MASTER CLASSes
Franc D’Ambrosio has conducted his highly-acclaimed Master Classes throughout the U.S. and Europe, sharing intimate experiences from his illustrious career entertaining audiences from Broadway to Hollywood and beyond, with music and drama students of all ages. In addition to working one-on-one with each eager participant, Franc shares personal stories and advice for pursuing a career in the theatre, while imparting his own special brand of passion, wisdom and inspiration for students to draw upon.
The highlight of Franc’s classes is when he offers young singers the unique opportunity to audition for the parts of “Christine and Raoul” from The Phantom of the Opera, for which he performed the lead role more than 2,100 times. The competition, normally held the day before a performance, culminates with the winners joining Franc onstage to sing the famous duet “All I Ask of You” in front of a live audience. The excitement and emotion the experience evokes for students, faculty, parents and audience members is often described as “magical.”
“It meant so much to these kids in rural Iowa to get an artist of your caliber to critique them and the one-on-one attention you showed. They were like sponges on your every word—I hope you are able to share your gift with many more youth.”
Accademia Vocale
Lorenzo Malfatti
Franc D’Ambrosio is co-founder and chairman of this prestigious opera and music training program in Lucca, Italy, named after Franc’s professor and mentor, the late American opera singer and voice teacher Lorenzo Malfatti. For four weeks each summer, sixteen select singers gather at Tuscany’s prestigious Boccherini Conservatory for advanced training in opera, voice, Italian language, acting, style, and diction. It is always a special honor when the Phantom himself works with the students in a series of master classes in vocal health, stage presence, dramatic interpretation and professional development, followed by private voice and dramatic coaching with each student. Recitative and acting training and workshops in Italian language and audition techniques complete the curriculum. The program culminates in a summer music festival, during which students participate in three public concerts and an evening of scene performances in and around the beautiful city of Lucca.
Under the artistic direction of Benjamin Wayne Smith, the school’s distinguished faculty credits include Wolf Trap Opera, San Francisco Opera/Merola, the Cherubini Conservatory, Seattle Opera, Washington National Opera and Nashville Opera.
For more information about the academy and to receive an application for enrollment, please refer to our website at www.vocalacademyofitaly.org
“I experienced firsthand Franc’s capacity to engage and effectively communicate with the students how to discover the essence of the character they had chosen to give voice to, and then guide them, as if by magic, to replicate and bring life to that character in their performance. Franc is a first-rate performer, exceptional tenor, and superb artist with an endless capacity to share unselfishly his talents and professional experiences.”