In this latest episode of Musica, we take a look behind the scenes at the Zurich International Opera Studio where a group of rising Opera stars have their sights set on the world's biggest stages.
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00:00 [ Music ]
00:06 >> Musica is proudly presented by Rolex.
00:10 [ Music ]
00:12 >> They're young opera singers.
00:13 They've finished their studies and now they're ready to embark on an exciting career.
00:18 But where to start?
00:20 [ Foreign Language ]
00:31 >> It's a lot of hard work, but many have gone on to perform on the world's greatest stages.
00:37 Being at a place like this where you're getting the stage experience again to work
00:42 with these amazing singers and see how they work is perfect.
00:46 >> We follow the young inspiring singers from the International Opera Studio in Zurich.
00:52 [ Applause ]
00:55 The next generation of opera's rising stars.
00:58 [ Music ]
01:03 The British tenor Maximilian Lowry and Swiss soprano Chelsea Tseflou are part
01:08 of the International Opera Studio founded in 1961.
01:13 It's the first of its kind and a pioneer for many academies today.
01:17 [ Music ]
01:26 [ Foreign Language ]
01:46 >> The opera studio marks an important transition between studies and a professional career.
01:52 [ Music ]
02:12 >> With a lot of empathy, the teachers create a safe space for these young artists.
02:17 [ Music ]
02:25 >> Voice coaching, master classes and lessons in stage craft are at the heart of the training.
02:31 [ Foreign Language ]
02:47 >> Maximilian studied singing in Oxford and London.
02:50 He's among 18 young singers from around the globe who now get the chance to learn from the best.
02:57 >> The main thing is having teachers and staff who are absolutely invested in you.
03:02 And you've got the time to develop without the pressure of being, you know, thinking that you must go on stage
03:07 and you must sing these main roles and it needs to be perfect.
03:10 [ Music ]
03:14 >> In a coaching session with the director of the opera studio,
03:17 South African born contralto Freya Apfelsted is getting valuable advice.
03:23 [ Music ]
03:25 >> So here's the thing.
03:27 I think it can be very beautiful to have these moments where we really focus on your voice.
03:31 But what I think would help is to make sure you don't lose movement even if it's slow.
03:36 [ Foreign Language ]
03:56 [ Foreign Language ]
04:22 >> A couple of months later Freya and Chelsea are on their way to the Swiss city of Winterthur.
04:28 [ Music ]
04:34 >> It's where they're preparing their own production.
04:37 Very few academies offer this incredible opportunity.
04:41 They're absorbed in an intensive rehearsal schedule preparing Handel's masterpiece, Cersei.
04:47 [ Music ]
04:56 >> The opera is based on the story of Cersei's the first of Persia and it's vocally challenging.
05:02 [ Music ]
05:25 >> Meanwhile back in Zurich Maximilian is getting ready for the big stage.
05:30 But he's had to make a small sacrifice.
05:34 >> Me personally I've had to lose the beard for Benvolio in Romeo.
05:38 I had a great big beard but they wanted the character to be rather younger.
05:43 >> For many of the young singers it's their first professional experience with some of the best on stage.
05:49 An extraordinary opportunity.
05:52 Maximilian meets the famous French tenor Benjamin Bernheim who also started his career at the International Opera Studio.
05:59 >> It's good to see you.
06:00 >> How useful did you think it was to be in a studio at the house, particularly this house, and how has it then helped your career or not?
06:08 >> Well many things were very helpful.
06:10 I was this baby tenor.
06:11 I arrived here.
06:12 I was very lucky that I could be singing very early in productions.
06:17 And I could be just next to those amazing monsters and learn again from having a very little phrase to sing.
06:25 I mean you know that.
06:26 And you have a very little window to show what you're able to do.
06:30 And then just observing and learning.
06:34 That was very important.
06:37 >> They share the stage in a new production of Romeo et Juliet.
07:06 >> [SPEAKING FRENCH]
07:31 >> Watching Benjamin Bernheim work is incredible.
07:44 It's not just in the performances but the rehearsal processes and seeing how he treats things differently in rehearsals to performances and how the performances add the extra shine and sparkle.
07:57 It's something very -- to inspire and to make me want to work harder and harder at technique and all of these things.
08:06 >> Juliet is embodied by the French star soprano Julie Fuchs who loves sharing the limelight with the rising artists.
08:20 >> [SPEAKING FRENCH]
08:41 >> Back in Winterthur, it's the last rehearsals before the big premiere.
08:46 The young artists are in a great mood.
08:56 >> [SPEAKING GERMAN]
09:09 >> Away from the stage, they're taking their mind off things in between rehearsals with a trip to a chocolate factory to prepare a special surprise.
09:23 >> Yes, keep going, keep going, yes.
09:29 >> [SPEAKING GERMAN]
09:52 >> It's the last day of the premiere and Maximilian has come to Winterthur to watch his colleagues' performance.
10:02 >> And it would be nice to go and see what these guys have been working on all this time and obviously seeing how Freya and Chelsea have done and what they've been working on.
10:11 >> [SPEAKING GERMAN]
10:38 >> [SPEAKING GERMAN]
10:53 >> [SINGING IN GERMAN]
11:05 >> [SPEAKING GERMAN]
11:25 >> [SINGING IN GERMAN]
11:50 >> [APPLAUSE]
11:55 Musica was proudly presented by Rolex.