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Marcie Stapp

Marcie Stapp headshot

Contact

Office 419

Courses Taught

A Practical History of Opera

Lyric Diction: French

Lyric Diction: German

Lyric Diction: Italian

Mythology in Opera

Education

BM, Indiana University

Awards and Distinctions

Sarlo Family Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2018

Notable Studio Wins

Classical Singer Competition - Mariya Kaganskaya

Q&A

What is your hometown?

East Orange, NJ

What are you passionate about outside of music?

Scrabble.

Who were your major teachers?

Rafael de Silva and Margaret Harshaw.

What was the defining moment when you decided to pursue music as a career?

Margaret Harshaw encouraged me to do so.

What was a turning point in your career?

Being hired by the Conservatory.

If you weren't a musician or teacher, what do you think you would be doing now?

Teaching languages.

What are your most important collaborations?

Editor of Nico Castel's Opera Libretti series and co-director of the Castel/Stapp Master Classes (San Francisco); Faculty Coach/Conductor for the Academy of Vocal Arts and the Curtis Institute (Philadelphia); Head Coach for 12 productions at Sakai City Opera and The Osaka College of Music (Japan); Faculty member of the Mozart Opera Studies Institute (Kaprun, Austria) and the San Miguel Institute of Bel Canto (Mexico); Coach/Accompanist for the Gernot-Heindl Opera School (Munich); Guest Coach for Hawaii Opera Theater and San Francisco Opera Center

What are your academic publications?

The Singer's Guide to Languages, 1987

Author of operatic singing translations for San Francisco Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Sarasota Opera, and many others

What is your unrealized project?

Winning a Scrabble tournament.

Biography

Marcie Stapp, author of The Singer's Guide to Languages, is a well-known vocal coach, accompanist, and translator whose operatic translations are performed by leading music schools and professional companies across the country. She taught English and French at the Mangold Institute in Madrid, and has served as conductor/coach for the Academy of Vocal Arts, the Curtis Institute of Music, Indiana University, the California State University System, the Mozart Opera Studies Institute in Austria, Japan's Osaka College of Music and Sakai City Opera, the Gernot-Heindl Opera Studio in Munich, San Francisco Opera Center and Hawaii Opera Theatre among others, and is currently a faculty member of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the San Miguel Institute of Bel Canto (Mexico). Ms. Stapp has accompanied the master classes of Margaret Harshaw, Renato Capecchi, Max Rudolf, Jess Thomas, and Gerhard Hüsch, and appeared in recital with members of the Metropolitan, San Francisco and New York City Opera companies. For many years she collaborated with the Metropolitan Opera's renowned diction coach Nico Castel as editor of his popular Opera Libretti Series and co-director of the Castel/Stapp Master Classes.