Chautauqua today announced the appointment of internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves-Montgomery as Artistic Advisor and distinguished baritone Jonathan Beyer as Director of the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory. Together, they will help shape the program’s future during a pivotal time of transition and growth, building upon the 44-year legacy created by the late Marlena Malas. 

Graves-Montgomery will set the vision and priorities for the Opera Conservatory. Beyer will help shape and execute that vision, both through a close partnership with Graves-Montgomery in the planning phases and in overseeing the Conservatory’s day-to-day operations. Graves-Montgomery will bring her unparalleled prowess and vision to the Opera Conservatory as the artistic advisor, working collaboratively with Beyer. During the conservatory’s six weeks in residence, she will provide her expertise during scheduled visits, offering invaluable mentorship to our 25 students, our faculty and our staff. 

“Denyce Graves-Montgomery’s stature in the industry is legendary, and we are honored that she will bring her pedagogical expertise and ethos of equity and inclusion to Chautauqua. Jonathan Beyer is a long-time faculty member of Chautauqua Opera Conservatory, beloved by our students and ready to bring not only continuity but innovation to this program,” said Vice President of Performing and Visual Arts Laura Savia. “As we aim to honor the legacy of the late Marlena Malas, a giant in the field, we are inspired by the excellence, artistry, and relevance that Denyce and Jonathan bring to this storied program.” 

Graves-Montgomery’s vision for nurturing young and emerging artists is deeply informed by her illustrious performing career and extensive experience in education. Since 2012, she has held the prestigious Rosa Ponselle Endowed Chair at the Johns Hopkins Peabody Conservatory. Since 2020, she has contributed her expertise to Juilliard’s the Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts. She sits on several boards and regularly adjudicates international competitions. She also facilitates master classes at The Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Washington National Opera Cafritz Young Artists Program, and other schools and companies. Graves-Montgomery sees the Opera Conservatory as a bastion where bespoke development and unique performance exposure will spark and ignite world-class talents the Opera Conservatory intends to attract, and that pushes them forward into professional careers. 

Graves-Montgomery is a Grammy Award-winning artist who has recorded for the venerated labels BMG Classics, RCA Red Seal, NPR Classics, EMI Classics, and Deutsche Gramophone. Her Emmy Award-winning BBC Special “The Royal Opera House” highlighted her performances there, and the Emmy earned by her self-produced PBS special “Denyce Graves: Breaking the Rules” were catalysts early in her career. 

Roles spanning the standard repertory, from Herodias to Baba the Turk, Judith to Charlotte, Dorabella to Giulietta, La Gran Vestale to Erica, Lucretia and a host of others have peppered her career; her signature calling-card roles of Carmen and Dalilah have graced the stages of the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Teatro Colon Buenos Aires, San Francisco Opera, Opera National de Paris and many other stages. She’s a champion of world premieres and works by living composers: Cummings, Puts, Seaton/Simon (collaboration), Danielpour, Muhly, Goldenthal, Blanchard, Cuomo, and Heggie, where her performances further proved her bona fides as a singing actress par excellence whose searing portrayals captivated audiences and critics alike. 

The centerpiece of Graves-Montgomery’s artistic imagination and creative work now is The Denyce Graves Foundation (DGF), which was founded in 2021 to achieve equity and inclusion across the classical vocal arts musical spectrum through educational outreach, new works of art, philanthropic investment in the singers of tomorrow, and championing the hidden musical figures of the past while uplifting young artists of world-class talent. 

While she continues to assay new roles, next season singing Don Fernando in Fidelio for Washington National Opera and one of her favorites, Maria in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, she will further cement her recent career step into directing as director for Loving vs. Virginia, a new opera by composer Damien Geter, for Virginia Opera. She returns to Mary, The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson (Simon/Seaton) for Raliegh Opera, having sung this heroine at Glimmerglass, Washington National Opera, and Opera Carolina with others to come. She believes and is working indefatigably to ensure that DGF’s mission of creating a more compassionate world through the arts remains accessible and vibrant for future generations. 

“I am deeply inspired and profoundly honored to lead the artistic vision of the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory,” shared Graves-Montgomery. “Steeped in tradition and in reverence to the legacy of the late great Marlena Malas, I stand poised to advance this extraordinary journey, further solidifying the Conservatory’s legacy as a premier training ground for the most exceptional young singers. Together with Jonathan Beyer, I am committed to transcending the conventional boundaries of classical music through compelling storytelling and a steadfast dedication to creating an equitable stage for all voices. I created the Denyce Graves Foundation to foster an environment where many stories can be told, and all singers feel a true sense of belonging. With that mission in mind, Jonathan and I are prepared to join forces with Chautauqua Institution to create an even more outstanding Opera Conservatory.”   

Beyer began as a student in the Opera Conservatory in 2003 and has served in various capacities since 2009, so he brings much experience to this role. As director, he will lead daily operations, supervise faculty and staff and be one of the resident teaching faculty. Beyer will work closely with Graves-Montgomery on all programming, ensuring the highest educational and artistic excellence level. He will also provide artistic guidance for budgeting and support fundraising efforts. Beyer will be in residence for the duration of the six-week program. 

As a vocal instructor, in addition to his time here at Chautauqua, Beyer has taught at the Curtis Institute of Music, Montclair State University, Manhattan School of Music, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, University of British Columbia and others. Throughout his career, he has performed with prestigious companies and orchestras worldwide, including the Metropolitan Opera, Oper Frankfurt, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Orchestra, Dallas Opera, The Royal Opera House of Oman, Opera Darmstadt, Fort Worth Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera de Montreal, Hong Kong Opera, Detroit Symphony, the Festival at Aix-en-Provence, Chicago Symphony, Munich Philharmonic and more.  

He was a national finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition and the first-place winner of the Marian Anderson Prize for Emerging Classical Artists. Also, he received many awards from prestigious organizations such as the George London Foundation, Sullivan Foundation, Bel Canto Foundation and more. An avid recitalist, Beyer has performed with the esteemed Carnegie Hall Foundation, Chicago Cultural Center, Judith Raskin Foundation, Vocal Arts Society and more. He holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. 

“The Chautauqua Institution has always been a very special place to me. Beginning as a student and evolving into an educator, my journey has been deeply intertwined with the Institution’s rich legacy and mission. Inspired by luminaries like Marlena Malas, I am impassioned to infuse the Conservatory with the same technical rigor, artistic excellence, and adaptability that have been foundational to my own growth, while making thoughtful adjustments to meet the ever-changing demands of a vocal career in today’s musical climate,” shared Beyer. “I look forward to collaborating with the remarkable Denyce Graves to foster an environment where all students feel empowered, valued, and free to explore their artistic potential. Denyce and I couldn’t be more excited about this next chapter for the Chautauqua Conservatory.” 

Graves-Montgomery and Beyer will begin their tenure in September 2024. Audition applications for the 2025 Opera Conservatory season are scheduled to open on Sept. 1, 2024. The 2025 season will feature Graves-Montogomery as a part of the Chautauqua Lecture Series and a soloist with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra during Week Three: “Art in Action: Building Community Through the Arts.” 

ABOUT CHAUTAUQUA OPERA CONSERVATORY  
Chautauqua Opera Conservatory is an intensive educational program that seeks to offer the highest caliber of training for some of the most promising young singers who are on their way to professional careers. The program has been under the late Marlena Malas for 44 years. Each year, through a competitive audition and admissions process, this select group of singers is chosen to study, coach, and perform for five to six weeks on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution. The Conservatory produces two operas each summer, one with the Music School Festival Orchestra in the historic Amphitheater and a smaller, more intimate opera in McKnight Hall.  To round out the season, the Opera Conservatory joins the Chautauqua Opera Company for a workshop reading of a new opera. 

As part of their intensive training, students are also involved in numerous weekly master classes, recitals, and concerts led by world-renowned guest artists and resident faculty, which have included Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Brian Zeger, Mikael Eliasen, Ricky Ian Gordon, Ben Moore, Adam Nielsen and Craig Rutenberg, among others.  

ABOUT CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION  
Chautauqua Institution is a not-for-profit, 750-acre community on Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York State where approximately 7,500 people are in residence on any day during a nine-week summer season. More than 100,000 attend scheduled public events each year and even more engage online via the streaming channel CHQ Assembly. Chautauqua is dedicated to the exploration of the best in human values and the enrichment of life through a program that explores the important religious, social and political issues of our times; stimulates provocative, thoughtful involvement of individuals and families in creative response to such issues; and promotes excellence and creativity in the appreciation, performance and teaching of the arts. The Institution celebrates its sesquicentennial in 2024.  

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