Lecturer in Voice

Mary MacSweeney MA is a fulltime Voice Lecturer and Director of the Opera Platform Ensemble in CITCSM . Previously she was Voice Lecturer at the Hochschule Fuer Musik und Theater in Munich.

Having qualified with a Post Graduate Diploma at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama,in London, Mary was offered seven contracts at german Opera Houses. She chose her first contract at the Cologne State Opera where she sang with Lucia Popp, Gyorgy Fisher, Victor Braun, Sir Geoffrey Tate and others. Engagements followed in the State Theaters of Kaiserslautern, Freiburg, Wiesbaden, Innsbruck, Essen , Stuttgart Ludwigsburg, Trier and others. At the Darmstadt Staatstheater she sang as first lyrical soprano for five years sharing that great stage with singers like Barbara Bonney ,Cheryl Studer and Rachel Joselson. As a concert singer, Mary sang with prestigious orchestras across Europe such as St Martins in the Fields [Namur, Belgium], the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the London Royal Festival Hall [Laslo Heltay , Janet Baker], the Little Venice Orchestra [Stravinsky Cantata and Beethoven Concert Aria], Saarbruecken Philharmonie [Mozart Requiem], RTE Symphony and Concert Orchestra [Judas Maccabaeus, Maritana, Gypsy baron, Mozart concert Aria, Creation, Lunchtime Recitals etc. just to mention a few.

Her concert repertoire includes the great works of Bach, Handel, Haydn ,Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, Kodaly, Poulenc, Stravinsky and others. She has sung the main roles of her Lyric Soprano Fach including

Susanna ... Marriage of Figaro, Mozart

Cherubin ...

Zerlina … Don Giovanni.. Mozart

Illia.. Idomeneo.. Mozart

Dorabella…Cosi van Tutte… Mozart

Pamina… Magic Flute…. Mozart

Mimi..La Boheme… Puccini

Manon… Manon Lescaut ..Massenet

Marenka … Bartered Bride… Smetana

Euridice…. Offenbach

Laetitia… The old Maid and the Thief… Menotte

Juliet…. Romeo and Juliet …Boris Blacher

Puffmutter… Fastnachtsbeichte …G. Klebe

Marianne… Jacobovsky und der Oberst [World Premiere ] G Klebe

Electress... Vogelhaendler ...Zeller

Saffi ... The Gypsy Baron...  Johann Strauss

Maritana .... Maritana ...Wallace

Nuri …. Tiefland …. D’Albert

Felice…. Die Vier Grobiane ….W. Ferrari

Echo … Ariadne auf Naxos… Strausss

Hanna Glawari …. The Merry Widow … Lehar

Fenena … Nabucco … Verdi….

And many others….

Mary MacSweeney always had a passion for the pedagogy of singing. In fact teaching itself flows through her veins. She studied and researched with the greatest of teachers such as Walther Gruner, Vera Rozsa, Veronica Dunne, Eva Ambrosius, Gladys Kuchta and Anna Reynolds. She herself has established an international reputation of excellence as a Voice Coach, Singing Teacher, Mentor of young singers, Musician and Ensemble Director.

While working in the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater in Munich, she created her own Methodology of Voice Training called Voicenergetics. This method incorporates the traditions of the Italien Bel Canto, the German School of Martiensen Lohman and aspects of physical and breathing training from the Bioenergetic and Yoga. Mary has a Yoga Diploma qualification from the 3H Organisation in Hamburg. She also spent many years training in the Bioenergetic [DOK] with Dr Phil Elizabeth Schneider Henn [Munich ] Dr Thomas Ehrensberger [Basel] and Dr R Frank [ Salzburg].

This work combined with Mary’s vast experience as an opera singer feeds into her Voice Classes, Vocal Support Class [Movement,breathing, language, sing-gym] and into her Opera Platform Ensemble. In this Platform, singers are introduced to singing opera through ensemble singing and supporting roles. Later in their development, they are cast in leading roles for the numerous concerts performed by this ensemble. This Platform is a creatively exciting and inspiring place of learning, growth, exploration, camaraderie and fun. It is an ideal ground to prepare young singers for the demands of professional life, auditions and careers in the Operatic World.