Teaches online
Teaches Intermediate, Advanced
Age: 20-40
Speaks English, Italian, Latvian, Russian
Teaching since 2015
DMA in Voice Performance
Gain access to elite opera voice lessons taught by a professional performer and teacher.
Hi, I am Valdis! My motto is "teach as you have been taught". This is how belcanto school survived until nowadays. I spent 17 years of my life studying and singing in Italy before moving to the US. In my opinion, there are two main teachers in every singer's life: the singer himself and the stage. My goal is to teach how to listen to yourself giving the right tools in order to make a singer independent and professionally auto sufficient. Simplicity and naturalness are the keys: these are the principles applied when I was learning and I am trying to continue this tradition without any alteration.
I am a professional opera singer with more than 60 roles in my repertoire (mostly principal). I performed in more than 70 theaters in more than 20 countries: La Scala di Milano, Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, Theater an der Wien, Spoleto Festival USA and many others.
I have a master's degree from Conservatorio Boito di Parma, Italy. Currently, I am pursuing a DMA degree at UC Santa Barbara. My specialization is Italian music. As a teacher, I have primarily taught to young opera singers. However, I have some singing students as well. As an active singer, I know the inside of the theaters and the repertoire: you can prepare an entire role with me or prepare an audition.
Instructor details
About Valdis J.
I am an internationally acknowledged opera singer who is specialized in Italian repertoire. I have sung at Teatro alla Scala, Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, NCPA in Beijing, Theater an der Wien in Vienna and many others. I have more than 50 principal roles in my repertoire. I have spent 17 years in Italy, where I got my MM at Conservatorio Boito di Parma. Currently, I am pursuing a DMA degree at UC Santa Barbara.
Singing is a very delicate discipline. We cannot see what we actually
do in order to sing. There are many various schools of singing with
different kinds of philosophy. However, my core idea in teaching is: if
you have succeeded, teach as you have been taught. It is really
astounding how little vocal technique and singing teaching have changed
in the last almost 200 years (considering 1829 a starting point, when the
“new” type of singing with chest voice use has been introduced).
When a baby learns to walk, it happens definitely not because an
adult (a supervisor) explains how to use muscles in order to move, but
because of a natural imitation and as a result of a personal research of a
balance.
This is exactly the same concept I use in teaching singing: giving the
space for a personal research, giving examples and not overloading with
useless (even if true) information.
The second step in a development of a singer is the awareness in
singing: once a student has learned a determined element (imitating or
as a result of personal research), he can analyze precisely his actions: he
will be able to say exactly what is happening technically and how it can
be achieved. This type of information is vital and necessary only in this
phase and not before.
In conclusion, it is very important to remember that singing is art,
and as such it has to appear natural and non-technical. However, the
technique is crucial in singing and must been taught, but when it
becomes invisible in a final product, the goal is truly achieved.
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Experience
Tonio in I Pagliacci/Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana
Oct, 2020 - Oct, 2020Slovenian National Opera
Role debut as Tonio. Video available on YouTube
Zurga in Bizet's The Pearl Fishers
Jan, 2021 - Feb, 2021Opera de Oviedo, Spain
Directed by Yoshi Oida. Videos are available on YouTube.
Education
MM in singing
Oct, 2008 - May, 2013Conservatorio Arrigo Boito di Parma, Italy
DMA in Voice Performance
Oct, 2019UCSB
Languages
Russian
Native Proficiency
English
Professional Proficiency
Italian
Native Proficiency
Latvian
Native Proficiency
Valdis Gallery
Instructor details
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