Bologna's municipal theatre said Wednesday it will open a new opera school for would-be Pavarottis, directors and conductors in the autumn.
With sponsors including La Scala in Milan, Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome and the Juilliard School in New York, the Italian School of Opera will be the first institute in the country to offer courses on all aspects of Italy's most famous art form.
''The whole world comes to Italy to learn how to sing and how to 'do' opera without having a real benchmark - until now,'' said the theatre's artistic director Marco Tutino.
Bologna Mayor Sergio Cofferati added that the breadth of the school's courses would provide a service for the whole Italian opera industry.
''It fills a gap by uniting training courses for the creation of an entire opera production under one roof,'' he said.
In the first two years of activity, the school will offer 14 courses on different aspects of opera, from singing, directing and conducting to scenery, costumes, wigs and stage management.
The school has drafted in world-famous names to teach the courses including directors Hugo De Ana, Luca Ronconi and Robert Carlsen, conductors Bruno Bartoletti and Roberto Abbado, and singers such as Ruggero Raimondi and Raina Kabaivanska.
Tutino said that attending the school would be free, and that they would be launching a 'private patronage' campaign later this year called Adopt A Talent, which would guarantee some of the students a place to stay in Bologna during their studies.
Pupils wanting to enrol for the school's first term in autumn have until June 15 to sign up, and have to have some previous experience.
''We want to develop Italian opera singing, paying special attention to the legacy of a 400-year-old tradition,'' Tutino said.
