Opera. He was a founder of Chicago Opera Theater, where he sang in more than a dozen productions. As a director his productions have included works ranging from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas to Gershwin’s Lady Be Good, and the now infamous “Venice Beach” Gondoliers. Leon also continues to perform. In previous summers Leon has been on the faculty of The American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. He has also taught master classes for the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Ohio State University, Arizona State University and the University of Nevada.

Enrique Torál (Master Classes) made his European debut recently singing the leading tenor roles in Rossini’s La Cambiale di Matrimonio and Il Signor Bruschino at the Teatro Sociale in Brescia, Italy. His roles include Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Fenton in Falstaff, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Alfredo in La Traviata, Ruggero in La Rondine and the title roles in Candide, and Roméo et Juliette.  Enrique has shared the stage with many of today’s leading operatic talents including performances as Roderigo in Othello, opposite Carlo Bergonzi, Spoletta in Tosca, with Aprile Millo, Normanno in Lucia di Lamermoor, starring Sumi Jo, and Remendado in Carmen, with Irina Mishura.  He has performed with the New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Opera Carolina, New Orleans Opera, New Jersey State Opera, Opera Tampa, Sarasota Opera and El Paso Opera, as well as the Ravinia and Tanglewood Music Festivals. Other highlights include Falstaff under Seiji Ozawa - heard on NPR’s World of Opera, the world premiere of Central Park, as Man with Sun Reflectors - seen on PBS’ Great Performances and his Broadway debut in Baz Luhrmann’s La Bohème. A winner at numerous competitions, Enrique Torál was a Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Regional Winner in the MacAllister Awards for Opera Singers, a recipient of a Gerda Lissner Foundation Award and a Fellowship Grant Recipient in the Heinz Rehfuss Singing Actor Awards.  He is currently a member of the voice faculty at San Diego State University. 

Dianna Ruggiero (Master Classes) has been seen in a variety of roles for Lyric Opera San Diego ranging from Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance to Manja in Countess Maritza. She has actively participated in many other companies such as the San Diego Master Chorale where she was Mezzo Soprano Soloist, La Jolla Symphony, and North Coast Symphony. Dianna has also appeared internationally with the Mexico City Symphony and Radio Della Svizzera Italiana. She has sung leading roles with the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, La Scala Opera, Rome Opera, Palermo Opera, Bologna Opera, AAchen Opera, Cologne Opera, Augsbrug Opera, and Frankfurt Opera. Dianna is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing in San Diego since 1995 and continues teaching in her private voice studio. She has a BFA and an MFA from California Institute of the Arts.