Your German isn't the problem. Your German diction is.
Coaching for singers preparing German, French, and Italian repertoire — Lieder, opera roles, auditions, competitions — with a native English speaker who has taught voice
on the faculties of two German conservatories.
WHY THIS MATTERS
A jury hears your vowels before they hear your artistry.
Native German, French, and Italian listeners — the juries, conductors, and coaches who decide your next role — notice mispronounced umlauts, swallowed consonants, and flattened vowels in the first phrase. It happens before your interpretation gets a chance to land.
Most singers learn repertoire phonetically, from a recording or a coach who doesn’t speak the language. That gets you through the notes. It doesn’t get you a native-sounding line, and it won’t survive a room full of native speakers.
Services
What we work on
Coaching, built around your next performance.
German Diction Intensive
Line-by-line IPA and text work for a specific role, aria, or Lieder set — closed vs. open vowels, consonant clusters, and the musical logic of German
text stress. Built for singers with an audition, recording, or performance on the calendar.
Lied & Opera Role Preparation
Full musical and dramatic coaching on German
repertoire — Brahms, Bach, Schubert, Schumann, Wolf, Strauss, Wagner — combining diction with
phrasing, text meaning, and interpretation, drawing on my own work as musical director for
staged opera productions.
French & Italian Diction Coaching
The same close text work applied to French mélodie
and Italian repertoire — for singers who want their language work to hold up next to native
speakers, not just pass.
Audition & Competition Prep
Targeted sessions before a specific audition, Young Artist Program application, or competition round — repertoire polish, likely questions from a
German-speaking panel, and performance-day strategy.
Masterclass & Workshop Bookings
For conservatories, festivals, and young artist programs: a diction or repertoire masterclass for a studio or cohort, in person or online.
WHY ME / CREDENTIALS
2023- Music Director Chor der Stadt Wiesbaden
2024-2026 Music Director MGV Freundesbund (Men's Choir)
2020–21 — Voice faculty (Lehrbeauftragter), Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende
Kunst Frankfurt
2017–20 — Voice faculty (Hauptfach Gesang), Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln,
Standort Wuppertal
2015–21 — Musical director, Evangelische Singakademie Wiesbaden — 8 choral
ensembles, ages 7–13
2011 — Musical director for staged Die Zauberflöte productions, Opera Classica
Europa festivals (Burg Rheinfels, Burg Limbricht)
2005 — Private voice studio, continuously running since completing my Master of
Music at Rice University
2005-2017 -- Singing career as a Lyric Tenor and then Countertenor
Languages: English (native) · German (fluent) · French (proficient) · Italian (proficient)
Pricing
Book a single session, or work through a role together.
Diagnostic Session — €120 / 60 min
A single online session on one aria, song, or excerpt.
Help with IPA transcription of your text.
Recorded session for practice possible.
No package commitment
Role or Set Package — €525 / 5 sessions (Most booked)
Full preparation of a role, aria group, or Lieder set
ahead of a specific performance or audition date.
Diction, phrasing, and interpretation
Practice materials between sessions possible
Priority scheduling near your date.
Ongoing Coaching — €220 / month
Biweekly sessions for singers building German,
French, or Italian repertoire over a season.
2 sessions per month
Repertoire planning included
Email support between sessions
CONTACT
Bring me your next role.
Send a note with your repertoire and your timeline — role, audition, or competition date — and I’ll reply with a plan. jboothperry@gmail.com · near Wiesbaden, Germany · SESSIONS ONLINE WORLDWIDE