Introduction to Opera Directing will be of interest to anyone who has some experience of opera, either as a director or performer. It is a highly practical module that investigates, through group exercises, discussion and individual tutorials, the role of the opera director, and the skills and personal qualities required to form a vision for a production, and work with singers in the rehearsal room to achieve that vision.
We analyse text and music and explore methods of character research and development, in preparation for the highlight of the course, an opportunity for each director to rehearse an opera scene with singers and a pianist. During the course, directors will develop a vision for a production of an opera of their choice, and present that vision to the group. All activities will be highly structured and supported so that anyone who can read music and has a passion for opera can take part.
This module is designed to:
The module will begin with a practical investigation of the role of the opera director, which will include an analysis of the process of opera production from the moment the opera director is engaged to the final performance. Students will reflect on their own skill-base and experience to determine how completely they at this point in their learning could fulfil that role. This will in itself enable the teacher to diagnose areas of support and guidance for each learner as the module proceeds.
Analysis will be introduced by group discussion, and the undertaking of tasks and further discussion in small groups, paying particular attention to political and historical context, developments in the arts as a whole, source material (eg original novel, play or myth), composition and first performance, style (eg bel canto, opera seria, opera buffa, Music Drama), plot, characters, and previous iconic productions. An Analysis Task will allow students to develop these skills independently.
A series of Practical Workshops will introduce students to rehearsal techniques and practical exercises to include movement, improvisation, the sharing of personal experience, and all aspects of workshop based learning. Rehearsal techniques to be explored include: the introductory workshop – ‘getting to know you’, character work and improvisation, text analysis – intention and subtext, getting started in rehearsals, advice on working with performers in a rehearsal situation, and decision making in rehearsals.
In the final assessment, the student will prepare a session designed to introduce, investigate, and rehearse a scene from the opera analysed in the Analysis Task.
Learning throughout the module is supporting by a structured reflective report that itself forms part of the assessment for the module.
During the course students will:
You will be assessed through:
Please see Course Outline for further information regarding the course and assessment.
Assessment
There are 3 Learning Outcomes for the Introduction to Opera Directing module:
LO1 – Demonstrate an understanding of the role, skills and qualities required in an opera director.
LO2 – Demonstrate practical skills of analysis and direction that are underpinned by effective research and reflection.
LO3- Collaborate actively and generously in the learning process.
Assessment
Assessment 1 – Presentation (45%)
Assessors will look for:
Assessment 2 – Practical assessment (45%)
Assessors will look for:
Assessment 3 – Reflective Report (10%)
Assessors will look for:
Please email credit-rated@rcs.ac.uk is you have any questions regarding the course.
We are pleased to welcome students from across the world to our Summer Schools. Our course fees do not include accommodation or food, and these should be organised by the student. Our campus is located in Glasgow city centre, and you can find the addresses below.
We recommend Base Glasgow, as purpose-built accommodation for Conservatoire students, with Rehearsal Rooms, Practice spaces and Dance Studios. Base Glasgow is perfectly suited for our summer school students; both safe and secure, with 24/7 staff presence and only 3 mins walk from our main Renfrew Street building, keeping travel costs to a minimum.
Classic En-Suite rooms come with a 3/4 bed, en-suite bathroom, ample storage, mirror, study desk and chair. The shared area includes a spacious lounge and kitchen area.
Please note that Short Courses staff are not affiliated with BASE or on site out with the summer school teaching hours, and therefore cannot take responsibility for students outside of these hours.
For more information about booking accommodation at BASE Glasgow you can contact them directly via website BASE – Student Accommodation in Glasgow or email baseglasgow@thisisfresh.com.
Alternatively, there are plenty of hotels, hostels, and b’n’b options available. We are located close to transport links should you wish to stay outside the city centre. If you are travelling to Glasgow for a course, we strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance that covers course fees, travel, accommodation, and cancellations due to COVID-19 – as RCS will not refund in this circumstance. You can view the Cancellations and Refund policy for full information.
For students under 18 years old, we strongly advise travelling with a responsible adult should any emergency situations arise during class. Students are only monitored by staff during class times.
Renfrew Street Campus: 100 Renfrew Street, Glasgow, G2 3DB
Wallace Studios Campus: 210 Garscube Road, Glasgow, G4 9RR
Applicants must be 18 years and over. Applicants are required to submit a CV as part of the application process and may be required to attend a short online interview.
If there are any questions in advance of applying, these should be sent to credit-rated@rcs.ac.uk
Any course specific preparation will be sent to successful applicants ahead of the course start date.
Most of our courses are open access meaning that anyone can attend. We ask that bookers check the age range for the class. Our Adult classes are for ages 16+, our Children and Young People courses are generally split by age/school group.
If your child or young person is not based in Scotland please see the general age equivalents below.
School Group /Age Range in Scotland
Primary 1 – 4/5 years old
Primary 2 – 5/6 years old
Primary 3 – 6/7 years old
Primary 4 – 7/8 years old
Primary 5 – 8/9 years old
Primary 6 – 9/10 years old
Primary 7 – 10/11 years old
Secondary 1 – 11/12 years old
Secondary 2 – 12/13 years old
Secondary 3 – 13/14 years old
Secondary 4 – 14/15 years old
Secondary 5 – 15/16 years old
Secondary 6 – 16/17 years old
Most of our courses are open access – meaning that anyone can take part. If there is an entry requirement or specific previous experience is recommended for the course, there will be a tab on the course webpage to specify this.
Generally, if you have no experience, or have been away from your study for a number of years – we would encourage you to look at courses with Beginner or Introduction in the title.
Never! Our adult classes are for anyone 16+. We often have a range of people aged from their late teens/early twenties to their late sixties and above. Our tutors are adept at creating a comfortable learning atmosphere for all the people in the group. We can’t predict the ages of the people on the course – but we can assure you that now is the right time to learn something new!
Several of our courses for young people and adults aged 16+ offer an optional credit-rated choice. You can find out more about the credit-rated accreditation we offer on the credit rated courses page, or clicking on your chosen course page for further details.
In general, our courses are unaccredited however you can request a certificate of attendance on completion of your course, if required. Please email shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk to request this 2 weeks prior to your course end date.
Yes! Our courses welcome students from across the world. You do not need a certificate in English in order to take Short Courses at the RCS. However, as all classes are delivered in English we do ask that you are comfortable following instructions, discussing ideas and sight-reading English aloud within the class.
The first time you book a short course you will need to set up a Schooble account – this is your customer account for our online booking system, Experios. You need a Schooble account to book your course, change or update your personal information, and check when payments are due/make a payment. Details of all the courses you have attended or are attending can be found on your account.
If you are trying to set up a Schooble account or change your password, you might see that you have been sent a verification code. This code will be sent to the email associated with the account and often goes to your junk mail. Please check there first, and then email us if you cannot locate it.
You will receive an automated email from our booking operator, Experios, to confirm that you have been successful in booking your course. This may get filtered to your junk mail – so please remember to check. If you are in any doubt – you can email us for further confirmation.
You will receive your course welcome information from us 1 to 2 weeks ahead of the course start date. This includes all the information you will need to attend the course including details of advance preparation is this is required.
Log into your Schooble account by going to rcs.paritor.com. From there click the Clock icon on the left-hand side, and then click My Details. You can click Change Sign-in or Change Password as required. If you are changing your address, click Update.
Go to rcs.paritor.com and click the Forgotten Password button. Enter the email address you used when you set up your account to receive a verification code. Once you have verified your email address you will be able to follow the steps to change your password.
If you are struggling with this, please email shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk for assistance.
We offer classes to people ages 1-100, and during our courses our student’s safety is our priority. By giving us emergency contact information, you can ensure that should anything happen to you/your child during our courses – we will be able to contact someone to make them aware.
Our booking form accommodates a wide range of classes, and is the same for children, young people, and adults. As an adult you can click, I’m an Adult to avoid some of these questions.
As a young person, we ask for your age and school to ensure that you are in the correct age group for your class.
We take our student’s safety and wellbeing seriously and want to support everyone to learn in a way that suits them. If you have listed a medical condition or disability, we will contact to you to ask if there is any specific support we can put in place for you.
During your application you will be asked to select an email address to use when we add you to the course Teams group. Microsoft Teams is an online classroom where materials will be posted for your class and you will access the Zoom codes for each session.
Microsoft Teams gets upset by switching emails on a device – so if you already have an account registered for Teams, you should enter that email to avoid confusion.
If you are booking the course for someone else, you should ask them what email they use to access Teams, as only the participant will have access to the Team.
Teams is used by many schools across the UK – so if your child has been accessing Teams for school work, they should use the email already associated with that account – usually their school email address.
Some schools or workplaces do not allow accounts to be used for outside activities, please check, and email us if you wish to change the email address for Teams.
Courses have a limited number of places available. You can book onto the waiting list by clicking the Book Now button on the webpage. This will take you to the booking form to register your interest but without taking you to the payment page – it does not cost anything to book onto the waiting list.
We encourage all bookers to register for the waiting list if you wish to take the course. We try to respond to demand, and if we have enough people on the waiting list to run another course – we will! So it is worth booking on to register your interest.
You will be contacted on the email associated with your account. We ask that you respond to your invitation as soon as possible as it allows us to process your application and get you set up for the course. If you no longer wish to take the place, please email us to confirm.
Yes! If you have received an automated email saying you have been invited from the waiting list, please log onto rcs.paritor.com and click Accept. This will take you to the payment stage of the booking form to confirm your space. After completing this you should email us so we can confirm your booking and send you over the relevant welcome information.
If you no longer want your place – please email us! We would love to offer the space to someone else and the more notice we are able to give people the better.
Yes, you can. When you reach the payment part of your booking form there are different payment options. We do request that all course fees are paid in full before the end date of your course.
Full – paying the course in full at the time of booking.
By Term – paying the course in three instalments, one for each term (only available for full year courses)
Monthly – this will split the course cost over the remaining months until your course completion date.
Please note these options will depend on how much time there is between the booking date and end of the course.
You can log onto your Schooble account by visiting rcs.paritor.com. On your home page you will find your Account Balance. By clicking Pay/Review you will be able to see your current payment schedule and below you are given the option to change your payment day. Please note the options are from the 1st to the- 28th of each month and if you change it to a date beyond the course end date your payments might increase. This is because payment for courses must be complete by the last class.
e.g. – your course finished on the 18th April. You currently pay your fees on the 10th of each month, so you are due to complete your payment for the course on the 10th April. You change it until the 28th of each month. Your instalments will increase to ensure you have paid for the course by 28th March, as the course will already be complete by the 28th April.
You can log onto your Schooble account by visiting rcs.paritor.com. On your home page you should find your Account Balance then Pay/Review. By clicking Amend Schedule you will be able to Make a Payment, which will redirect you to our secure online payment Sagepay and you will have the option to amend your card details at that stage.
Yes! We have bursary and scholarship programmes which all students can apply for. Please see the Financial Support page on the website for more details. Please check your eligibility for each prior to applying.
Please email shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk with to confirm in writing that you wish to withdraw. You can read our Cancellation and Refunds policy online to see if you will be eligible for a refund.
You are entitled to a 14-day cooling off period from the date of booking the course in which you will be entitled to a refund (unless the course has been complete in this period).
You should be aware at the time of booking that, out with the statutory 14 day cooling off period, there is no automatic right to cancel, and there will be no refund of fees.
Our online courses are delivered through Microsoft Teams and Zoom. You can read about each of these platforms on their webpages. We advised that all bookers download the desktop versions of the applications for easy access.
Microsoft Teams is a virtual classroom. Your Team is your RCS course and will be comprised of the other students on the course, your tutor, and Short Courses staff.
Yes! Our online class are delivered through Teams and Zoom, and we require bookers to have access to both these platforms to participate.
On Teams you will be able to view materials the tutor has posted, ask questions, upload any tasks the tutor has set, and access the Zoom codes for each class.
Your Teams account is linked to the email address you supplied in that section of the booking form. To read more about setting up your Teams, please see below.
Before the course, you will be sent an invite to your Team to the email address you supplied in your booking form.
If you have never used Teams before:
If you have already downloaded the app, a pop up will appear on the screen and you can click Open Microsoft Teams.
As a Short Courses student you are not a matriculated student of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (other than Introduction to Actor Training). You therefore do not have an RCS email account. If you are asked to select the type of Teams you will be using, please click Personal.
You will find the codes in the Zoom Codes channel of Teams. You will see it on the left-hand side of your screen, and by clicking on that Channel you’ll see where the Tutor has posted the Zoom code and password for the session.
Please note that the Zoom codes are different for each week. In order to keep all our customers safe online, we require bookers to log into Teams to access the codes. This limits the amount of people who will see the codes and stops them getting forwarded via email. For this reason, we cannot send you the Zoom codes via email.
Once you have been sent the Welcome Information, you will be added to the Teams group. You will receive an automated message from Microsoft Teams notifying you of this. We will aim to send this information out 1 to 2 weeks ahead of the course start date.
If you have received your Welcome Information, you should have received your Teams invite. Please check your Junk Mail before emailing us. Remember that the Teams invite will go to the email address you entered for Teams – this may be different to the email address you have listed for communication from us.
If you have not received an email, it may be due to an error in the email provided to us.
Sometimes Microsoft Teams can get confused. Please sign out and sign back in by clicking your initials at the top right-hand corner. Try clicking the Open Microsoft Teams in the invitation email again. Try logging in via the Microsoft Teams website. If you are unsuccessful, please email shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk with screenshots and we will endeavour to help you
You will have access to the Team for up to a week after the course ends. On the day of the final class, we ask that you download any materials and save any links you wish to keep from the Team. One week after the course, we will remove all members from the Team and delete it.
You can either upload a file by posting a message in the General Channel, or you can upload it to the Files section, by clicking the Files button at the top.
You need to wait until the full file is uploaded. For video files this can take a number of minutes. You need to keep the Teams page up while your file uploads. You will see a green line crossing the bottom of the File – only once that has completed is the file fully uploaded – and then you are ready to hit post. Remember to check your file works once it has been uploaded.
Please note that anything you upload to Teams can be seen by your classmates – this is great as it offers the opportunity for peer review as you would in a usual classroom setting. If you would rather send something directly to the tutor, you can email it to shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk and we will pass it along.
Your RCS Course Team is an invite-only group. The only people who have access to the Team are the participants, the tutors, and the Short Courses staff.
Please be aware that anything you put on Teams – much like the rest of the internet – can be accessed by other members of the Team. If you are uploading a video for feedback from the group, this can be downloaded by other members. We kindly ask students to only download RCS materials and not those uploaded by classmates.
Your classmates will only see your username on Teams. Many of our classes choose to set up Whatsapp groups or share emails to stay connected outside class times – however this is up to the booker if they choose to share that information.
If you are copy and pasting the password, please remember not to include spaces either side. It is best to type the password in manually if you are in doubt.
Remember to check that you are entering the password for the correct date. Each week there is a new Zoom code and password.
If you are using the Zoom link the URL should be hyperlinked. This means that the Zoom link will be underlined and in a different colour. For example: https://zoom.us/. If it is in the same colour as the general text, and isn’t underlined – https://zoom.us/ – it has not been hyperlinked. You need to copy and paste it into your internet browser.
To do this highlight the text – and right click, click copy. Open your browser, go to the search bar, right click, hit paste.
Yes! This helps ensure the privacy of the code and makes the link more secure. Please check that you have the most up to date code. If you are struggling, please ask for help by posting a message on your Teams page or emailing shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk.
We have found that our online courses work best when you have a screen big enough to see the whole class at once, and the ability to see any shared screens clearly. This generally means that a phone is too small, some tablets might be suitable, but for best participant experience you should use a laptop or desktop computer.
Please ask your tutor before you download any materials. Any materials downloaded should not be shared without the permission of the tutor. We kindly ask that you do not download the work of other students without their permission.
No – as part of our Online Teaching Policy which you agreed to in your booking form, we specify that all performances are for the eyes of the class and their families/friends only. Much like a live ticketed, performance – only those on the day are able to see the work.
This is to respect participants who do not want their image, work, and name shared without their permission.
