Opera Singers Hone German Skills at Middlebury College’s Immersive Program
In the picturesque setting of Vermont’s Middlebury College, opera singers are embracing an intensive program to perfect their German language skills, focusing on mastering nuances like the tricky umlaut.
If aspiring opera singers are looking to make their mark, Germany—with its impressive array of 80 opera houses—is the place to be. Yet, the language barrier can pose a significant challenge. Vermont Public’s Nina Keck explores how Middlebury College is aiding these singers with a specialized course designed just for them.
On a recent rehearsal day, Stefan Rutter and his students gathered in a dimly lit campus theater. As the music director for the German for Singers course, Rutter listened carefully as the students practiced a Mozart opera.
“That’s great,” Rutter praised, before delving into a detailed word-by-word breakdown. The students repeated the exercise multiple times and then recited the lyrics without melody to refine their pronunciation further.
Rutter focused on the umlaut, describing its complexity for non-native speakers: “The difference between the oh (ph) and the ooh (ph) because they feel similar to them. But for Germans, they’re very different.”
Middlebury’s approach to overcoming these language hurdles is through total immersion. Participants commit to speaking only German for the entire seven-week course, a daunting task at first.
“The first week, I think, was just panic,” admitted 21-year-old soprano Ashley Schlusselberg from Long Island. Alongside Orlando Montalvo, a 28-year-old tenor from Providence, Rhode Island, she acknowledged the program’s intensity but praised its effectiveness.
Montalvo shared his experience: “You know, we have class for, like, two hours a day, and then we have to eat lunch together in German. We are, you know, going to the bathroom in German. We’re… doing everything that we can in German. And I came in here blindsided, and I was like, oh, wow, I actually can speak and defend myself in German now.”
Despite the rigors, the students were allowed to converse with NPR in English. Hannah Friesen, a 30-year-old professional singer from New York, highlighted her struggles with German’s consonant clusters, describing the language as “crunchy.”
Participating in this immersive experience comes with a price tag of $12,000, a cost that Friesen views as a worthwhile investment. Bettina Matthias, the program director, noted that German grants and student aid often reduce the fee for many students. In addition to language lessons, she offers practical advice on working in Germany.
Mitchell Widmer, a 32-year-old baritone from rural Iowa, is among those aiming to work in Germany. “At the end of the day, I know after this program that when I walk into an audition room with other Americans or people from different countries than Germany, that my German is going to be so well tuned that I will have an advantage,” he said.
The course culminates with the students testing their enhanced language skills in Germany, where they will perform Mozart’s “The Pretend Garden-Girl,” or “Die Verstellte Gartnerin,” embracing the umlaut in their performance.
For NPR News, I’m Nina Keck in Chittenden, Vermont.
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