Opera Reading Project

Ready to take your next step as a performer? 🎭

ORP Season 9 auditions are coming up! Explore new roles, grow your skills, and connect with singers and professionals across the Twin Cities.

🎶 Live auditions: Sunday, 10/18 & Monday, 10/19
📍 MN Opera Center
🎤 In-person or video auditions available

Learn more about the audition process, what to prepare, and how to register at operareadingproject.com/jobsauditions

Join ORP for a fall class series that goes beyond the voice.

Auditioning is about more than what happens in the room. READY, SET, AUDITION! is designed to help singers feel more prepared for every part of the process, from building confidence and preparing your mindset to strengthening your application materials.

Explore the full series and register: https://www.operareadingproject.com/events

Sing with us this season! 🎶

Auditions for Opera Reading Project’s Season 9 are coming up! Join us for live auditions on Sunday, 10/18 or Monday, 10/19 at the MN Opera Center.

We offer both tuition-based opportunities and paid performance opportunities, and all singers are welcome to audition—in person or by video.

Learn more at operareadingproject.com/jobsauditions.

Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to our summer fundraising campaign! We are delighted to share that we have raised $7350 of our $7500 goal, all of which helps us continue offering high quality opportunities for artists and audiences throughout the Twin Cities. Special thanks to Board member Victoria Vargas for helping us coordinate this campaign. 🥳

🎼 September is starting off with some very exciting news to share with you. We are thrilled to announce that Celeste Marie Johnson will join Opera Reading Project as our new Interim Artistic Lead beginning today, September 1!

As we shared in our recently emailed end-of-summer update, Lara Bolton is stepping away from her ongoing artistic and executive leadership role with ORP after four seasons, as her professional commitments continue to grow and change. We are incredibly grateful for everything Lara has brought to ORP, and we are glad that she will remain part of our artistic community and may continue to join us on individual projects as her schedule allows.

We couldn’t be happier to have Celeste take up the artistic baton. She is already deeply familiar with ORP and our community, having co-led two masterclasses for our singers and served as Music Director for our 2025 reading of Alice Tierney. Many of you also know Celeste through her work as Principal Coach and Chorus Director at Minnesota Opera.

Celeste brings extensive experience as a pianist, coach, educator, and collaborative artist, along with a true generosity and enthusiasm for working with singers. She shares ORP’s commitment to building opportunities for vocal artists to keep learning, connecting, and growing, and she cares deeply about opera and vocal arts education in our community.

As Interim Artistic Lead, Celeste will direct ORP’s artistic and season planning, help shape programming and casting, and work closely with our Board, staff, and other collaborators. She may also music direct, coach, or teach for ORP as her schedule permits.

Artistic planning for the coming season has already begun, and it is exciting to think about what’s ahead. We plan to have projects and events to share with you very soon!

Please join us in welcoming Celeste to the Opera Reading Project community!

As we approach the end of our summer fundraising campaign, we invite you to read a message from Opera Reading Project Board President and Co-Founder, Colleen O'Shaughnessy Pollack.

"One of the reasons I love being a part of Opera Reading Project, and why I continue to serve on the Board, is the community connections we make through opera and vocal arts education.

When Eric McEnaney and I founded ORP back in 2018, we wanted singers to have opportunities to grow outside of the practice room: build relationships, grow as artists, and make music together.

Over the years, that has grown to include the community in opera education and outreach. ORP singers take what they know beyond the rehearsal room: sharing their music, talking about the art form, and helping introduce opera to people for whom it may be completely new. I love seeing our singers become not just performers, but educators and ambassadors for the art form.

Some of my favorite ORP memories have come from these programs--at the St. Paul Farmers Market, Neighborhood House, SPCPA, Carondelet Village, and St. Paul Urban Tennis. One of my favorites was having singers from our reading of the tennis opera Balls create activities connecting tennis and opera and then sing for the kids. 🎾🎶

Aren't some of these photos great?

This is what I love about ORP—it really comes full circle. Singers have a place to grow in their own artistry, and then they take that artistry beyond the practice studio, In the process, new people get to experience the art form, connections are made, and the circle keeps growing.

And we're SO close to reaching our summer fundraising goal—just $575 left to raise!

If you believe in keeping this kind of work going, would you consider making a donation to help us get there? $10, $25, $50—it all adds up and helps keep ORP sustainable and creating opportunities for singers and our community.

I'd love to see us get there. ❤️"

Link to donate in Bio

As we continue our campaign please read below from our General and Artstic Director, Lara Bolton, about how the arts are part of the vitality of our community:

"Artistic creation flourishes in times where change is dramatically underfoot. Whether or not it is funded does not change the quality or level of output. But what is changed by funding is the way that it is allowed to be woven into community life, to serve more broadly as reflections of human connection, beauty, and hope that something new is emerging and can be created from the yet-to-be gathered. Arts are a nourishing food, and this is a time where true nourishment is not only needed, but will play a vital role in what our societies and species look like going forward."

Please consider donating to Opera Reading Project today. Your gift will help us maintain our organizational capacity which allows us to continue serving our artistic and surroudning communities. Link in Bio.

As we continue our summer fundraising campaign, read below from past participant Emilia Perrota about the lasting impact ORP has made. Emilia most recently sang Vitellia in our read of La clemenza di Tito:

“Being part of ORP's production of La clemenza di Tito has been one of the biggest stepping stones in my musical career so far. Singing Vitellia—one of my dream roles, my first leading lady, and one of Mozart's most notoriously challenging soprano roles—in such a supportive, collaborative environment gave me the confidence and freedom to really explore the character. As a recent grad not originally from Minnesota, this experience not only challenged me as an artist but also connected me with wonderful colleagues and new friends in the Twin Cities.”

Help us to support the organizational capacity that will allow ORP to offer quality education for singers like Emilia and programming for our community. Consider making a donation today! Link in bio.

For nearly a decade, Opera Reading Project has fostered artistry through holistic opera and vocal arts education, storytelling, and human connection. Through performances, fellowships, educational initiatives, and community partnerships, we have created meaningful opportunities for artists and audiences alike.
Today, we need your help.

Like many arts organizations, ORP has experienced a significant decline in funding over the past several years. To continue serving artists and our community, we are seeking to raise $7,500 in support to strengthen the organizational capacity that makes our work possible. We have currently raised $6,425.00 and we need you to help us close the gap! Your gift will help us continue to offer our quality educational and community opportunities. Please consider giving today. Link to donate in bio.

Season 8 was incredible! So many firsts for ORP — including staged scenes, orchestra accompaniment, and table reads.

Thank you for attending, and thank you to our performers for sharing unforgettable moments from "La Clemenza di Tito," "Hamlet," "Der Wald," "Peter Grimes," "Tosca," and "Hydrogen Jukebox."

Join our mailing list and see what's happening in the future: tinyurl.com/ORPmailinglist