Assistant Professor of Music Drake Dantzler is a well-known vocalist of today’s opera scene

He has appeared in productions such as “Pride and Prejudice: the Musical,” “Sweeney Todd,” “The Merry Widow” and countless others.

This past January, Dantzler brought the university’s first student opera production, “Cosí fan Tutte,” to the Varner Recital Hall stage. In addition to this university first, Dantzler agrees that the students at Oakland University should be made aware of the Opera Program.

Before becoming involved in opera, Dantzler went to college to explore careers in math and economics.

Dantzler chose to add teaching to his career in honor of a teacher that he had at Vanderbilt College.

“Teaching is great, it is very rewarding,” he said.

Dantzler feels teaching allows him to give back to the student body, especially the opera and voice majors here at OU.

In order for an opera student to reach Doctorate level in their degrees, the time spent on schooling totals nine years.

Current junior, Constantine Novotny, has been a student of Dantzler’s for a year and a half.

“Dr. D (is) our most important link to the world of professional singers,” he said. “(He is) the closest professor to our age and thus can give us the best idea of what the world is like for young singers after we finish school.”

Throughout his time as an opera student, Novotny values the lessons taught by Dantzler.

“A pretty voice is not the only thing that a singer needs to have in order to succeed — we also need to be able to act. In every rehearsal for the opera or every opera workshop class he hugely focuses on bringing out the actor in us and how to keep the audience interested,” Novotny said.

To learn more visit www.drakedentzler.com or contact Dantzler at [email protected].

 

—-Contact staff intern Sarah Blanchette via email at [email protected]

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