Paris Opera Creates a Paid Route into the Chorus Profession

The Paris Opera is extending its academy into a field that receives less attention than solo singing but is central to an opera house’s daily work: the professional chorus. A new residency for the 2027/28 season will combine paid employment, specialist training and participation in main-stage productions.

The programme begins on August 23, 2027, and runs through July 2028. Residents will receive €2,300 gross per month under a full-time professional training contract, with no tuition fees. The arrangement requires availability to the company throughout the contract, except where written permission for absence has been granted.

Online applications through MUVAC close on December 31, 2026. Auditions are scheduled for February 5 and 6, 2027, at the Opéra Bastille, with invitations issued from January 11. Applicants need a bachelor-equivalent qualification and/or a recommendation from a musical professional and should not already hold salaried employment in a professional chorus.

The practical work will include joining selected Paris Opera productions as additional chorus members and appearing in academy projects. The training menu extends from vocal coaching and mock auditions to Alexander Technique, sophrology, French-language support, stage appearance and communication skills.

The scheme develops the academy’s existing combination of teaching and professional experience, established when the structure opened in 2015. Its purpose is to introduce younger singers to the artistic identity and working methods of the house while helping them move into employment.

For prospective applicants, the attraction is the combination of income and sustained exposure to an opera company’s routine. The commitment is equally substantial: this is a full-time residency with service obligations, rather than a short course that can be fitted around unrelated work. Its first recruitment cycle will show how the company translates that ambition into a new pathway for ensemble singers.