Maryland Lyric Opera has announced a bold growth and revitalization plan beginning with its current 2017–2018 season.

The company announced the expansion of its flagship MDLO Young Artist Institute, the appointments of Louis Salemno as Music Director and William Stone as Head of Voice Faculty and the return to fully staged productions beginning with the 2018–2019 season.

In a press statement Founder and Artistic Director Brad Clark said, “By expanding its MDLO Young Artist Institute, and by naming Louis Salemno and William Stone to key positions in its administration, Maryland Lyric Opera rededicates itself to its mission of providing essential training and performance opportunities to the most gifted performers of the next generation.

Clark continued, “With key personnel in place, I am proud that we can grow our training regimen to include more students than ever before, and to keep the program completely free.”

The company will inaugurate its season with MDLO Young Artist Institute offering four sessions of intensive vocal instruction to promising young singers. On the final day of each Institute session, the singers will perform in a Gala Concert that will be free to the local community.

In addition to the program, the company will return to producing fully staged opera performances at an intimately scaled theater in Maryland in 2018-19 and it promises to be a mix of popular classics as well as operas that are rarely performed in the region.