The Opera Academy of California

This incredible Master Class Series presented by the Opera Academy of California and Old First Concerts culminates in this special event with Founder, Artistic Director and Acclaimed Opera Stage Director, Yefim Maizel. Mr. Maizel will work one on one with talented singers from OACs Emerging Singer Program in an educational performance experience. With an emphasis on character, emotion, movement and staging, Mr. Maizel will guide singers to the ultimate theatrical expression of arias from the greatest opera repertoire. Yefim Maizel has directed and assisted in the former Soviet Union, in Europe, in Japan and in the U.S. at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera, Mariinsky Opera, Wexford Opera Festival, Saito Kinen Festival, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Pacific, Michigan Opera Theater and Opera Santa Barbara. Since 1999 Yefim Maizel has been engaged as a Guest stage Director at the Metropolitan Opera, where for many seasons he directed Madama Butterfly (Puccini) – with Placido Domingo conducting in 2004. He has assisted on productions of Il Trovatore (Verdi), Manon (Massenet), Idomeneo (Mozart), Don Carlo (Verdi), Elektra (Strauss), Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Mozart), Otello (Verdi), The Queen of Spades (Tchaikovsky) and Das Rheingold (Wagner). In 2005, Mr. Maizel established the Opera Academy of California where he serves as CEO, Artistic Director and Stage Director.