The full immersion in the bel canto tradition and Italian way of life that the Accademia Solti provides, gives the students a unique experience, with a lasting impact on their future careers.
Meeta Raval, a participant of the 2006 course, described the experience: What fantastic 17 days spent in a beautiful and relaxing location. Just hearing Italian spoken all around me helped me with my sung Italian, which has improved 100%. The emotion and drama in the voice had increased and most important of all, I have got the feel for the bel canto style of singing with the broad legato line, portamento, singing out the bright Italian vowels, with a deep emotional connection to the music.
The path to becoming a fully-professional opera singer is a long process which demands commitment, dedication and continual development throughout one's career. Many of the participants who take part in the Accademia are already on other young artists programmes around the world with whom the Accademia is in close collaboration.
The Accademia is proud that it has contributed to a young singer's development: shortly after attending the 2006 Accademia, Japanese soprano Mihoko Kinoshita went on to win the 1st prize of the prestigious Licia Albanese Puccini Competition in New York. New Zealand soprano Ana James, from the 2004 Accademia, sung her first Magic Flute with Glyndebourne Touring Opera in September 2008, Romanian soprano Eliana Pretorian from the 2005 Accademia has been performing with Garsington Opera and Glyndebourne Touring, while Jurgita Adamonytè, Lithuanian mezzo-soprano, from the 2007 edition, has won several competitions in Italy, including the Maria Caniglia and the Renata Tebaldi International Singing competitions.
"From the Accademia, the students take away a sense of an achievement often of resolving something they have found difficult in college. With the teaching staff, we can pin-point these technical problems early on and work on them with different exercises, so that they can find new ways to overcome them. The course also prepares the singers to a life on the road as a touring professional, of working abroad, living in hotel rooms and maintaining a balanced life-style away from home."
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Founding Patron
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