In our first three seasons, we’ve had singers and musicians from US, Italy, Canada, China, Austria, Poland, Cypress and Australia – here are a few testimonials from attendees:

CLO’s Greve Festival offers a nurturing environment for the singing artist. There is a great sense of inclusion in this program. The artist feels like he or she is part of a company or troupe. As a Young Artist, I have attended many summer programs and I can say that this feeling of inclusion is unique to CLO Greve Festival. There are many opportunities for the artist to grow; role study, performing with an orchestra, master classes, Italian Language lessons, Recitative study, acting for singers and individual lessons. Young artists have access to a faculty, enabling the singer to refine their craft. Members of the faculty offer guidance, career advice, support, and the resources that the singer will incorporate into their everyday training. The faculty of professional singers also perform an opera during the festival. In addition to learning lead roles in their own opera, Young Artists share the stage with professionals as chorus members. This lends the artist a rare opportunity to observe how an opera is rehearsed and performed at a professional level. In this way the Greve Festival is unlike any other summer program I have attended. Amid the busy schedule of rehearsals, lessons and coachings, young artists are also given time to immerse themselves in the Italian Culture of the Tuscan region. Excursions to Florence, San Gimignano and other areas make for a full experience. The singer’s comfort is important to the organizers of the Festival and so the accommodations offered to the singers are very pleasant. The villas are spacious with air conditioning, full functioning kitchens, a living area, a number of bathrooms, weekly cleaning service, laundry facilities and in some cases an outdoor pool. The Festival provides an atmosphere for making long lasting connections with both faculty and other young artists, opening up new possibilities to the singer for career development. The Greve Festival will forever leave its mark as a program of distinction.

CP (2017) – Canada

 

I participated as a singer at the Greve Opera Academy for two summers and had incredible and unique experiences both times. Unlike many other programs, you form close working relationships and friendships with the staff, which allows for more artistic growth and can then translate back to the United States where Connecticut Lyric Opera makes an enormous effort to include young artists in their productions. Additionally, the two operas prepared over the course of the four weeks are fully staged and accompanied by a full orchestra, so along with coachings, lessons, masterclasses, and rehearsals, participants get a fulfilling performance experience. Greve in Chianti is a lovely town with beautiful views of the Tuscan vineyards, the accommodations are spectacular, and performing the operas outside in the piazza is so special. By the end of the program you can get to know the townspeople fairly well. Overall, due to the relationships built and relative flexibility of the day-to-day schedule, you come out of the program having had a hugely beneficial and fun month of both group and personalized instruction.

SF (2016, 2017) – USA

 

I got the opportunity to sing for the Greve Opera Academy this year (2017). It was such a wonderful experience! I got the opportunity to study and perform two very useful roles with an amazing orchestra: Il Sagrestano (Tosca) and Guglielmo (Cosi fan Tutte). The town itself has officially become my happy place! I was housed in the most gorgeous apartment, and the people there, the people who run the shops; if you get to know them, they’ll treat you like family! Working with the other people involved with the program was a sheer delight. The staff were so kind and nurturing, and went above and beyond for the students, and I worked so well with them and the other singers involved because of that atmosphere provided by the coaches, teachers, and the rest of the staff. I got on so well with them, that CLO invited me to sing Papageno with them later in the year, and I was more than happy to jump at the chance to work with these people again. Overall, I got a lot out of working CLO professionally, but I’ve also made some of the best friends, and I can’t wait to work with them again!

DM (2017) – Australia

 

My time at Greve was the beginning of a special adventure, a place where I got to know brilliant musicians and friends, where I was welcomed into another family. I am very thankful to Maestro Sylveen for the recognition that he gave me, for his helping hand that led me step by step through my journey of a young opera singer. In Greve I was able to perform a full major operatic role with orchestra for the first time – it was a pivotal moment for me as a young singer. I was able to immerse myself in the character and present the composer’s vision the best that I could, and I was able to convince the audience that I was a boy (I was playing Cherubino) and was able to sing with the best technique possible and gain a good command of the Italian language since we were immersed in the community and were singing to an Italian audience. None of this would be possible if not for the huge help and support of the wonderful members of the faculty, and first and foremost, the fantastic soprano and tremendous teacher, Jurate Svedaite – her warmth, understanding, dedication and professionalism was priceless. Attending the Festival was a gift and a life-changing event in my profession, due to this I was invited to perform in the US and sing with CT Lyric Opera and continue my development under the care of Maestro Sylveen and soprano, Jurate Svediate. That year gave me a huge amount of experience and vocal progress and a few other delightful surprises.

JD (2015) – Poland

 

The program offered me the wonderful experience and challenge of learning and performing a full and demanding role with orchestra. For my first full role, it was fantastic to be completely immersed in language, role preparation and performance in such a warm learning environment and coached by such experienced faculty. Coming out of the program, I feel more confident and motivated for what comes next, and I took with me very clear, individualized feedback about what and how to improve musically, dramatically and technically.

AH (2016) – USA