(Credit: Sim Canetty-Clarke)

UC College-Conservatory of Music has announced the appointment of heldentenor Stuart Skelton as its new J. Ralph Corbett Distinguished Chair in Opera. Skelton will replace Marie-France Lefebvre in his new position.

Skelton is regarded as one of today’s leading heldentenors who has appeared at many of the world’s most celebrated opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera House, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opéra national de Paris, Teatro alla Scala, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Berlin, Staatsoper Hamburg, and Semperoper Dresden, among others.

Skelton’s appointment as Chair in Opera begins on Jan. 3, 2022.

“CCM has long been ranked amongst the world’s elite opera training programs,” said CCM’s Dean Stanley E. Romanstein in an official press release. “We are proud to count opera as one of our signature centers of excellence and Stuart Skelton possesses the insight and expertise that will help us guide this program to future heights.”

“As my first semester of Professor of Voice at CCM draws to a close, I am beyond grateful to my students, colleagues and the CCM family for welcoming me so warmly back into the fold. It’s been joyously revelatory to me to be back and watch my students’ growth over the semester as singers and artists. I want to thank Dean Romanstein for his confidence in asking me to take on this new responsibility and of course my colleague Marie-France Lefebvre, whose tireless work and commitment in the position has put our students at the forefront of operatic talent in the US,” said Skelton of his appointment.