Jorge Arcila

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Stage director, diction and style coach, opera expert. A powerful singing actor with a special affinity for the basso buffo repertory, In the words of a critic, Mr. Arcila creates “wonderfully deep characterizations of great common sense”. Associations: Teatro Teresa Carreño, Sinfónica de Puerto Rico, Sinfónica de Venezuela, Orquesta Simón Bolívar. Professor of Diction and Style University Institute of Musical Studies, José Angel Lamas Conservatory in Caracas. Faculty, Barry University, New World School of the Arts. Master of Music in Performance, City University of New York. Modern Languages and Translation degree, Central University of Venezuela. Technical Degree in Audiovisual Education, Caracas University College. Professor Arcila maintains an active vocal studio in Miami and New York City. 

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"Working with lyric singers is a marvelous task because I see in them the living miracle of artistic creation in such a demanding field as opera. The work of an opera singer requires devotion in many areas, for this reason his/her work on the different platforms (opera, recital, symphonic) is a task that requires maximum intelligence and preparation. I have dedicated a great part of my life to studying the different aspects to be developed in the process of becoming an opera singer. During my years as student-performer, I acquired substantial knowledge in the field of opera and developed a keen understanding of the different styles and acting techniques that I now pass onto the new generation of lyric singers with whom I work. My search for all of those tools needed in order to become a well-rounded opera singer, took me to study different disciplines. Languages; discipline that enabled me to discover and study in depth the linguistic and poetic message embedded in the texts we perform; Vocal Performance to go deep into the reality we experience while performing on the stage, Media Anchoring and Communications, to study the value of declamation, a forgotten but useful discipline that gives life to the various sung and spoken dramatic moments in an opera and Education to master and apply the different techniques to make all this information reach the student in the most efficient way".

Jorge Arcila

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Daniel Daroca

Pianist, professor and vocal coach with ample experience in the music industry as a performer, coach, international artist manager and producer. Master of Music, University of Miami. Doctoral studies Manhattan School of Music. Post graduate studies, Vienna Conservatory. Past and present associations include: The Juilliard School, Kean University, FIU, Festival Casals, Wexford Festival Opera, Opera de Colombia, Barry University, NWSA. Musical Director of The Opera Atelier. As a manager, he has negotiated and obtained contracts for singers with numerous companies including Opera de Oviedo, Festival de Opera Alfredo Kraus, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Carolina, Virginia Opera, San Antonio Opera, Knoxville Opera, Opera de Bogotá, Prolírica de Antioquia, Sinfónica de Puerto Rico, and Festival Casals. He maintains a network of industry contacts in the US and abroad.
    

"I have enjoyed wearing many hats: pianist, vocal coach, agent, life coach, and teacher. I believe in improving oneself, in striving for excellence. Guiding singers to find their ideal repertory, to develop musical eloquence, to believe in themselves, and to find their own voices gives me great pleasure.

Starting from piano music, I found my way to vocal music and opera. In my work with singers I often refer to harmony, counterpoint and form, essential aspects as they illuminate musical phrasing and eloquence. Expression is everything: take Callas. I seek to inspire beyond the trite; and beyond the mere correcting of mistakes, I work on developing genuinely artistic delivery. Art makes life more meaningful, and, in a way, it redeems us.

As a manager, helping singers to get to the stage onstage and assisting them to develop their careers has been a unique privilege; being there and enjoying their live performances, a fulfilling experience that I treasure. Through my work with singers and instrumentalists, I have come to realize that the performer's difficulties often lie beyond artistic factors and have to do with factors of human development and psychological and emotional aspects. As musicians, we develop the art of listening. As teachers, we learn to listen to the whole being. The Opera Atelier is the optimal vehicle to share and develop my musical, pedagogical and psychological insights because we concentrate on developing the singularity of each artist in a comprehensive, holistic way, within the humanistic tradition".

Daniel Daroca

Xiomara Ponce

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Anthropologist, psychologist, lacanian psychoanalyst, creativity coaching, sculptor. Studies: Master of Science, Psychology, Central University of Venezuela, postgraduate studies in Management at Metropolitan University of Venezuela. Professor, Universidad Central de Venezuela. Author of various articles on artists and their challeges, Psychoanalisis, and Literature (poems). Significant contributions in the field of housing policy and social issues of Venezuela.

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"Since childhood, I have admired art and sensibility. As a child, creating plays and singing in the shower were my favorite games. When I entered University, I started my cultural anthropology studies at college, in search of knowledge, and in search of an understanding of the process of creation of the diverse art works created by Man in his cultural manifestations. (This interest has been oriented towards learning the artistic expressions created by Man as well as learning about the subjective challenges, inhibitions and the inner setbacks that artists face in the development of their talent).

I obtained my Master’s Degree in Psychology and later continued my studies in Lacanian psychoanalysis, discipline to which I have devoted myself for the last 25 years. I have gained my professional experience mainly in different institutions, where I worked empowering people emotionally so they could fulfill their goals. It is wonderful to be able to work with artists in their creative process, which comes from nothingness and builds, in a permanent movement, the most complete expression of humanity: Art.

My work in The Opera Atelier is to provide singers with psychoanalytically-oriented coaching, so they can understand their inner world and distinguish the intensity of their desire and the obstacles in fulfilling their realization and complete expression. Also, I enjoy molding clay to create sculptures while I hear different opera arias. They accompany and inspire me while I find in the clay the forms that I conceive in my mind, the forms that take me from nothingness towards mysterious and unknown characters that emerge to question me once again about my unconscious".

Xiomara Ponce

Jacqueline Solorzano

Creativity & Art Coach, Lawyer, Mathematician, Media and Web Design Specialist, founder and general director, leading organization housing policy, Venezuela. Mention of National Habitat Prize (2002) UNESCO. Studies: Law degree, Universidad Central de Venezuela, postgraduate studies, Organizational Development. University professor, Venezuela. Co-author of a reference book on Labor Law for artists, and various articles on Lacanian Psychoanalysis. 

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"I was born under the sign of Pisces on March 8th. I attended High School at the prestigious Liceo Aplicación in Caracas, Venezuela. Later I continued my studies at the University Institute of Technology (IUT_RC) to study Applied Mathematics and Physics, but while I was taking the General Studies courses, the Math Department was eliminated due to low enrollment!. I decided then to study Law, and graduated as an attorney from Universidad Central de Venezuela. 
Still very young and due to profound discrepancies with the academic discourse, since I am totally phobic to standards and dogma-,I became a self-declared autodidact. I have studied Lacanian Psychoanalysis for over twenty years. I am a web designer, life coach and avid reader. In my life as an attorney I was a founder and general director of an important organization in the area of housing policy in my country, to which I devoted ten years of my professional life, during which I obtained significant achievements and recognitions. I decided to leave my country due to the political asphyxia I was experiencing, and I came to the United States, where I have continued to study photography, web design, and even violin and music theory, in addition to my studies in Psychoanalysis. Working fundamentally on emphasizing each person’s individuality, and helping clients to discover their desires and aspirations and also to help make it come to fruition, from the starting point of their characteristics, objectives and aspirations as artists, helping them to obtain satisfaction and to reach their goals in their professional careers. I am a coach helping them to achieve tangible desired changes in their lives. Coach or couch? We can talk about it in our first session, or also, talk about classical music, violin, opera, poetry, or madness!"

Jacqueline Solórzano

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