What does Acclaim do?

Acclaim undertakes a number of activities for Australia’s young bel canto opera singers, aged 18-32 and these include:

Italian Bel Canto Masterclasses – An intensive two-week Masterclass conducted by one of Australia’s and Europe’s foremost sopranos and teachers, Michelle Cook. Uniquely long, the participants attend every day for two weeks of intensive one-on-one teaching. During the Masterclass we have seen so many artists develop hugely in their two weeks. Only a maximum of 8 Australian best young opera singers are invited to participate from all entries received throughout the country. The Italian Masterclasses are conducted every two years in Melbourne. For further details of our next Masterclass.
Value $5,000 per artist.
Acclaim Prizes – The Acclaim Awards has a new way of providing assistance to talented young Australian artists to help them improve their operatic skills. The first category sees Acclaim offer 3 new awards. The Acclaim Awards Program will have three tiers, known as 1) Academic Scholarship, 2) Italian Opera Award and 3) Grants.
It is intended that for the Italian Opera Award and Grant, the artists will be contributing to the funding required for the activity. Acclaim will make a significant contribution to help enable the activity to occur.
Academic Scholarship – This will comprise 1-3 Scholarships per annum. The Academic Scholarship generally will include two components, 1) Italian language lessons via Skype with Acclaim’s Italian language partner, Italiano & Co, and 2) six months of weekly singing lessons with Michelle Cook.
Italian Opera Award. Italian Opera Award is available for 1-2 individuals every year. An Italian Opera Award comprises an Italian Program. It includes time in Italy at an Academia and/or with a singing teacher or related activities such as a Festival, Masterclass, Summer School, etc.
The Acclaim Awards will determine each artist’s skills and requirements and will develop with them a program that it believes is most appropriate for their needs.
The Acclaim Italian Opera Award is funded up to $20,000 per winner and arranged by Acclaim and it may include all or some of the following:

Return airfares
Singing lessons, voice coach lessons
Attendance at a significant Italian Opera Accademia
Attendance at important Italian Opera Competitions
Accommodation
Travel expenses and meals

As the Acclaim Program is designed to enable a singer to achieve an international opera standard, the requirements are very high.

If no candidate is identified as meeting all the criteria, then Acclaim will not award an Italian Opera Award.

Alumni Grants. There are two travel Alumni Grants on offer; (1) for highly talented experienced artists currently in Italy or planning to travel to Italy for lessons; (2) for Australian-based artists proposing to attend an Italian Academia final audition.

Experienced artists currently overseas

Alumni Grants will be available for highly talented experienced artists, e.g. already performing with an opera company, and who wish to improve their skills. It is for an artist who is already overseas having lessons and needs additional funds, or they are gathering their funds for such a trip to Italy.
An Alumni Grant is generally only available for artists having training in Italy.
Alumni Grants will have a maximum total available pool of funds of $5,000 pa.
An Alumni Grant can be made by the Board at any time, following a written request by an artist.
The Alumni Grant amount for any artist at any time can be between $500-$5,000.

Academia final auditions

Many of the Academia’s require a final audition in their theatre for candidates before a place is offered. Acclaim will make available a Grant of economy airfare and 2 nights’ accommodation for those artists who achieve this final audition stage. This Grant is discretionary for the Board and is dependent on available funds. This Grant is additional to the other Awards and has a current budget of no more than $5,000pa.

Tailored Program in Italy for artists – Acclaim understands that many artists would like to improve their skills by undertaking training in Italy. Acclaim is able to leverage all of its Italian relationships for the benefit of talented young Australian artists who would like time training in Italy. Acclaim provides a free service and will develop a tailored Italian Program for each individual artist. This will be developed for each singer’s own needs based on their objectives, skill levels, budget and available time. Acclaim will also undertake a review of a singer's skills by reviewing their recordings, and based on this will custom design a recommended Program. Acclaim utilizes its “menu” of Italian opera providers and develops a unique Program. This could include time in Italy at an Academia and/or with a singing teacher or related activities such as a Festival, Masterclass, Summer School, etc.

Some of the current singing teachers we are able to assist with arranging singing lessons include:
1. Prof. Valeria Esposito – Teacher - Conservatorio Rossini of Pesaro, BBC Cardiff Singer of the World. Among her prestigious interpretations are Queen of the Night at the Berlin Staatsoper directed by M° Baremboim, and at La Scala directed by M° Muti, and the role of Nannetta (Falstaff) in Ferrara, directed by M° Claudio Abbado.
2. Sherman Lowe – Significant voice teacher, Venice. Sherman has won important competitions both in the United States and Europe. He has sung in numerous theatres and concert halls in North America and Europe, working with the most noted conductors and singers. A scholar in vocal research, he won a prestigious Fulbright Foundation prize in 1993 and 1994.
3. Prof. Sara Mingardo – Teacher, Artist. Professor of Baroque singing, National Academy of Santa Cecilia, Roma; Instructor, Chigiana-Mozarteum Baroque Program, Accademia Chigiana, Siena. Italian classical contralto who has had an active international career in concerts and operas since the 1980s. Her complete recording of Anna in Hector Berlioz's Les Troyens won a Gramophone Award and both the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording and the Grammy Award for Best Classical Album in 2002.
4. Prof. Patrizia Pace – Teacher, Artist. Professor at the Conservatory “A. Scontrino” in Trapani, Sicily. She was awarded the international “Maschera d’argento” prize (previously awarded to Pavarotti, Cappuccilli, Scotto etc) and in 1996 the “Mascagni d’oro” prize. At the age of 19, she made her debut at La Scala. She has recorded various operas and concerts, and she combines opera with an intensive program of concerts, with particular emphasis on the baroque repertoire.
5. Jessica Pratt – Artist, teacher. Hailed by the New York Times as a soprano of “gleaming sound, free and easy high notes, agile coloratura runs and lyrical grace,” Jessica is considered one of today’s foremost interpreters of some of bel canto’s most challenging repertoire. Jessica is the winner of numerous international vocal competitions, including the Australian Singing Competition, the Vienna State Opera Award, and the Rome Opera Award. In May 2013 she was awarded the prestigious international prize for coloratura sopranos “La Siola d’Oro – Lina Pagliughi”. She completed her vocal studies in Italy working with Maestro Gianluigi Gelmetti at Rome Opera as well as with Renata Scotto and is now studying with Lella Cuberli.
Some of the current Italian Academia we are able to assist with arranging applications and auditions include:
- Accademia Teatro alla Scala (Milan)
- Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Florence)
- “Fabbrica” Fondazione Teatro Dell’Opera Di Roma (Rome)
- Scuola dell’Opera del Teatro Comunale di Bologna (Bologna)
- Fondazione Festival Pucciniano (Torre del Lago)
- Fondazione Teatro Comunale di Modena (Modena)
- National Academy of Santa Cecilia (Rome)
- Academia Musicale Chigiana (Siena)
- Macerata Academy (Macerata)
- Fondazione Mascarade Opera (Florence)
- Conservatory “A. Scontrino” (Sicily)
- Teatro Comunale Ponchielli (Cremona)

Why do we do it?

Acclaim believes the best way to achieve an international opera career is for young artists to work in Italy, trained by Italy’s finest, so they can improve their Italian language, musical, technical, staging, stylistic and interpretive skills as well as the expansion of cultural knowledge. Acclaim believes that opera was born in Italy and continues to be the home of Opera and few great artists can have a successful international opera career without excellence in Italian opera. Acclaim is proud to work with some of the most significant and elite individuals and organisations in the Italian opera world.

Who do we work with in Australia?

Everyone. Acclaim is not aligned to any organisation or opera company, but we are partnered with all. The Acclaim Awards is purely focused on achieving its Core Purpose. Any young opera singer in Australia is warmly encouraged to send an application for participation in the Acclaim Masterclass Series for an opportunity to compete for the Acclaim Awards Italian Opera Fellowship.

Awards work to benefit all young artists which in turn benefits Opera in Australia and Australian Opera performers.

Italian Partners

Acclaim is proud to work with some of the most significant and elite individuals and organisations in the Italian opera world. Some of the Acclaim Italian partners include the following: