Guest Lecturers 2026-27
Kathleen O’Mara, USA
Soprano, Winner of the 2025 Queen Sonja Singing Competition
The American soprano Kathleen O’Mara won the Queen Sonja Singing Competition in 2025, the year after winning both First Prize and the Birgit Nilsson Prize at Operalia. She studied at Westminster Choir College and The Juilliard School and was a member of LA Opera’s Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program.
In recent seasons, O’Mara has made debuts at several of the world’s leading opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala and the Bayerische Staatsoper. During the 2025/26 season, her roles included Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera and Micaëla in Carmen at Seattle Opera.
In the 2026/27 season, she returns to LA Opera as Micaëla in Carmen and Liù in Turandot, and makes her Dallas Opera debut as Elsa in Lohengrin.
Annette Weber-Hussain, Switzerland
Opera Consultant and Former Director of Opera, Opernhaus Zürich
Annette Weber-Hussain studied theatre and musicology in Mainz while working as an assistant director. Until 2004, she worked at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, before joining Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, where she remained until 2010.
From 2010 to 2016, she collaborated regularly with director Stefan Herheim on productions in Berlin, Bayreuth and Salzburg, among others. From 2013 to 2018, she worked at the Semperoper Dresden, with responsibility for artistic matters and casting, before becoming Casting Director at the Hamburg State Opera in 2018.
From 2021 to 2025, Weber-Hussain served as Director of Opera at Opernhaus Zürich. Today, she focuses on mentoring and career development for young singers. She has been affiliated with the Opera Academy as a mentor and advisor since 2024.
Jan Capiński, United Kingdom
Audio Engineer and Videographer, Capinski Recordings
Jan Capiński trained as an opera singer and pursued a freelance career in the UK before moving into audio and video production full-time. As an audio engineer and videographer, he has worked with organisations including the Royal Ballet & Opera, English National Opera, Garsington Opera and English Touring Opera, as well as on the award-winning VOPERA film adaptation of Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges.
Through Capinski Recordings, he produces audition recordings and promotional videos for several hundred classical singers each year, alongside commercial recordings of classical chamber music. He is also co-founder of London Recording Days and has taught recording techniques at institutions including the Royal Academy of Music.
Capiński has worked with the Opera Academy for several seasons, with a particular focus on how singers can use audio and video professionally for auditions and to present their artistic work.
Ulrike Köstinger, Austria
Chief Executive Officer, Arts Consolidated
Ulrike Köstinger is CEO of Arts Consolidated, whose portfolio includes Operabase. She previously served as Chief Content and Partnership Officer, with responsibility for developing Operabase internationally.
Köstinger has a background spanning both the arts and business and has worked at the Salzburg Festival, Teatro alla Scala and the classical music streaming service takt1. She also has experience in marketing, having worked as a Product Manager at L’Oréal Austria. Her combination of experience in opera, marketing and business development has given her particular expertise in how artists build visibility and position themselves within the international industry.
Alongside her work at Arts Consolidated, she serves as Chair of “Next Generation – Friends of the Salzburg Festival”.
Allyson Devenish, Canada / United Kingdom
Senior Staff Coach, National Opera Studio
Allyson Devenish is a Canadian-British pianist and vocal coach and serves as Senior Staff Coach at the National Opera Studio in London. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music.
As a pianist, Devenish has performed at leading concert venues in the UK and internationally, including Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Snape Maltings. Her performances have been broadcast and recorded by organisations including the BBC, CBC and Radio France, and she has appeared regularly on BBC Radio 3.
Alongside her work as a pianist and coach, Devenish has experience in both directing and acting. Her work has a particular focus on young singers making the transition from education to a professional opera career
Tobias Truniger, Switzerland
Artistic Director, Opera Studio at the Bayerische Staatsoper
Tobias Truniger is Artistic Director of the Opera Studio at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, where he works to prepare young singers for international opera careers.
Truniger studied piano at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen and continued his studies in Lied and accompaniment at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig. He previously worked as a répétiteur at Deutsche Oper am Rhein and has taught at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf and the Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg.
As a pianist, he has collaborated with singers including Angelika Kirchschlager, Thomas Moser and Edith Wiens. He is also a sought-after vocal coach and works with singers at leading opera houses and festivals throughout Europe.
Michael Schade, Canada / Austria
Tenor and Professor of Voice, University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
Michael Schade is a German-Canadian tenor and Professor of Voice at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. Over the course of a long international career, he has performed at leading opera houses and festivals including the Vienna State Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper and Salzburg Festival, and is particularly renowned for his interpretations of Mozart.
Schade has long been committed to the development of young singers. He helped establish the Young Singers Project at the Salzburg Festival, where he has also served as Artistic Director. He is additionally Artistic Director of the Internationale Barocktage Stift Melk.
In 2007, Schade was awarded the honorary title of Österreichischer Kammersänger, and in 2017 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Nicola Beller Carbone, Spain / Germany
Singer, Director and Teacher, LIBERAinCANTO
Nicola Beller Carbone is a German-Spanish singer, director and teacher with an international opera career spanning more than 30 years. She studied at the Escuela Superior de Canto in Madrid and began her professional career at the Opera Studio of the Bayerische Staatsoper. She has since performed at opera houses including the Opéra national de Paris, Teatro Real Madrid, Opernhaus Zürich, La Monnaie in Brussels and Opéra de Lyon.
In recent years, Beller Carbone has increasingly focused on directing, teaching and the development of young singers. She regularly gives masterclasses at leading opera studios and educational institutions, with a particular emphasis on the relationship between music, acting and stagecraft. In 2019, she founded LIBERAinCANTO, a performance-based masterclass for opera singers.