We have years of experience in preparing young singers for a career in opera, and have taught at some of the premier conservatory and professional programs in the country, including Peabody Conservatory, Santa Fe Opera and Oberlin Conservatory in Italy. We are able to diagnose and correct vocal problems, extend range and improve tone quality. In addition, we are fluent in all major languages and can assist with dramatic presentation and role study. Please meet our master teachers:
Edward Crafts has performed as a leading baritone with the world's most prominent opera stages, including the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Vienna Staatsoper, Rome Opera, New York City Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Dallas Opera and many others. A graduate of Curtis Institute of Music (voice) and Indiana University (opera stage direction), he has also directed almost fifty operas for a variety of professional and academic institutions, including Opera Illinois, Opera Boheme New Jersey, Maryland Lyric Opera, Peabody Conservatory, University of Nebraska, University of Maryland Baltimore County and the University of Arkansas. As a professor of voice, he has served on the faculties of Catholic University, University of Nebraska, Hood College University of Arkansas, Little Rock and Ouachita Baptist University. In October of 2013 Edward directed Rigoletto and La Traviata for the Seoul Arts Center in Korea. From 2014-2021 he served as Artistic Director of Opera in Concert, located in Dallas, TX, and he continues to work as an advisor to the company.
Video: Mr. Crafts can be seen in performance at:
Events:
September 2012
Opening of new studio location in Richardson, TX.
March 2013
Edward performs for the Puccini Society of Dallas.
April 2013
Edward performs Aaron Copland's Old American Songs with the Little Rock Wind Symphony.
June-July 2013
Edward directs Cosi fan Tutte in Cortona, Italy.
July-August 2013
Heather and Edward teach students from UCLA, DePaul University and Ouachita Baptist University at the Musica nelle Marche summer study program in Urbania, Italy.
September 2013
Edward performs "A Beastly Concert" at Berry College in Rome, GA.
Soprano Stephanie Smittle is the soloist in John Rutter's Requiem with the River City Men's Choir.
October 2013
Edward directs Rigoletto and La Traviata for the Seoul Arts Center in Korea.
February 2014
Soprano Erin Alcorn performs two song cycles for the Voces Intimae series of concerts in Dallas.
March 2014
Mezzo soprano Charis Peden performs Katisha in The Mikado, with the Regal Opera Company.
Soprano Erin Alcorn participates in the Dallas Opera Auditions at the Winspear Opera House.
April 2014
Soprano Erin Alcorn is guest soloist with Musica Nova at University of Texas, Dallas.
Mezzo soprano Charis Peden performs in the Fort Worth opera production of With Blood, With Ink.
May 2014
Edward and Heather establish Opera in Concert, a professional 501 (c) 3 corporation presenting unusual opera repertoire to the DFW area.
June 2014
Soprano Stephanie Smittle performs the role of Fiordiligi in Cosi fan Tutte with Opera in the Ozarks.
Mezzo soprano Charis Peden participates in the Opera Respiro program in New York, NY.
July 2014
Edward and Heather return to Urbania, Italy to teach students from DePaul University, Albion College and Ouachita Baptist University in the Musica nelle Marche program.
Mezzo soprano Charis Peden performs Tituba in The Crucible and Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro with Spotlight on Opera in Austin.
Opera in Concert, awards $4000 to two DFW singers for summer study in Italy.
August 2014
Soprano Erin Alcorn performs the role of Adina in The Dallas Opera's outreach production of "The Elixir of Love".
Erin Alcorn begins a master's degree study at the University of North Texas.
December 2014
Opera in Concert presents "Gems of French Opera at the Sammons Center in Dallas.
May 2015
Opera in Concert presents "The Bard's Operas", a concert of Shakespeare-themed opera excerpts.
October 2015
Edward Crafts performs Gustav Holst's "Facade" with the Ochestra of New Spain in Dallas and San Antonio.
December 2015
Opera in Concert presents "The Wonderful World of Operetta" in the Sammons Center.
May 2016
Opera in Concert presents "Bravo Rossini!" at the Sammons Center, including a complete performance of La Cambiale di Matrimonio.
June 2016
Opera in Concert in Italy debuts in Urbino, with three weeks of study, performances and excursions for U.S. university students.
December 2016
Opera in Concert presents "Mozart & Salieri: The Mystery Continues!", featuring a complete performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's Mozart and Salieri.
May 2017
Opera in Concert presents "Britain's Best", featuring Sullivan's Cox and Box and Holst's Savitri.
June 2017
Opera in Concert in Italy returns to Urbino for another summer session.
November 2017
Opera in Concert presents "School Daze", featuring complete performances of Chabrier's Une Education Manquee and Fehre's The Schoolmaster.
May 2018
Opera in Concert presents "Donizetti Delights", featuring a complete performance of Il Campanello.
June 2018
Opera in Concert returns to Urbino, Italy for a third summer session.
November 2018
Opera in Concert presents "A Night in Berlin", featuring complete performances of Mahagonny Songspiel by Kurt Weill and The Tide by Boris Blacher.
May 2019
Opera in Concert presents the zarzuela El Barbero de Sevilla at the Latino Cultural Center.
June 2019
Opera in Concert in Italy returns to Urbino for another summer program, giving concerts in Gubbio, Fossombrone and Urbino.
July 2019
Edward Crafts sings Ramfis in Aida with Spotlight on Opera in Shreveport, LA.
December 2019
Opera in Concert presents "Gilbert & Sullivan Rarities" at the Sammons Center, Dallas.
November 2020
Mezzo-soprano Charis Peden wins fourth prize in the Lauritz Melchior International Wagner Competition in Denmark.
June 2021
Heather Ross-Crafts serves as adjudicator for the National Federation of Music Clubs National Voice Competition
July 2021
Soprano Holly Howard appears as Diana in Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underword with the Utah Vocal Arts Academy.
August 2021
Crafts Vocal Studios opens its new location in Weston, CT, about an hour from NYC.
