Quotes
The list of professional singers who have spent their summers at Inspiration Point is both impressive and lengthy. Opera in the Ozarks is not only one of the oldest summer opera training programs in the country, but it is acknowledged by opera educators to be one of the best total experiences for career entry artists.
The alumni quotes will give you insight into what Opera in the Ozarks alumni experienced as young performing artists and what it meant to their development as opera professionals.
Below are just a couple of examples:
“Everyone has heard the old saying, ‘every journey begins with a single step,’ and nowhere is it truer than in a professional opera career. Opera in the Ozarks was my first step in that career. It was there that I learned how to perform under pressure. I had already performed opera on the University level, but Opera in the Ozarks was the place where I could sing in the native tongue and in a repertory situation where I was singing and working every night. This was invaluable to me professionally. To know if one can do something, the safest way to find out is to do it.”
–Mark Delavan
“The invaluable education and musical experience I received from Inspiration Point continues to help me even today as I sing at the world’s great opera houses.”
–Chris Merritt, Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Covent Garden, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera
