Murrysville native accepted into International Opera Academy in Italy

Saint Vincent College junior Justin Massetto of Murrysville was accepted to the prestigious International Opera Academy in Bologna, Italy, becoming the second member of his family to gain entry.

Massetto is a music performance major, with minors in sacred music, mathematics and computer science, and a graduate of Franklin Regional High School. He earned admission into the academy, which will take place in July, through a competitive audition process and was subsequently awarded a merit-based scholarship for attendance.

“The audition process was simple for the most part,” said Massetto. “I had to submit a recording of an aria – I chose one in Italian – along with my résumé and a repertoire list to show my range of knowledge.

“After that, it was just a waiting game to see if I was accepted, which I was, with scholarship.”

At the academy, Massetto will participate in master classes every day, while receiving one-on-one coaching from world-class vocal coaches in the opera field and receiving vocal lessons and studying stage craft with opera directors from around the world. The two-week academy will wrap up with a two-day showcase in which each student will perform arias at the Saia Caracci in Palazzo Magnani, a 15th-century palace in Bologna, and at the Sala Bossi in the Conservatorio Giovani Battista Martini, a college of music in Bologna established in 1804.

The intensive program is taught by a faculty and staff comprised of internationally renowned vocal coaches, singers, directors and conductors from around the globe. It annually attracts a high-achieving group of students representing nearly every continent.

“This is a significant opportunity and achievement for Justin in his vocal development and career,” said Thomas Octave, chair of the Saint Vincent Department of Fine Arts and associate professor of music. “His hard work and dedication to the study of music and the vocal arts, his willing-to-learn personality and his desire to share his talent with others have really allowed Justin to stand out.”

Massetto follows in the footsteps of his older brother, Anthony, a 2019 Saint Vincent graduate, who took part in the Italian academy in 2018.

“Anthony has most definitely helped me understand what to expect,” Massetto said. “He gave me some advice during the audition process, and he’s also told me all about what I should expect and what kinds of arias I should focus on going into the academy.”

Massetto was inspired to begin singing by his brother and, while he is a fan of all genres of music, he credits Saint Vincent vocal coach Susanna Lemberskaya for his gravitating toward opera.

“We have an amazing vocal coach here who has worked in the opera field professionally,” he said, “and she sparked my interest in opera. I wouldn’t say I have a favorite genre, but I am drawn more toward older styles of music, so opera is definitely near the top of my list.”

Along with singing, Massetto is a theater enthusiast and had prominent roles in a number of Saint Vincent College Players’ productions throughout his first five semesters, including “Objection! Disorder in the Court!,” “Into the Woods,” “Play On!” and “Damn Yankees.”

On top of his busy singing and acting schedule, Massetto has to balance a rigorous course load that comes with the territory of having a major and three minors. Though it may appear to be a juggling act, he feels his mathematics and computer science studies are complementary of his music and theater education.

“It’s definitely been a challenge to constantly switch the way you think, as the sciences and music are very different,” he said. “But, it’s also really interesting because I actually look at music in a more unique way than most other musicians. I have a more mathematical approach, which I have found is not as common. I actually entered into Saint Vincent as a double major in vocal performance and computer science, but decided that I couldn’t imagine doing anything other than music. I dropped to a computer science minor my sophomore year and then picked up mathematics and sacred music to fill out my curriculum a little more.”