Opera Studio Norrlandsoperan (ONO)

Operastudio Norrlandsoperan (ONO) – an offering by the School of Music in Piteå at Luleå University of Technology and Norrlandsoperan for aspiring opera singers.

This partnership between Norrlandsoperan and the School of Music in Piteå at Luleå University of Technology provides a special opportunity for 2-4 singing students to receive practical training in opera while enrolled in a one-year or two-year master programme in classical singing. Teaching is provided by the artistic staff at Norrlandsoperan in Umeå and the classical music programme faculty at the School of Music in Piteå.

Operastudio students are assigned a role in a Norrlandsoperan production during the year of their participation. During the opera production period these students are in residence in Umeå, receiving compensation for travels and housing during the rehearsal and performance period. Operastudio students will participate throughout the year in the academic program in Piteå, which offers individual singing lessons, interpretive coaching, and a variety of performance and study opportunities. It is possible to either live in Piteå during the term or commute from another location (commuting students must agree to a study schedule with their faculty and supervisors before the term begins. Commuting costs to Piteå are not paid for through the programme). The examiner is conductor Petter Sundkvist, professor, and the course leader is Katherine Osborne, lecturer in classical singing, both affiliated with the School of Music.

ONO also includes career mentorship, “mock auditions” (in which participants practice the skills needed to apply for work with opera companies), and seminars/workshops presented by experienced teachers from both Norrlandsoperan and School of Music in Piteå at Luleå University of Technology.

Application

A minimum of two and a maximum of four positions are open for application 2026/27, depending upon casting needs for Norrlandsoperan’s (NO) upcoming season. We are currently considering all voice types.

The deadline for application at universityadmissions.se (international students) or antagning.se (Swedish students) is Thursday 15 January 2026.

For more information about the programmes and a link to the electronic application at universityadmissions.se, please visit:

One-year Master:

Music Performance – Master of Arts 60 credits

Two-year Master's degree:

Master Programme in Music Performance

Audition for Opera Studio Norrlandsoperan

Preliminary Audition

The first audition is by video recording. Applicants should record performances of 3 selections: a Baroque or Classical era aria (with a strong preference for Mozart), a Classical or Romantic aria in Italian (with a strong preference for bel canto composers like Donizetti, Bellini, or Rossini) and a song or aria in Swedish. If you do not speak Swedish fluently the Swedish selection can be replaced with a song or aria in your first language, or a language you feel very comfortable speaking.

The video recording should have high-quality audio, and performances should be recorded with a live pianist. Upload recording files onto Youtube.com and submit the links to our admissions email antagningsprovmukom@mailbox.ltu.se.

Please record each aria in one take without any post-production sound or video editing. We ask that you appear in the camera frame consistently for the entire recording and recommend using an external microphone. Please choose a recording space with acoustics that are not excessively live or dry. Please note that candidates not selected for the final ONO audition can use this preliminary audition recording as part of their audition for the programmes at the School of Music.

The video links should be submitted to antagningsprovmukom@mailbox.ltu.se by Thursday January 15, 2026.

Final Audition

The audition panel will review the video auditions and inform applicants if they are invited to the final audition in late January. Finalists should be ready to present the three arias included in their audition recording with two additional arias of their choice during a live audition at Norrlandsoperan on 1 March 2026. Please include contrasting languages, styles, and tempi in your aria audition program. We may ask Opera Studio candidates to learn specific excerpts related to next season's repertoire for the final audition. Specific instructions will be sent to finalists after they are selected.

Other admissions requirements

See information at universityadmissions.se for instructions on how to document your qualifications from non-Swedish universities. Swedish applicants see information at antagning.se.

The formal part of the application is completed through the Swedish university admission system, universityadmissions.se. We strongly urge all applicants to carefully read through the formal documentation requirements. Please see the page linked below for more detailed information and an overview of the requirements.

Instructions regarding formal documentation and proving your bachelor, international applicants

Instructions regarding formal documentation and proving your bachelor , Swedish applicants

Please be advised that approved documentation of the formal academic requirements is required for admission to the studio. See instructions at universityadmissions.se if your Bachelor’s degree was issued outside of Sweden. Applicants with Bachelor's degrees issued within Sweden see information here, antagning.se. An invitation to the final audition or an approved audition is not a guarantee that all your formal documents have been verified and accepted. Failure to supply the required documents will disqualify a candidate. Deadline for submitting formal documentation is February 2, 2026.

Application fees

Students with citizenship in countries not within the EU/EEA, or Switzerland, are required to pay application and tuition fees for university studies in Sweden. Deadline for paying application fees or proving your citizenship is February 2, 2026. For more information, please see this page.

Questions and Further Information

Everyone who supplies an audition recording will be updated about their application status after the audition panel reviews the recordings and selects the finalists. Please contact us if you do not receive this update email by 1 February.

The School of Music in Piteå at Luleå University of Technology

Annie Svensson
Education Administrator
antagningsprovmukom@mailbox.ltu.se

Stefan Larsson
Education Administrator
​antagningsprovmukom@mailbox.ltu.se

Katherine Osborne
Course Leader, Lecturer in Classical Singing
antagningsprovmukom@mailbox.ltu.se