Peninsula Teen Opera will be able to grant vocal scholarships to young people beginning this summer, thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Flora Family Foundation in Menlo Park.
The scholarship students will be able to study classical voice privately with a teacher from the National Association of Teachers of Singing, enabling them to take part in Peninsula Teen Opera, an opera training program that also performs for local audiences.
Peninsula Teen Opera (PTO), which will perform an adaptation of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” next weekend at Woodside High School, was founded in 1998 by professional opera singer Allen Cathcart.
More than 150 young people, ranging in age from 11 to 19, have studied with PTO. Students are accepted into PTO through auditions and interviews, and study voice privately with local teachers.
“PTO’s program was the first of its kind in the nation, and as far as I know, is still the only such program,” Mr. Cathcart said in a written statement.
The students enter a 12-week training program and rehearse every Saturday afternoon for several hours.
Many students would never think of applying for the program because their families can’t afford private vocal lessons that are needed for participation, Mr. Cathcart said. The new scholarships will cover both the PTO tuition of $970 and private voice lessons.
“We want students for whom the scholarships open new vistas,” Mr. Cathcart said.
‘The Magic Flute’
Each 12-week program culminates with two staged and costumed performances of condensed versions of entire operas, as well as opera vignettes.Current students will perform Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” in an adapted version of “The Tales of Papageno,” along with scenes from well-known operas and operettas, at the new Woodside High performing arts center on Saturday, Jan. 20, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 21, at 3 p.m.
The cost is $15 for general admission, and $10 for seniors and students. For tickets, contact Elsa Schafer Raval at 593-6930 or elsaschafer@comcast.net.
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