© MHS

Opera Studio Münster

For the 2022/23 season, Münster Theatre, together with the Münster University of Music, has launched the Münster Opera Studio to comprehensively support particularly talented young singers in the transition between vocal training and starting a career as an opera singer and to qualify them for a profession that requires many other artistic and personal qualifications in addition to musical training.

The Opera Studio Münster offers students the opportunity to gain real-world experience in a professional opera setting, accompanied by targeted instruction and mentoring offered by the Münster University of Music. Depending on their suitability and skills for certain roles, the singers will be directly involved in the opera productions at Theater Münster. They will be given parts to study and perform. The Opera Studio provides members with audition coaching and can help them produce digital application materials. The programme is supplemented by cross-genre projects, courses and workshops on various themes.

The Münster Opera Studio offers outstanding graduates of artistic Bachelor's degree programmes and/or Master's degree programmes in ‘Singing’ at all universities of music the opportunity to embark on a career as a soloist in musical theatre.
This takes place as part of the four-semester university Master's programme ‘Music and Creativity’ at Münster University of Music (if no comparable degree is available) or as part of the two-semester certificate programme ‘Certificate Year of Study’.
The members of the Opera Studio are given the opportunity to work in professional productions at Münster Theatre for one or two seasons and gain their first practical professional experience in the form of a paid internship during their studies.

© MHS, Peter Lessmann

Interested?

At the start of the winter semester 2025/26, Münster Theatre, in cooperation with Münster University of Music, is once again offering up to six places for the Münster Opera Studio.

A place in the Münster Opera Studio can be taken up on admission to the four-semester Master's degree programme Music and Creativity or the two-semester certificate programme Certificate Year of Study at Münster University of Music.

Please apply by 17 January 2025 for the Opera Studio via the digital application portal of the Münster Theatre and in the usual application window for the Master's programme or certificate year via the online portal of the University of Music.

Application deadline for the Opera Studio at Münster Theatre: 17.01.2025
Audition at the Münster Theatre: 25./26.02.2025
Application deadline for Münster University of Music: 10.04.2025
Start of opera studio contract: 28.08.2025
Start of studies at the University of Music: 01.10.2025

You can find all details on the call for applications here.

Other interesting facts about the Münster Opera Studio:

  • Institutions

    © MHS, Hanna Neander

    Münster University of Music

    The Münster University of Music offers some 500 study places to students in all undergraduate and graduate courses of study. Its activities range from young talent promotion through the Youth Academy, artistic and pedagogically oriented bachelor’s and master’s programmes, teaching degree programmes for prospective music teachers at schools of general education, to certification of musical excellence in concert examinations and artistic doctoral study.

    Our programmes are taught by some 200 instructors, and students regularly receive additional training from renowned visiting artists.

    As one of five higher education institutions of music in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Münster University of Music enjoys an exceptional status as both an independent faculty of the University of Münster  and a legally registered school of art.

    Students and instructors of the University of Music see themselves as an active and essential part of Münster’s urban culture and maintain close contact with the cultural organisations of the city and the Münsterland region.

    © Oliver Berg

    Theater Münster

    Theater Münster is a large municipal theatre with five artistic departments: music theatre, drama, dance, concert and youth theatre. It stages some 30 premieres and 600 productions every season in its large auditorium (Großes Haus), the smaller auditorium (Kleines Haus), the performance venue “U2” and various external venues in Münster.

    As a university town, central cultural hub in upper North Rhine-Westphalia and the historical site of the Peace of Westphalia, Münster and its modern theatre, built in 1956, offer an ideal environment for communicative and contemporary theatre productions which focus on past achievements, current issues and future challenges.

    Productions are planned with special emphasis on cross-departmental collaboration and digital working methods. In the music theatre department, a diverse repertoire ranging from Baroque masterpieces to contemporary music with new perspectives is presented at all the venues operated by Theater Münster. The dance department invites the audience to experience movement as a community-building element. The acting department presents the latest modern dramatic works, while its youth theatre strives to dismantle barriers and build bridges between generations. Last but not least, the concert department is devoted to presenting a diverse range of classical and contemporary musical compositions.

  • Academic programme

    © Christoph Schulte im Walde

    Master’s degree programme Music and Creativity

    The practice-oriented musical master’s degree programme Music and Creativity enables students to acquire in-depth, musical-artistic competence. The knowledge, skills and methods taught in the programme allow graduates to independently pursue their chosen occupation at the highest (artistic) level and creatively, practically and systematically shape the development of music. The standard duration of study for the master’s degree programme Music and Creativity is four semesters.

    You can find detailed information about the curricula and the skills graduates acquire in this programme in the examination regulations for the master’s degree programme Music and Creativity.

    Members of the Opera Studio may take advantage of other courses offered at the Münster University of Music (e.g. scenic instruction, German and French diction etc.) and participate in (mixed-class) concerts in and outside the University of Music. If desired, students can also put together their own song programmes with accompaniment on a historical pianoforte from the Beetz Collection.

    To acquire additional qualifications, members of the Opera Studio can apply to participate in free elective courses (space is limited).

    Students complete their academic programme and participate in the Opera Studio in the buildings and premises of the Münster University of Music and Theater Münster. Both institutions are located downtown within a short distance from one another.

     

    Certificate programme Music Certificate

    The music certificate programme offers students the chance to primarily concentrate on a major subject and to comprehensively improve and expand their artistic abilities.

    The standard duration of study for the certificate programme Music Certificate is two semesters.

    You can find detailed information about the curricula and the skills graduates acquire in this programme in the examination regulations for certificate programme Music Certificate.

    A language certificate is not required for the application.

    Students complete their academic programme and participate in the Opera Studio in the buildings and premises of the Münster University of Music and Theater Münster. Both institutions are located downtown within a short distance from one another.

  • Coordinators

    © Oliver Berg, Theater Münster / Tolmein
    Golo Berg, General Music Director

    Dr Katharina Kost-Tolmein,
    General Theatre Director and Head of Music Theatre

     

    Singing instructors at the Münster University of Music
     
    Stefan Adam
    Prof. Annette Koch 
    Prof. Ines Krome
    Fritz Steinbacher
  • Contact

    © PicturePeople

    The contact partner for Opera Studio members at the Münster University of Music is Prof. Annette Koch (email).

    For questions concerning Theater Münster, please contact Dr Katharina Kost-Tolmein via Fabienne Kamsinski (email, tel.: +49 251 5909-106).

    For general questions concerning the application modalities for the Master of Music and the Music Certificate, please contact the staff at the Studienbüro at the University of Music.

    Postal address:
    Musikhochschule Münster
    FB 15 der Universität Münster
    Ludgeriplatz 1
    48151 Münster