The Bronx Opera Company (BxO) announces auditions for
our 2027 productions of:
THE TALES OF HOFFMANN
by Jacques Offenbach
full performances: February 11th, 13th & 14th
abridged student matinee: February 12th
and the World Premiere of
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO
by Steve Wallace & Kenny Harmon
full performances: May 6th, 8th & 9th
abridged student matinee: May 7th
All performances take place at the Lovinger Theatre at Lehman College, in The Bronx.
These productions will be presented in English. No audition fee is charged, and a pianist will be provided.
We plan to single-cast all principal roles in both productions. Performers cast in principal roles will sing all three full performances, and will receive $500 total.
Performers cast as covers will sing chorus in the full performances, will sing the role they are covering at the abridged student matinee, and will receive $400 total.
Performers cast as part of the ensemble will receive $300 total.
Applications must be received by Wednesday, September 16th at 11:59pm ET.
Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.
THE TALES OF HOFFMANN will be conducted by David Štech; THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO will be conducted by Marlon Daniel. Both productions will be directed by Benjamin Spierman.
For your information, the broad-strokes production schedule is as follows (some dates may change slightly):
THE TALES OF HOFFMANN
Music Rehearsals:
Between January 4th and January 12th (although some chorus music work will take place between December 1st and 23rd
Staging Rehearsals
Between January 13th and January 31st
Sitzprobes, run-throughs, tech & dress rehearsals:
February 1st through February 10th
Performances
Thursday, February 11th @ 7:30pm
Friday, February 12th @ 11am (abridged student matinee, performed by covers)
Saturday, February 13th @ 2:30pm
Sunday, February 14th @ 2:30pm
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO
Possible Coachings
Between February 1st and 15th
Music Rehearsals
March 20th thru March 28th
Staging Rehearsals
April 6th thru April 26th
Sitzprobes, run-throughs, tech & dress rehearsals
April 27th thru May 5th
Performances
Thursday, May 6th @ 7:30pm
Friday, May 7th @ 11:00am (abridged student matinee, performed by covers)
Saturday, May 8th @ 2:30pm
Sunday, May 9th @ 2:30pm
Rehearsals will primarily take place in north Bronx locations, and will be scheduled after cast conflicts are known. Rehearsals will be on weekday evenings and weekends (with some rehearsals on weekday afternoons, pending availability).
Auditions for both productions will be held by invitation only, at the Lovinger Theatre at Lehman College, in The Bronx, on
Sunday afternoon, October 4th
Monday evening, October 5th
Tuesday evening, October 6th
To be considered for an audition, please submit your materials (résumé, headshot, and 2–3 links to audio or video recordings) via the following Google form, and answer all questions therein:
https://forms.gle/AwqBPvwcZfj9VfbW6
(PLEASE NOTE: a Gmail account is required to access this form. If this will be an issue for you, please email us at bronxoperaauditions@gmail.com)
As the application form indicates, we’re looking for 2–3 recordings of arias or songs of your choice that show vocal skills similar to those of the role(s) for which you would like to be considered, at least one of which must be in English. Applications which do not include an English-language recording will not be considered. Please indicate which roles you are interested in, and whether you’re generally interested in being considered for THE TALES OF HOFFMANN, for THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, or for both. For MONTE CRISTO, we’re seeking singers who are comfortable stylistically in bel canto and can work in R&B and Hip-Hop; please bear that in mind as you submit your videos. Also, your videos don’t need to look “produced” – we’ve seen some superb audition videos shot professionally in a recording studio, and we’ve seen other superb audition videos shot simply on an iPhone in a living room. If you have any questions about what to submit, please do not hesitate to email us at bronxoperaauditions@gmail.com.
If you are out of town or otherwise unavailable to sing for us on any of the listed audition dates, but are interested in being considered for our productions, please tell us this in your answer to the final question on the application form.
We hope that you will pass this information along to others, even if these productions are not a fit for you or you are not able to participate. In addition, if you or anyone you know is interested in auditioning for the Bronx Opera Chorus, please email BxO’s Chorus Master Michael C. Haigler at bronxoperachorus@gmail.com.
Note that members of the chorus will have the opportunity to cover principal roles.
Thank you for your interest in Bronx Opera! We look forward to receiving your materials.
-Team BxO
Roles in THE TALES OF HOFFMANN
Olympia
coloratura soprano
Antonia
lyric soprano
Giulietta
spinto soprano
Nicklausse/The Muse
mezzo-soprano
Hoffmann
tenor
Andres/Spalanzani/Cochinille/Franz
tenor
Lindorf/Coppelius/Dappertutto/Dr. Miracle
bass-baritone
Luther/Pittichinacchio/Schlemil/Crespel
baritone
There are other supporting roles for tenor, baritone and bass.
Roles in THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO
Role details from Steve Wallace and Kenny Harmon
Edmond Dantes / The Count of Monte Cristo
Full lyric / spinto / bel canto tenor, with heroic aspects. Range: D3-C5.
Age: plays 20’s-40’s. Black / of African descent.
Mercedes
Full lyric soprano, with some coloratura capabilities. Needs to be able to sing fast text. Range: C4-C6.
Age: plays 20’s-40’s. Black / of African descent.
Fernand de Morcef
Lyric baritone. Range: A2-G4.
Age: plays 20’s-40’s. Caucasian / of European descent.
Villefort
Lyric baritone. Range: A2-G4. Age: plays 30’s-50’s.
Caucasian / of European descent.
Sophie Villefort
Lyric or soubrette soprano. Range: E4-C6.
Age: plays 20’s-30’s. Caucasian / of European descent.
Baron Danglars
Bass-baritone. Range: G2-F4.
Age: plays 40’s-50’s. Black / of African descent.
Martine Danglars
Mezzo-soprano. G3-A5.
Age: plays 20’s-40’s. Black / of African descent.
Albert de Morcef
Leggiero tenor. Range: D3-B5.
Age: plays teens-20’s. Black / of African descent / mixed race.
Abbe Faria
Bass-baritone. Range: F2-E4.
Age: playing 50’s-70’s. Any ethnicity.
Luigi Vampa
Tenor. Range: D3-A5.
Age: playing 20’s-40’s. Any ethnicity.
Benedetto
Leggiero tenor. Range: D3-A5.
Age: plays teens-20’s. Bi-racial / light-skinned / mixed race.
Haydee
Lyric or soubrette soprano. Range: E4-C6.
Age: plays teens-20’s. Black/of African descent.