Chorus
Austin Opera Chorus
The Austin Opera Chorus is comprised of singers from across Central Texas providing the chorus and ensemble for Austin Opera’s Season. Each season, the Austin Opera Chorus performs alongside principal artists and with the Austin Opera Orchestra to bring opera to life in Austin Texas.
Auditions
The Austin Opera Chorus is one of the most exciting aspects of every production, and we would love to have you audition to join our group of fantastic performers. Auditions for the 2024-2025 Season will be held at the Austin Opera Rehearsal Hall (3009 Industrial Terrace, Suite 100):
- Friday, August 16 from 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m
- Saturday, August 17 from 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
All of our audition slots are full. Join the waitlist. If spots become available, a member of our team will contact you. Signing up for the waitlist does not guarantee you an audition time.
Please prepare two contrasting selections; one must be in Italian, and we recommend the other be an aria. Auditionees will be asked to sing one piece, possibly requesting a second. A pianist will be provided, so ensure your music is in the appropriate key and in a binder. While not mandatory, bringing a recent headshot and resume is encouraged.
Please review the rehearsal schedules for our 2024-2025 Season.
Please complete and print your audition form before your audition. We will email you a reminder of your audition at least 48 hours before your audition. If you have questions please email Rebecca Graham at [email protected] and Andrew Ward at [email protected].
Auditioners will have the opportunity to be considered for small roles and community casting opportunities at both companies. Members of the Austin Opera and OPERA San Antonios staff will eagerly wait to hear about your audition.
2024-2025 Season Overview
We will kick off the season with the remount of the political thriller by composer Kevin Puts and librettist Mark Campbell, The Manchurian Candidate. Alison Moritz will return to direct this remount, and Music Director Timothy Myers will conduct.
Our second work marks the launch of an exciting new series at Austin Opera: Opera Unleashed: Epic Masterpieces with Timothy Myers. Our inaugural offering will be Verdi’s Requiem. The Austin Opera Chorus will team up with the professional members of Chorus Austin to form a group under the leadership of my excellent colleague Cina Crisara, Austin Opera’s Chorus Conductor.
We will close our season with the first-ever collaboration between Austin Opera and OPERA San Antonio for Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. That’s right, folks—one show, two cities. Loren Meeker will direct and oversee the production at both companies, with Momo and Kevin Suzuki as cultural and movement advisors. Francesco Milioto will conduct the performances at OSA, and Timothy Myers will conduct the performances at Austin Opera. Dottie Randall will lead the music and staging rehearsals in San Antonio. Cina Crisara will take the lead in Austin.
Cina Crisara, Chorus Conductor
Cina Crisara has recently been named the Chorus Conductor of Austin Opera. Previously she held the position of Chorus Master for Opera Omaha spanning 17 seasons. She was also serving as a full-time faculty member at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Concurrently she completed 16 seasons as the Chorus Master for the Omaha (Nebraska) Symphony, culminating in Cina becoming the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Omaha Symphonic Chorus. She made her conducting debut with the Omaha Symphony in 1999. Cina Crisara is also a professional singer, and has been a member of the Conspirare Symphonic Choir and Company of Voices since 2009. She has served as a Section Leader/Rehearsal Conductor for the Conspirare Symphonic Choir, and has performed on 10 Company of Voices recordings, including the Grammy award-winning “The Sacred Spirit of Russia”.
Presently, Dr. Crisara is the Director of Music at Saint John’s United Methodist Church in Austin. In addition to regular Sunday services, she designs and directs special musical events and services which are offered throughout the year. A production of the musical Godspell was given recently. In the summer of 2016, several members of the Saint John’s Chancel Choir combined with singers from the Conspirare Symphonic Choir to perform in Italy with Craig Hella Johnson. Cina co-directed concerts with Craig Hella Johnson in Australia in the summer of 2018.
Cina Crisara has a Master of Music in Piano Performance from New York’s Ithaca College, and she earned a DMA in Choral Conducting from the University of Texas at Austin, having studied with Dr. Morris Beachy and Dr. Fiora Contino.
