Performance as the core of learning

At the DNOA, performance is central to the way singers are trained. The programme is built around intensive, practice-based learning in which artistic craft, reflection, and professional experience are fully integrated. Throughout the academic year, students take part in fully staged opera productions, concerts, and staged performance projects, placing them in the working reality of the profession from the outset.

The stage functions as both performance space and classroom. Rehearsals are treated as a vital learning environment, where singers develop vocal technique, musical insight, and dramatic expression as a unified artistic practice. This process is guided by a dedicated core team and enriched by international guest teachers and creative teams, ensuring close alignment with the demands of today’s opera world.

Repertoire is selected with the individual singer in mind. Works and roles are chosen for their pedagogical value, supporting artistic growth while helping each student define their own vocal and artistic identity. By the end of the programme, singers will have performed a broad and carefully curated range of repertoire in public settings, building skills and experience that translate directly to professional work.