Director
Merola Board
The Merola Opera Program is dedicated to seeking out the finest young opera talent and helping them develop into professional artists of the highest caliber. Each summer, out of hundreds who audition, approximately 23 singers, five apprentice coaches and one apprentice stage director are chosen to participate in the Program. The Merola Opera Program offers training in: musical style and interpretation; role preparation; movement and acting; accompaniment and conducting; languages and diction and breath work. A financially independent organization which operates in close collaboration with San Francisco Opera Center and San Francisco Opera, the Merola Opera Program was founded in 1957. Over the course of more than half a century, Merola has nurtured such talents as Sylvia McNair, Anna Netrebko, Patricia Racette, Ruth Ann Swenson, Carol Vaness, Deborah Voigt, Susan Graham, Dolora Zajick, Brian Asawa, Gary Lakes, Kurt Streit, Jess Thomas, Rolando Villazón, Thomas Hampson, Patrick Summers and numerous other opera luminaries.