Garsington Opera

Garsington Opera Alvarez Emerging Artists' Programme (2027)

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Deadline(s):
Received By Fri Sep 04, 2026

Applications are open for singers for Garsington Opera's 2027 Alvarez Emerging Artists' Programme.

2027 Season

All applicants must be fully available for the period 05 April to 26 July 2027. Please note that artists with cover roles may be required before these dates for coaching.
All rehearsals will be based at our rehearsal Studios on site at the Wormsley Estate in Buckinghamshire.
You must be fully available for weekends, evenings and bank holidays during this period should you be required.
We are not recruiting countertenors for our 2027 Season.

Productions
Wagner, Die fliegende Holländer in German (Conductor: Douglas Boyd, Director: Rachael Hewer, Philharmonia Orchestra)
Mozart, La clemenza di Tito in Italian (Conductor: Clemens Schuldt, Director: PJ Harris, English Concert)
Handel, Serse in Italian (Conductor: David Bates, Director: Erica Whyman, English Concert)
Verdi, Falstaff in Italian (Conductor: Alexander Joel, Director: Bruno Ravella, Philharmonia Orchestra

Emerging Artist Programme

In addition to singing in the chorus, the majority of our Emerging Artists understudy a principal role or sing a small role, which enables them to prepare as a soloist alongside established artists and creatives. Understudies rehearse with assistant directors and conductors, culminating in a cover run of each opera attended by Garsington's Artistic team. Covers will also perform in our OperaFirst schools' performances with orchestra on the main stage. Next year our OperaFirst shows will be Falstaff with the Philharmonia Orchestra, and Serse with the English Concert.

In addition to their chorus and cover activity, Emerging Artists attend extra-curricular talks on auditioning, agents, self-promotion, CVs, tax for self-employed artists, vocal well-being and working in the German Fest opera system. We also offer the chance to make a professionally produced aria recording. At the end of the Festival, each artist has a feedback session to reflect on their progress and discuss prospects for the future.

Auditions

Our London auditions will be held at the National Opera Studio on the following dates:

7, 30 September
1, 5, 7 October

Our Head of Music, Jonathon Cole-Swinard, will be visiting the University of Cape Town (South Africa) to hear artists on:

31 August
1, 2, 3 September

Your application

Please apply early - we will not wait till the application deadline to start allocating auditions, so the earlier you apply the more likely you to get a slot of your choice if invited to audition.
Applications are welcome from singers on student visas, but we would require endorsement and sponsorship from your college.
Garsington can also consider singers entering the UK on a visitor visa.
If you need to edit your application after you've submitted your form, please contact Daisy Hibberd at auditions@garsingtonopera.org to request permission to update your form.

Please contact Daisy Hibberd at auditions@garsingtonopera.org with any questions regarding this application. For technical help, please contact help@yaptracker.com.

Personal Information

First Name*

Last Name*

Of which country/countries are you a citizen?*

What is your ethnic group?* For monitoring purposes only. Choose one option that best describes your ethnic group or background

If you are a non-UK citizen, please give below any relevant information about your working status in the UK (eg. visa details / whether you have EU settled or pre-settled status)*

Garsington Opera is a Permit Free Festival which allows non-visa nationals (including non-UK resident EU citizens, as well as Americans, Canadians, etc) to work for us without a visa and visa nationals to work for us under a Standard Visitor Visa. Garsington welcomes applications from those on Student Visas but offers of work can only be made with the endorsement and sponsorship of your college. We ask for this information now so that we can help you navigate these waters in due course, not to put you off applying!

Are you currently on a student visa?*

Yes

Additional info:

Date of Birth*

DD/MM/YYYY Format

Please select your voice type:*

Contact Information

E-mail address*

Address line 1*

Address line 2

City*

Postcode*

Country*

Mobile Number*

No spaces, dashes etc. phone number fields

Home Number

No spaces, dashes etc. phone number fields

Previous experience at Garsington Opera

Have you worked at Garsington Opera before?*

If so, when?

Have you auditioned for Garsington Opera before?*

If so, when?

Education and Training

Where are you currently studying / where have you most recently studied?*

Please tell us your course of study and expected year of graduation (or the year you graduated)*

If you are still in education, are you happy for us to speak with your college / conservatoire / university about your application?*

Yes

N/A

Who is your current singing teacher?*

For which if any summer festivals have you worked? (Opera Holland Park, Grange Festival, Glyndebourne, Grange Park etc)*

Headshot

Please include a headshot*

You must be signed in to add your headshot.

CV

Please include your CV*

You must be signed in to add your resume.

Video

It is a compulsory part of the application process to include a recent video recording*

We ask that you upload a good quality video file (with piano) as part of your application. (Home recordings with a recorded piano track are acceptable as long as the audio quality is good). Minimum number of selections permitted: 1. Maximum number of selections permitted: 2

You must be signed in to add videos.

Additional info

If you consider yourself particularly suited to a specific cover or covers in the 2027 season, please list them here in order of preference.

Please add any other information you consider relevant to your application. If you would like to include your website or SoundCloud details, please do so here.

Availability

By ticking here, you agree that the information you provide will be stored in accordance with Garsington Opera's Privacy Policy (www.garsingtonopera.org/privacy-policy) We will never share your information with third parties or use it for marketing purposes.*

Number of selections required: 1.

I agree

I confirm that I am currently available for the following period unless noted below:*

Please note that those with covers and small roles may be offered coaching prior to the contract start date. Number of selections required: 1.

05 April to 26 July 2027

Please enter any dates during the programme when you are unavailable.