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MUEN ensembles include: UNT Opera, Vox Aquilae, Mariachi Aguilas, Vocal Jazz, and NOVA.

MULB laboratories (classical voice) include: A Cappella choir, Concert Choir, Camerata, Chorale, University Singers, and Grand Chorus.  

Students enrolled in MUAM and MUAC voice lessons should consult with their studio teacher before accepting multiple choir (MULB and/or MUEN) assignments.  

Undergraduate Students - Labs and Ensembles 

All undergraduate vocal performance and choral music education students must complete a choir placement audition for the academic year, and participate in a choir determined by the choral studies faculty through the eighth semester of study.  BM in Music Composition and BA students may satisfy this requirement with classical choir or another lab.  BA students are required to complete six semesters of ensemble participation rather than eight semesters.

Students will remain in the ensemble into which they placed for the entire academic year, pending the ensemble director’s approval or graduation.  

Beginning with the ninth semester, assuming the mandated eight semesters of auditioned choral MULB participation has been completed for the degree, vocal performance majors may enroll in one of the following MULB/MUEN to fulfill the MULB requirement, pending approval of the director for each lab or ensemble: 

  • A Cappella
  • Accompanying
  • Concert Choir
  • Mariachi Aguilas
  • NOVA ensemble
  • UNT Opera
  • University Singers
  • Vox Aquilae
  • Vocal Jazz 

For the purposes of planning, students returning for a ninth semester will be asked, at the end of the eighth semester, to notify the Director of Choral Studies if they do not plan to return to their current auditioned choir.

Graduate Vocal Performance Majors - Labs and Ensembles

Two credits of ensemble (MUEN) and one credit of a lab (MULB) are required of all MM vocal performance majors.  MM students may substitute, with the approval of the ensemble director, two credits of Vox Aquilae for the one credit MULB requirement. 

DMA students on a College of Music scholarship are eligible for zero credit for MULB/MUEN.  After the MULB/MUCM/MUEN requirements have been met, students either register for MULB/MUCM/MUEN for elective credit or they may elect to register for zero credit. Doctoral students without a College of Music scholarship are eligible for zero credit by petition only.   GAC - Voice students are required to have 2-4 total credits of MUEN in order to receive their certificate. 

Standard Leaves of Absence from Choir Rehearsals for Opera Roles and Degree Recitals 

The standard excused leave of absence from choir rehearsals for voice majors (undergraduate and graduate) performing leading opera roles with UNT Opera is two weeks (the week leading into tech weekend through the end of the first performance week.)  

The standard excused leave of absence from choir rehearsals for a degree recital (senior or graduate) will be three days:  the day of the recital, and two days prior.  (Examples:  If the recital falls on a Saturday, the excused days will be Thursday and Friday.   If the recital falls on a Wednesday, the excused days will be Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.) 

The standard excused leave of absence from choir rehearsal for a junior recital (Performance or Concentration students) is one day (the day of the recital.)   

Students must inform their choir director at the earliest possible time about their recital date.  At the beginning of each semester, the choral directors may release a list of “blackout dates” leading up to performances which will not be subject to the excused leave of absence policy.  Students should avoid scheduling a recital during those blackout dates, as they will not receive the standard leave of absence for their recital if they book the recital during the blackout dates.  These dates will be e-mailed to applied voice instructors and included in the syllabus. 

Grand Chorus (spring semester only)  

Rehearsals for Grand Chorus repertoire will generally take place during regular Tuesday choir times throughout the spring semester, and Monday-Friday for each choir, after their individual spring concert has been performed.  

Alongside the two dress rehearsals of performance week, there will typically be up to two Tuesday evening rehearsals, post-spring break.  Please see the 2024 schedule that follows.  

MM students fulfilling their MULB requirement through Grand Chorus will be required to begin rehearsing with A Cappella Choir during their daily 1:00-1:50 rehearsals mid-semester. The specific start date and detailed calendar for the Grand Chorus project will be e-mailed to those students by the Dr. Hightower at the beginning of the spring semester. 

MM students may also fulfill their MULB requirement by serving a year-long commitment to Vox Aquilae, with the approval of the ensemble director.

2024 Grand Chorus Schedule:

Monday, March 25th:  Grand Chorus rehearsals begin, Monday-Friday, 1:00 - 1:50 p.m. 

Tuesday evening Grand Chorus rehearsals (no 1:00 rehearsal on these days):

  • Tuesday, April 2 6:00-8:00 pm
  • Tuesday, April 9 6:00-8:00 pm
  • Tuesday, April 16 6:00-8:00 pm

Combined Chorus/Soloists/Orchestra rehearsals:

  • Sunday, April 21 (7-10)
  • Tuesday, April 23 (7-10)

Performance: Wednesday, April 24, 2024 7:30 p.m.   Call time announced closer to the event.  
 

Opera as a Related Field

There are 15 available credits for the related field in opera:  MUEN 5040 (up to three credits), Opera Literature I, Opera Literature II, Operatic Acting, Opera Stage Directing

 

UNT OPERA SYLLABUS - MUEN 3040/5040 - Fall 2024 

INSTRUCTORS
 
Jonathan Eaton
jonathan.eaton@unt.edu
Office: 145 Murchison
Hours: M, W, 3:00 – 3:45

Dr. Stephanie Rhodes Russell
stephanie.russell@unt.edu
Office: 146 Murchison
Hours: M 2:30 – 3:30

Dr. Sharon Bjorndal Lavery
sharon.lavery@unt.edu
Office: 143 Murchison
Hours: TBD
 

OVERVIEW
An ensemble course providing intensive training and performing experience in opera. This season features the following three mainstage productions:

Così fan tutte; Mozart    
Conductor: Dr. Stephanie Rhodes Russell
Director: Stefan Novinski
Performances:    Nov 1, 2, 8, 10 (matinee)        

Die Fledermaus; J.Strauss
Conductor: Stephen Mulligan
Director: Jonathan Eaton
Performances: Feb 28, March 2 (matinee), 6, 7

Proving Up; M.Mazzoli
Conductor: Dr. Sharon Bjorndal Lavery
Director: Jonathan Eaton    
Performances: April 10, 11, 12, 13 (matinee)

COURSE SCHEDULE
UNT Opera Theater’s rehearsal schedule includes standard class meeting times and added rehearsals/adjusted meeting times. All additional rehearsals are indicated in the Master Calendar and standard meeting times are below:

  • Monday    3:45-6:00; 7:00-10:00
  • Wednesday    3:45-5:45
  • Thursday    3:15-6:00; 7:00-9:30
  • Friday    2:15-6:15

GOALS/COURSE OBJECTIVE
Expand the young singing artists’ skills to help them become fully-rounded opera artists.

MATERIALS
Principals as a rule must purchase their own scores for operas, chorus parts will be provided.

COURSE POLICIES
1.    More than two unexcused absences will result in one automatic grade drop
2.    Failure to complete contracted assignments will result in one automatic grade drop
3.    The following may result in your being removed from your assigned role:
•    Failure to learn music, text, or staging satisfactorily
•    Failure to make appropriate vocal progress
•    Failure to honor commitments to the schedule
 
EVALUATION/GRADING CRITERIA
Your final grade will be computed as follows:
30%: Musical Preparation, Performance and Progress 
30%: Stage Preparation, Performance and Progress 
20%: Attendance and Promptness 
20%: Crew work 

ALPHABETIZED INFORMATION & POLICIES FOR REFERENCE

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY STANDARDS AND CONSEQUENCES
According to UNT Policy 06.003, Student Academic Integrity, academic dishonesty occurs when students engage in behaviors including, but not limited to cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty, forgery, plagiarism, and sabotage. A finding of academic dishonesty may result in a range of academic penalties or sanctions ranging from admonition to expulsion from the University. 

ACCESS TO INFORMATION – EAGLE CONNECT
Students’ access point for business and academic services at UNT is located at: my.unt.edu. All official communication from the University will be delivered to a student’s Eagle Connect account. For more information, please visit the website that explains Eagle Connect and how to forward e-mail: eagleconnect.unt.edu/ D. Student Evaluation Administration Dates. Student feedback is important and an essential part of participation in this course. The student evaluation of instruction is a requirement for all organized classes at UNT. The survey will be made available during weeks 13, 14 and 15 of the long semesters to provide students with an opportunity to evaluate how this course is taught. Students will receive an email from "UNT SPOT Course Evaluations via IASystem Notification" (no-reply@iasystem.org) with the survey link. Students should look for the email in their UNT email inbox. Simply click on the link and complete the survey. Once students complete the survey they will receive a confirmation email that the survey has been submitted. For additional information, please visit the SPOT website at www.spot.unt.edu or email spot@unt.edu. 

ACCEPTABLE STUDENT BEHAVIOR
Student behavior that interferes with an instructor’s ability to conduct a class or other students' opportunity to learn is unacceptable and disruptive and will not be tolerated in any instructional forum at UNT. Students engaging in unacceptable behavior will be directed to leave the classroom and the instructor may refer the student to the Dean of Students to consider whether the student's conduct violated the Code of Student Conduct. The University's expectations for student conduct apply to all instructional forums, including University and electronic classroom, labs, discussion groups, field trips, etc. The Code of Student Conduct can be found at deanofstudents.unt.edu/conduct. 

ADA ACCOMMODATION STATEMENT 
UNT makes reasonable academic accommodation for students with disabilities. Students seeking accommodation must first register with the Office of Disability Accommodation (ODA) to verify their eligibility. If a disability is verified, the ODA will provide a student with an accommodation letter to be delivered to faculty to begin a private discussion regarding one’s specific course needs. Students may request accommodations at any time, however, ODA notices of accommodation should be provided as early as possible in the semester to avoid any delay in implementation. Note that students must obtain a new letter of accommodation for every semester and must meet with each faculty member prior to implementation in each class. For additional information see the ODA website at disability.unt.edu. 

ATTENDANCE
More than two unexcused absences will result in one automatic grade drop
An excused absence requires one of the following:
•    An approved N/A form
•    An email of explanation from the student’s applied voice instructor
•    A doctor’s note
Students are expected to attend class meetings regularly and to abide by the attendance policy established for the course. It is important that you communicate with the professor and the instructional team prior to being absent, so you, the professor, and the instructional team can discuss and mitigate the impact of the absence on your attainment of the course learning goals. Please inform the professor and instructional team if you are unable to attend class meetings because you are ill, in mindfulness of the health and safety of everyone in our community. 

CHOIR CONFLICTS
No absences from choir for opera assignments are approved, except for the following policy: 
•    The standard excused leave of absence from choir rehearsals for those performing leading opera roles with UNT Opera is one week. Cast lists indicate which roles are considered Lead Roles and which are Featured Roles. 

CHURCH CHOIR 
We understand many of you rely on singing in church choirs to earn necessary income.  We support this and will never call Sunday morning rehearsals and as a rule will only call Wednesday evening rehearsals for main productions during tech and performance weeks.  If you are in the cast or crew of a show, you are not excused from the Wednesday night dress rehearsal because of a church job or other church obligation. If you are double-cast, you must also attend the Wednesday night dress rehearsal even if your double-cast colleague is scheduled to sing that evening. Please clear this with your church music director as soon as you accept any opera assignment.  Also, please note that Wednesday afternoon rehearsals last until 5:45pm.  You must remain for the entire rehearsal. Please make any necessary arrangements so that you can remain in opera rehearsal till 5.45pm.   
 
COACHINGS 
Coachings are intended to help you progress in your musicianship and artistry. While we are here to help, please be sure you come to coachings having done all your requisite homework: pitches and rhythms learned comprehensively, all text translated, and pronunciation of the text accounted for. Coaching sessions are not intended to teach you the notes or the words. Failure to meet these expectations may result in you being removed from a role or put on ‘probation’, which means being removed until you prove you have reached an adequate level of preparation.

CONFLICTING CLASSES
You need to be responsible to sign up for (non-opera) classes, lesson times, and coaching times that don’t clash with standard opera times. Please don’t accept a role or chorus assignment if you cannot attend the rehearsals. Please speak first with the Opera Tas then, if needed, with the opera faculty if you have questions about class scheduling.

CONTRACTS
At the beginning of the year all students will receive a contract including both casting and crew assignments for the academic year.  You have one week to accept your assignments and turn in your contracts.  When you sign your acceptance of any role assignment for an opera program activity, you indicate that you understand and accept the participation guidelines and schedules outlined in this syllabus. These assignments will be what you are graded on and, while they may be amended in consultation with opera faculty, failure to complete contracted assignments will result in one automatic grade drop.

COVID & SICKNESS
As musicians, health is a critical component of our preparation and performance. If you are feeling unwell, please stay at home, and if you are feeling slightly unwell, please wear a mask. Contact the UNT COVID Team at COVID@unt.edu for guidance on actions to take due to symptoms, pending or positive test results, or potential exposure.        

CREWING ASSIGNMENTS
In common with all university opera programs, students are required to assist in a variety of crewing activities, without which productions cannot be mounted. We depend on students to help run our shows; we are grateful for their assistance, acknowledge that there is often a time burden involved, and remind students that there is also an educational advantage in learning the scope of what it takes to put on a production.

Students may register in the beginning of the year a preference for a certain category of crew if they already have pre-existing interest or expertise in a certain area.

The Opera TAs assign students to crews according to the following guidelines:

•    Undergraduates: must register for the full year (both terms) for any year they wish to be involved in opera and do one crew per semester.
•    Masters: must register for one full year (either first or second year) and for that year do one crew per semester. Masters may sign up for an additional full year if they wish to perform in opera and must be available to do at least one crew in one semester only, though they may be asked to do two crews based on need.
•    DMA and GAC: if they wish to be involved in opera, must register for at least one full year, and in that year do two crews; in subsequent years may sign up for one term only with one crewing assignment during the academic year.  
•    Opera Scholarship Holders: must register for full year of opera and participate in two crews for each year they hold an opera scholarship.

CREWING CATEGORIES
Some crews involve more time than others. For instance, the ‘running crews’ in the list below for the first show in the season, which is usually our largest production, may demand more time than the running crews for the last production of the season which is usually our smallest. However, for the first production we tend to assign crew responsibilities to those singers cast in the chorus since they are required to be present anyway. Assignments will be made with an effort to balance crewing time commitments between all students.

Crewing activities take place in the following categories, with examples in parentheses. Estimated time commitments are listed below each description. Non-performers - those who have not been cast in a show – may be assigned to be crew members.
•    Deck Run Crew (scene changing, set up, strike etc.) 
o    Needed for final chorus rehearsals, scene change rehearsals, tech week, all performances and final strike.
o    Usually pulled from chorus members who are already involved in the production, so few ‘extra’ hours are required but the commitment is significant.
•    Props Crew (helping maintain props, running shows, sometimes helping with finding or creation of props)
o    Needed at various times during the rehearsal process (to help create props/set up prop tables/organization), for tech week, and all performances and strike.
o    Usually pulled from chorus members who are already involved in the production, so few ‘extra’ hours are required with the commitment usually like that of Deck Run.
•    Costume Crew (helping to find or occasionally build costumes, maintain them, launder them, dress performers, carry out small fixes during performances, assist with quick changes, and strike/clean-up)
o    Must be available tech week and all performances. Sometimes called outside of that timeframe to help with small sewing/creation items. Usually no more than 5 hours outside of tech and performances. For performances, must arrive 1.5 hours before downbeat and stay until everyone is out of costume for the evening. 
o    Usually a mixture of chorus members and non-performers. We must have at least 2 non-performers for this crew to function efficiently. 
•    Makeup Crew (applying makeup) 
o    Must be available tech week and all performances. Sometimes called outside of that time frame for makeup training or makeup practices (headed by makeup designer or crew head). Usually, no more than 5 hours outside of tech and performances. For performances, must arrive 1.5 hours before the downbeat and stay until everyone is out of makeup for the evening.
o    Usually a mixture of chorus members and non-performers. We must have at least one non-performer to help organize. Note: sometimes double casts are willing to help their counterpart with complicated makeup, which is helpful when appropriate.
•    Orchestra Support Crew (setting up orchestra pit for opera orchestra rehearsals,
Sitzprobes, and performances; erasing markings and putting cuts in scores before
and after production; maintaining pit cleanliness and organization between shows;
working with Maestro on any additional needs)
o    Generally needed for 30 mins per call before any orchestra rehearsal. There are generally 5-6 calls per show. The crew head also organizes their crew to check on the state of the pit before performances.
o    Needs a maximum of 4 students. There is a need for some flexibility because calls often must happen during orchestra rehearsal hours, which may be outside of opera rehearsal hours. The crew head determines these calls based on the availability of the crew members. 
•    Other Technical Fields (operating a follow spot or a projector, supertitle projection, child wrangler, etc.)
o    Only needed for tech week and all performances. Sometimes, training happens outside of the tech weekend. 
o    Supertitles projection is an important, rewarding, and challenging task!
o    When a child wrangler is needed, they are asked to be at all of the children’s rehearsals. Those dates will be communicated by the Assistant Director.
o    These crews are always assigned after speaking directly with the students about their interest and availability. They cannot be involved in the performance of the production.
•    Admin Crew (photocopying, assisting Opera TAs)
o    Called on an as-needed basis, not exceeding 20 hours (average time called though is 5-10). Can be either during or outside of opera rehearsal times.
•    Public Relations (PR) Crew (feeding the social media dragon, distributing flyers
and posters, website and email designing, maintaining patron lists, etc.)
o    This is a full year crew! All members are expected to help out throughout
the entire school year. Generally, around 1 hour of work per week.
o    This crew is always assigned after speaking with those who express interest and have availability for the entire year. If a student is assigned to this crew, they will have served all their crew obligations for the year.
•    Crew Head (for any of the previously listed crews)
o    Called for the same time periods as the crews listed above, generally with more managerial responsibilities. Sometimes are asked to attend a few extra rehearsals to learn their duties or help AD/SM as needed.
o    These positions are offered to students who have shown an interest in crew leading (based on the beginning of the year survey). 

TAs, Crew Heads, and ASMs will be tasked with keeping records of crew attendance, and more than two unexcused absences will drop students a grade. Please understand
that crewing only works when all participants turn up, so absenteeism is seriously frowned upon!

EMBARGO
For the final rehearsals of our productions to run smoothly, no absences (N/A) will be approved from any opera rehearsal for cast, chorus, or crew beginning two weeks before opening night for all productions and continuing until the strike of each production. The only exceptions to this policy are for official Dress Rehearsals and Performances of other school activities such as choir concerts. This two-week period is called the “Embargo” period. For shows that are not fully staged, such as concert operas or scenes programs, the embargo may be less than two weeks before the show opens.  Embargo dates are indicated in the Master Calendar.
  
MEMORIZATION
For each role/chorus assignment there will be a scheduled memorization hearing. This allows us to effectively assess individual preparation and to be sure that all are prepared for the staging process. We do not work in staging sessions with students who are not off-book. You also need to have thought deeply about your character: ‘Who am I? What do I want? Why do I want it right now?! Why can’t I get it?!? Failure to meet these expectations may result in you being removed from a role, or put on ‘probation’, which means being removed until you prove you have reached an adequate level of preparation.

N/As (NON-AVAILABILITIES)
Requests to be non-available for opera rehearsals must be made a minimum of two weeks in advance in writing to our Rehearsal and Scheduling Coordinator Teaching Assistant (Isaac Carlin).  You should try to apply well before this deadline, however. Please do not commit to another obligation until you have received an official written release.  We try to be flexible and accommodate an individual’s conflicts and other class schedules as best we can. However, for the benefit of all students involved in our productions, we want to set out some guidelines for participation:
•    Those cast in named roles should not request recurring NAs of more than 2 hours per week during staging periods.
•    An NA request form must be submitted for all absences from Opera Studies classes and rehearsals including other school performances, rehearsals, and/or class conflicts.
•    A Leave of Absence granted by the Dean’s office can substitute for an NA from the Opera Department. If a student is taking a leave of absence, the student must coordinate with the Dean’s office and have them notify both Jonathan Eaton and Dr. Stephanie Rhodes Russell.
•    NAs are granted on a case-by-case basis at the sole discretion of the Opera Department faculty. Students are responsible for submitting the NA request form. An NA is not officially approved until the correct signatures are obtained from the required faculty members as indicated on the NA request form.  This may require the student to follow up with the opera faculty.
•    For students involved in productions, NAs will not be granted on and after the embargo date directly preceding performances. Embargo dates for each production will be given to students within the welcome pack at the General Meeting.  These dates can also be found on the master calendar in the Opera Office.  Please contact Lauren Koszyk, the opera scheduling TA with any questions.
•    If you have an absence that is likely but not confirmed (such as participation in an outside competition or audition) please submit an NA form for this anticipated absence—do not wait to begin the approval process until you have received confirmation as these confirmations are sometimes extremely last-minute.
•    Students may not book any travel arrangements prior to obtaining NA approval. If a student chooses to book travel prior to obtaining approval, the UNT Opera Department is not responsible for any travel expenses that may be lost if an NA request is not approved.
  

OPERA SCHOLARSHIPS 
If you are a holder of an opera scholarship you effectively pledge to be part of the opera program.  If you are unable to observe the participation guidelines in this document, your opera scholarship will be in jeopardy and may be allocated to someone who is available to participate. Opera scholarship holders are also expected to be a positive role model in work ethic, attitude, and collegiality. 

REHEARSAL CONFLICTS 
We will share with you the complete schedule of rehearsal times for each production in advance of each term, including regular and extra production week rehearsals, in our ‘Master Calendar’. These will be the times you are expected to commit to if you accept an assignment in an opera. If you anticipate major clashes with rehearsals, don’t accept the opera assignment! Prior to auditions, you can, if you wish, indicate which operas you are interested in, and those you know you cannot commit to.  
 
SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION
UNT is committed to providing a safe learning environment free of all forms of sexual misconduct. Federal laws and UNT policies prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex as well as sexual misconduct. If you or someone you know is experiencing sexual harassment, relationship violence, stalking and/or sexual assault, there are campus resources available to provide support and assistance. The Survivor Advocates can be reached at SurvivorAdvocate@unt.edu or by calling the Dean of Students Office at 940-565- 2648.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE
A weekly schedule will be published on Friday evening to the course Canvas page. Be sure to read it thoroughly to avoid missing assigned coaching and staging sessions.