WVIA's Peter Wynne speaks with Yelena Kurdina, music director, about the upcoming performance of "Iolanta", to be presented by Tri-Cities Opera.
Coaches Weigh In: From LA to the Met to La Scala
by Maria Nockin
This spring I interviewed three coaches who work at some of the world’s most important opera houses: Coach Beatrice Benzi of Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Assistant Conductor Yelena Kurdina of the Metropolitan Opera, and Head Coach Nino Sanikidze of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program at Los Angeles Opera. We talked via telephone about their backgrounds, their duties, and what accomplishments they think young singers must possess to enter a Young Artist Program...read more
ONE MAN BAND
by Yelena Kurdina
Published by Opera America 2006
After 20 years of coaching and accompanying professionally in New York, it has been interesting to think about the role of a vocal coach, accompanist, collaborative pianist, language coach, or some combination of the above as part of a team that supports a singer’s career. While each specialty is part of the same big picture, and many of the skills overlap, the focus varies...read more