Lyric Arts France 2026: Join us for five fabulous weeks in France!!
Lyric Arts France and Festival Opéra Bastide 2026
Villefranche-de-Rouergue, France
June 22—July 26, 2026
Training
Young Artists work in collaboration with world-class singers, directors, conductors, coaches, and choreographers, both in production rehearsals and in training sessions. These include individual and group vocal and repertoire coaching, masterclasses, auditioning classes, seminar sessions for directors and stage managers, and career seminars addressing opportunities in Europe and the United States. This is an international program and we work on international repertoire including French works, with daily French language classes available for non French-speaking participants.
Standard Daily Schedule
9:00–9:50 am non-French speakers can participate in a French language classes exclusively for our program
10:00 am–1:00 pm production and musical rehearsals
1:00–2:30 pm enjoy an extended French lunch!
2:30–3:50 pm reserved mostly for classes and masterclasses; we aim to provide each singer with at least one individual coaching/voice session per week, as well as group sessions
4:00–7:00 pm production and musical rehearsals
8:00–10:00 pm occasional ensemble rehearsals
Repertoire for 2026
Le nozze di Figaro - Mozart
Sung in Italian
Performed with orchestra in the Théâtre de la Bastide
The high point of Western civilization, says our director. The first cannon shot of the French revolution, said Napoleon. Mozart's classic comic masterpiece doesn’t miss a beat—musically or emotionally. A sparkling overture, the greatest ensembles ever written and glorious arias tell a witty tale of the tensions between love and lust, servant and master, wife and lover. The Count has his eye on his valet's fiancée, who happens to be his wife's chambermaid. The Countess is pursued by the boy Cherubino disguised as a girl!
Orphée et Euridice – Gluck
Sung in French
Performed with orchestra in the magnificent Chappelle des Pénitents Noirs
Gluck reinvented opera with this great work based on the classic legend of Orpheus, who attempts to sing his deceased wife Euridice back to life—and such is the beauty of his music that the powers of death relent and release her, until, as he escorts her up from Hades, he looks back once too often and appears to lose her forever—then Love intervenes, and returns her to life once again. Performed in a bold new version in which Orpheus and Euridice are both professional singers, and over the course of the opera look back on multiple incarnations of themselves singing great works from their past lives.
Come to the Cabaret!
Sung in English, French and German
Performed in the grand Halle, the classical covered market hall, this semi-staged version centers around the great Kander and Ebb musical incorporating additional numbers from popular songs and musicals of the thirties and later.
Concerts with piano
Festival Gala—great operatic favorites in a great space, the chapel of the Pénitents Noirs
Chansons et Cançons—songs of the Auvergne and of Occitanie in the grand Halle
L’Invitation au voyage—a concert showcasing our younger singers
Solo and Ensemble Roles
We work hard to cast all Young Artists in as many appropriate solo roles as possible, as well as in all cover roles. All roles are double-cast, and most operas are given in multiple performances, so that each cast has opportunities to sing the role. Most Artists also sing and dance in the ensemble for larger operas, and all participate in the concerts and optional late-night cabaret programs as well.
All roles in all productions are currently open to Young Artists. Countertenors are encouraged apply for Orphée et Euridice.
This year we are adding a tier for younger singers, called Apprentice Artists. As well as participating in the full range of class activities, these singers will perform in the choruses of Orphée and Figaro, take on understudy opportunities, participate in our musical theater activities, and perform as soloists in a new concert geared especially towards Apprentice and Studio Artists, the Invitation au voyage.
Tuition and Accommodation Fees
Tuition for the Young Artist Program including individual coachings and voice lessons as well as group sessions is $3,500 (USD). Housing through the festival can be added if desired for $1,100 (USD). Prices are quoted in US dollars but can be paid in a variety of currencies. This tuition rate is significantly less than many other European Young Artist Programs of this length and caliber, a number of which do not offer inexpensive housing options.
Scholarships
A number of full and partial scholarships will be available—see https://lyricartsfrance.org/en/scholarships for more details.
Auditions
Auditions are submitted as online video recordings via the website yaptracker.com. Please note that recorded videos must be uploaded as a part of the application process; a live audition may also be available by request in Toulouse and Villefranche-de-Rougergue (France), or in London (UK).
Repertoire for auditions: you need to offer at least three numbers, all videoed, and if you have videos of you performing something on stage that is good too though not essential. At least one of the numbers should be in French. While it is not required, performing something from the piece you are interested in always helps, particularly if you are interested in a lead role… and please don’t forget to add a video of you speaking some French text also (any text will do).
A modest Application Fee of $30 is payable on submission of audition materials.
Dates and Deadlines
Applications are open now until casting is concluded; offers will be made starting in early December. To secure your position, a deposit of $750 USD will be required within two weeks of role acceptance.
Tuition and accommodation fees are payable by March 30, 2026.
Transportation to and from the program and food are not covered.
Agents, company representatives, referrals
Career-ready artists sometimes ask us about how we can help them with their next step up the career ladder. All of our most experienced international faculty work with us because we want to pass the torch on the next generation. Among those who have worked extensively in Europe and America's biggest opera houses, Jeff Martin has an extensive European network, and Jonathan Eaton has connections with European and American houses. All of our faculty have made successful referrals in the past and are happy to try to make connections for you if the time is right.
Age limits
While we have no particular age limits for admission to the Young Artists Program, we anticipate that most singers’ ages will range from early twenties to mid-thirties.
Work and play
Our French hosts may organize side-trips and visits in the neighboring countryside as appropriate and time allows. However please be aware that this is a program where, in order to achieve the highest artistic standards, you will work hard six days a week and, on rare occasions, for three sessions a day…and this is good!
