Far removed from the designer reality-show sets, a different “real world” plays out, a short distance away from the overpriced bungalows of Silicon Valley. Each year, Opera San José chooses budding vocalists for its resident company. They live in a 14-unit apartment complex and pursue the dream of becoming a professional opera singer. Spark drops in on this unique solution to the affordable housing crisis: a generous arts organization enabling gifted singers to live and work together full time as they prepare for their débuts. Currently in production is the 19th-century George Bizet opera “The Pearl Fishers.”

A principal artist at New York’s Metropolitan Opera for 20 seasons, general director Irene Dalis founded Opera San José in 1984. With support from a dedicated subscriber and sponsor base, the company acquired two 24,000-square-foot operations facilities and two apartment buildings (14 units total) for free artist housing. The singers participate in the equivalent of opera boot camp: They perform at least four feature or leading roles in Opera San José productions during one season. All the singers receive an annual salary, benefits and free housing.

Dalis and music director David Rohrbaugh patterned this residency after Dalis’s experiences as a youth in a German opera company whose singers were housed together. The arrangement allowed residents to completely immerse themselves in their art without worrying about rent. It is this spirit of community and creativity that Dalis successfully transplanted to San Jose.

In its explorationof the Opera San José company, the Spark episode “Making Room for Art” shows that drama isn’t limited to the stage. Six of the company singers live in an apartment building located a 15-minute drive from the rehearsal hall. A husband and wife singing duo live with their two children (it is rare in the opera world to be parents because of the high risk of catching colds). They all take vocal lessons, experience a pending theater relocation, and go through production issues and wardrobe malfunctions. When they return to their apartments, it’s back to bills, dirty diapers (for some) and what’s for dinner.

The program accelerates the learning process and prepares singers for the rigors of a professional opera career. They don’t have to deliver pizzas or singing telegrams to make a buck. What Opera San José has accomplished is one of the most innovative artists-in-residence programs in the country — a program that enables artists to work on their craft 24/7. In a unique twist to reality programming, nobody gets voted off.

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Making Room for Art

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