25 years of nurturing the next generation of opera talent

Image © Jette Parker Artists Programme

In 2026, The Royal Opera, based in Covent Garden, London is celebrating 25 years of connecting young UK artists to professional careers in the world’s leading opera and ballet companies, through the Jette Parker Artists Programme. Of these 25 years, Oak has been supporting the programme for 22 of them.
“The programme is a professional residency for curious artists of exceptional talent, who want to intensify the development of their craft and take their first steps on the international stage,” says Elaine Kidd, head of the Jette Parker Artists Programme.

25 years of opportunity
Founded in 2001, the programme has now provided opportunities for more than 150 artists. Since 2004, Oak Foundation’s support has secured the programme’s long-term sustainability – and helped ensure the future of opera.
The programme seeks to discover, nurture and train talented young artists at the start of their careers, providing a bridge to professional opportunities they may not otherwise be able to access.
Conductors, singers and répétiteurs (versatile rehearsal musicians and tutors) can audition for a two-year salaried contract with The Royal Opera or Royal Ballet. During this time, young artists train to refine their craft and develop their creative identity, while immersed in every aspect of opera production and the busy working life of London’s Royal Opera House.

Confidence and inspiration
Many of the programme’s alumni have forged high-profile international careers – with more than half returning to work at The Royal Opera or Royal Ballet in the past five years.
‘I can say with full confidence that my experience on the stage, and covering these roles, has helped me grow as an artist,’ said mezzo-soprano singer Veena Akama-Makia, as she prepared to perform alongside other young artists in a production of Carmen in April 2026.[1]
Acclaimed mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina, from the Republic of Bashkortostan in the Russian Federation, began her career through the Jette Parker Artists Programme. Encouraged by her family of amateur singers from a young age, she has since gone from strength to strength, earning international acclaim and recording her first album in 2024. Reflecting on her career, she says: “I cannot be put in a cage. Like the character of Carmen, I always fight for my freedom.”[2]
As well as the core two-year residencies, young artists can apply to a range of other vocational training opportunities, with short courses for emerging conductors, directors, and writers. The programme’s ‘Observerships’ help demystify the creative process at the Royal Opera House, and have proved a powerful route to the profession for diverse emerging talent from communities with fewer opportunities in the arts.

A year of celebrations
The Royal Opera has a full programme of events and exhibitions to honour the 25^th anniversary. This includes a two-day Retrospective festival in the Linbury Theatre, a Jukebox event where the audience decides the music, an exhibition in the Linbury Foyer, and the culminating Summer Performance, which will see the whole cohort perform on the Royal Opera House’s Main Stage. Jette Parker Young Artists will also perform recitals throughout the 2026-27 season, offering audiences the chance to hear future stars.
‘It has been a privilege and one of the great joys of my life to support the programme,’ Jette Parker says. ‘I feel immensely proud and humbled to see how the artists flourish, grow in confidence, craft and ambition, and to see so many go on to become world class performers, singing on the great international stages and the Royal Opera House. To witness their journeys, and to know the Jette Parker Artists Programme has played a part in shaping their futures, is a constant source of pride and inspiration.’[3]
Oak Foundation supports the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme through our Special Interest Programme, Driven by the interests of our Trustees, it provides the space and flexibility to make grants outside of Oak’s other programme strategies.

[1] Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50n7Et_qDco This is the only alumni/case study content I could find, searched high and low!
[2] ‘I cannot be put in a cage. Like the character of Carmen, I – Opera Now
[3] The Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Artists Programme marks 25 years of unearthing opera’s brightest new stars. | Colin’s Column