Baroque Academy Opera Project

Dafne by Georg Reutter

June 28, 2025-July 5, 2025

Muhlenberg College
2400 W Chew St
Allentown, PA 18104
United States

Tuition:

$730

Richard Stone, director and conductor

Baroque Academy at the Amherst Early Music offers a unique opportunity for music students, advanced amateurs, and young starting professionals to explore music in the 17th and 18th centuries. Students work closely with internationally renowned faculty members to expand their knowledge of Baroque style, technique, ornamentation, and repertoire.

The 2025 Baroque Academy will be held at Muhlenberg College in Allentown PA, June 28 -July 5, 2025. Opera singers should plan to begin rehearsing the afternoon of Saturday, June 28. (The Festival week runs June 29 - July 6.)

Pitch is A=415.
Audition due date: April 1, 2025 for singers.
Tuition: $730.

The Opera Project at the 2025 Amherst Early Music Festival will be Dafne (1734) by Georg Reutter the younger. Inspired by Ovid’s literary classic, The Metamorphoses, the opera recounts the myth of the nymph Daphne, her desperate flight from a lust-maddened Apollo, and her magical transformation. Fully staged and costumed with Baroque orchestra and historical dance.

Directed and conducted by Richard Stone, Nell Snaidas stage director, Jennifer Ellis Kampani vocal coach, Lawrence Rosenwald language, Dorothy Olsson and Peggy Murray historical dance, Ronnie Snader costumes, and Paul Guttry sets and props.

Perform a role in our fully staged production with Baroque orchestra and historical dance. Sessions on period acting and performance techniques. Master class and coachings. Performance Friday, July 4, 2025. Audition by April 1, 2025 (singers), April 15, 2025 (instrumentalists).

Baroque Opera Project Daily Schedule: 9:00-10:30 Master class, 11:00-12:30 staging rehearsal, 1:30-3:00 musical rehearsal, 3:30 to 5:30 tutti rehearsal with orchestra. Opera dress rehearsal: Thursday evening, July 3 , after the Baroque Academy Faculty Concert.

Audition Due date

April 1, 2025

Where

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Festival FAQs

TRAVEL
Muhlenberg College
2400 Chew Street, Allentown, PA 18104. Travel info coming soon!

MEALS
The meal card is $280 and covers one week of meals starting with dinner on Sunday, June 29, (July 6 for second week) thru breakfast on Sunday, July 6, (July 13 for second week).

ROOMS
All standard rooms are air-conditioned. Budget rate housing is not air-conditioned, with hall baths. Basic linens (sheets, pillow, and towels) are included with all housing. Beds are twin, extra long.

Baroque Academy Audition Information

To apply for Baroque Academy, please submit the following through our audition portal. Due dates are April 1, 2025 for singers, and April 15, 2025 for instrumentalists.

$30 audition fee
Your resume or a brief description (one or two paragraphs) summarizing your musical background and experience, including formal and informal training and education.
10-15 minutes of music showing your technique, expression, and understanding of Baroque style. The piece need not be accompanied. Please include composer and title information with your submission.
Singers auditioning for the Baroque Opera Project will need to submit a head shot and a brief physical description: hair color, eye color, height, and weight. Photographs are accepted in any standard form. This information is required to be considered for a role in the opera.

Scholarships & Work-Study

Work-Study

All participants are welcome to apply for tuition assistance through AEM's Work-Study program. Work-study application form will be published in early spring. Questions about Work-Study can be sent to Click here to show mail address.

AEM Scholarships

To apply for all AEM scholarships, including the Washington McClain Scholarship, a form will be published here in early spring.

The Washington McClain Scholarship Fund honors the memory of Baroque oboist and Amherst Early Music faculty member Washington McClain. It will fund scholarships for students who have historically been underrepresented in the early music field, including African-American, Latinx, and others. Awards will cover tuition, room and board, and travel and may be used for any in-person AEM event, particularly the Amherst Early Music Festival.

In addition to scholarships, AEM offers work study tuition to all of our workshops, and the Amherst Early Music Festival. Work study is an option for students of any age.

Other Organizations

American Recorder Society offers scholarships to recorder players for Weekend Workshops as well as Summer Festivals. Any ARS member who needs financial assistance to attend a weekend or week-long workshop may apply for this scholarship. Deadline: May 15.

Lute Society of America scholarships include full tuition, room & board, and some travel. Due Date May 1.

Early Music America offers scholarships to help students attend early music and historical performance workshops in North America. Applications due April 1.

Viola da Gamba Society of America offers Grants-in-Aid to its members to attend Workshops and Masterclasses.

The Historical Keyboard Society of North America has established the Funaro Fund Award to support its members to offset the cost of traveling to an early keyboard event.