'La soirée de l'Année'
Saba Naseem
Issue date: 4/24/09 Section: Lifestyles
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Although Leanne Scaggs, a recent UA graduate, has been accepted to the academy, with the economy in shambles, she is in need for money to pay for the expenses. To help raise money, Scaggs will be hosting "La soirée de l'Année," a benefit recital, next Friday.
The Franco-American Vocal Academy is an esteemed program that offers professional training for opera singers during a six-week-long session.
Through the program, Scaggs will have the privilege of working one-on-one with William Lewis from the Metropolitan Opera and Frederique Added from the Paris Opera.
She also will receive weekly voice lessons, daily French language classes and coaching; experience multiple performances of a fully-staged opera; and have the opportunity to sing in master classes with Carlos Montane of the Metropolitan Opera.
"The importance of attending a summer program can be astronomical for a singer," Scaggs said. "This is how singers are able to form a network, which may very well help launch their professional singing career.
"Word-of-mouth goes a long way in this business," she said. "It's a cut-throat field, so just one good (or bad) word from a prestigious conductor or coach could potentially make (or break) your singing career."
Scaggs said that singing has always been a big part of her life.
"My love for music and singing came, I think, as a result of going to church all my life where I would read the music in the hymnbook as I listened to my mom sing the soprano line," Scaggs said.
"My mother has been a great inspiration for me - from the moment she begin singing lullabies to me to now," she said.
Scaggs began singing opera in the spring of 2005 when she volunteered to be an extra in the upcoming production of "Suor Angelica" by Giacomo Puccini.
The experience was so different and unique that it captivated her. Since then, she has been in every production and has had numerous leading and supporting roles both at the UA and at the Opera in the Ozarks in Eureka Springs.
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