MOTO Summer Opera School 2023: Ten Days of Music, Stage Work and New Experiences

A few days ago, MOTO Summer Opera School 2023 came to an end. I attended the programme in Novi Bečej from 7 to 17 July, and those ten intensive days brought a great deal of new knowledge, stage experience, music, and encounters with colleagues and artists from whom we had the opportunity to learn.

The programme was highly intensive. Every day included lessons, rehearsals, lectures and workshops dedicated to vocal technique, interpretation, stage performance, acting, and various aspects of the professional life of an opera singer.

We worked with Violeta Pančetović Radaković, Nataša Jović Trivić, Dušan Matejić, Dragan Stevović and stage director Natalija Stanković, with Dragana Anđelić Bunjac and Marko Bogdanović as piano collaborators. Professor Katarina Jovanović also joined the school as a guest.

Four Concerts in Ten Days

A particularly important part of the experience was the series of concerts held almost every other day. Each programme focused on a different area of repertoire and required a different interpretative approach.

During the school, I performed in a concert of arias by the old masters, a concert of art songs, and a concert of opera arias.

We concluded the programme with a concert featuring arias and opera duets, which we had prepared both musically and dramatically over the previous days. At the final concert, I performed Liù’s aria “Tu che di gel sei cinta”, followed by the famous Flower Duet from Delibes’ opera Lakmé, which I sang with my colleague Jana Jovanović.

We worked on the staged material with director Natalija Stanković, exploring the relationships between characters, stage movement, and the way music takes on additional meaning when it moves beyond a concert setting and becomes part of a dramatic situation.

This combination of vocal, musical and stage work was one of the most valuable aspects of the school for me. Having the opportunity to test what we were working on in lessons almost immediately in front of an audience requires a very different kind of focus and responsibility, while also revealing very quickly where there is still room for growth.

Learning Beyond My Own Lessons

Conductor Srba Dinić was also present in Novi Bečej during this year’s programme, where he led masterclasses in parallel with young professional singers.

I was not a participant in his masterclass, but it was extremely valuable to have the opportunity to observe part of that work, as well as to have Maestro Dinić present and following the activities of the school and our final concert.

One of the things I am taking away from Novi Bečej is just how much can be learned outside one’s own lessons. Listening to other singers, following their work, and observing different approaches to the same profession can often be just as valuable as the time spent in one’s own rehearsal.

Ten Intensive Days

The Summer Opera School gave me the opportunity to work with a wide variety of repertoire and approaches within a very short period of time.

I am leaving Novi Bečej with many new notes in my scores, more stage experience, and plenty of ideas I want to continue developing, but also with new friendships and wonderful memories of ten days in which music practically set the rhythm of every day.

An intense, demanding and deeply valuable experience, exactly the kind of experience an emerging singer needs.