Rehearsals and the final reading are generally held in the evening between 6 - 10 pm  and on weekend afternoons and/or evenings. Most rehearsals occur at the MN Opera Center, 620 N. 1st St. in Minneapolis, MN. Singers must be locally based during the reading time period as ORP does not offer housing.

To better serve the musical and artistic needs of the ORP reading process, we have increased the overall amount of rehearsals for a reading and moving to a flexible rehearsal model. The number of rehearsals during a reading period time window will vary by work and will be determined by what is appropriate to the duration, cast size and difficulty of the repertoire. Not everyone will be called to all rehearsals or all parts of rehearsals. The amount of rehearsals one is called to and time spent at rehearsal will depend on role size. 5-7 rehearsals will generally take place over the course of 2-3 weeks per reading. Specific rehearsal calls will go out a several weeks prior to the final reading.

While our opera readings are primarily focused on providing singers with an experiential educational opportunity, with the final readings being public, there will be a slightly greater focus on the process being oriented towards performing for an audience.

Implied in this is the necessity to be fully-prepared before the first rehearsal, as is standard at a professional company. It is completely the singer’s responsibility to fully prepare the role (notes, rhythms, translation and background character development) and be ready for detail-oriented work in rehearsals. Preparation affects the efficiency of the role reading process for everyone. If lack of musical preparation of these elements is present at the first rehearsal, you will be asked to step back from singing the role with the available cover singing for the remainder of the rehearsal period and final reading.

ORP utilizes a pay-what-you-can tuition model with several levels of financial contribution. Our tuition levels are already very reasonable, offering excellent value for the high quality MN-based experience that singers currently get in the reading process, but we also know that we can’t make assumptions about where singers’ financial needs truly lie. As such, we would like to put the decision in your hands and trust you to make the most informed decision for yourself and your finances.

You can learn more about our tuition rates by reading the 2025-26 Rate and Participation Guidelines, which is linked above.

After much consideration, we decided during the 2024-25 season to remove the included individual coaching that was originally built into the reading process. This allows you the freedom to coach and fully prepare your role with whomever you like in advance of the first rehearsal (as is the usual protocol in the professional opera world) and also allows us to delegate more time and flexibility to the rehearsal process, as scheduling the individual coachings was becoming increasingly difficult.

The removal of coachings was taken into consideration when we last redid our tuition rates, also during the 2024-25 season. In reducing the tuition, we hope that by putting that money back in the singers’ hands, they can make their own best decision about coachings — whether that be to still schedule one with ORP’s Music Director, to schedule one with an alternative coach, or to forgo the coaching if you don’t feel that you need it.

If you would like recommendations for local coaches in the Twin Cities area, please reach out to us via email at operareadingproject@gmail.com.