VCUarts Adjunct Instructor, Department of Music - Opera Stage Director

About the Role

The Department of Music at Virginia Commonwealth University seeks to hire a part‑time, non‑credit adjunct instructor specializing in Opera Directing, beginning on January 19, 2027. The department offers the Bachelor of Music in Performance, the Bachelor of Arts, and the Bachelor of Music in Music Education. Its opera program, founded 77 years ago, has received numerous awards from the National Opera Association. Productions are staged in the Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall of the Singleton Center on VCU’s Monroe campus. Candidates with professional opera experience or experience within a university program are encouraged to apply. The ideal candidate embraces both traditional stagings of opera and modern approaches to the art form and will direct and produce a fully staged opera production in the Spring semester, including casting student performers and coordinating with the vocal coach and conductor.

Responsibilities

• Serve as Stage Director of the opera program in coordination with the Producer.
• Prepare students for staged opera productions, attending all room‑staging and on‑stage rehearsals in collaboration with the conductor and/or vocal coach.
• Cast student performers and serve on appropriate audition panels.
• Promote the VCU Music opera program and engage with the community as desired.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree or equivalent professional experience with a national profile as an Opera Stage Director.
• Thorough knowledge of operatic literature.
• Experience directing opera performances at the university or professional level.
• Record of excellence teaching students at the highest professional level.
• Demonstrated ability to foster an environment of respect, professionalism, and civility with faculty, staff, and students from diverse backgrounds, or a commitment to do so as a faculty member at VCU.

Preferred Qualifications

• Doctorate or ABD status at the time of appointment.
• Evidence of leadership, organizational, and interpersonal skills.