Mark Johnston, vocal coach
Learn new roles in Franconia’s peace and beauty during a complimentary castle stay.

The castle Seehaus is situated in picturesque rural Middle Franconia, equidistant between the beautiful and culturally rich cities Würzburg and Nuremberg, in the market town of Markt Nordheim. Built around 1780 by the Schwarzenbergs, a cadet branch of the Lords of Seinsheim (although the village, dating from the seventh or eighth century, is far older), it has been in private hands since after the Second World War and presents a rich musical life with concerts and courses. I live in the former servants’ quarters, a freestanding house of the same vintage, and welcome singers of all stripes with complimentary accommodation in our guest bedroom.

I have twenty-five years’ experience as a piano accompanist, ten of them in opera as a repetiteur and conductor, having worked in that capacity at the Paris, Hamburg, Frankfurt, and Stuttgart opera houses, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Baden-Baden Easter Festival, and as a full-time staff member from 2016-2020 in Braunschweig, Plauen-Zwickau, and at the Theater für Niedersachsen (Theatre for Lower Saxony) in Hildesheim.

My focii are new music and language. My approach with new music is to prepare singers with absolute security and confidence in pitch and rhythm, based on an intelligent approach to what they can expect to hear from the orchestra. In French, German, and English, I coach exactitude in pronunciation and understanding, supported by years of university-level linguistics study. Nevertheless, I am comfortable in and familiar with repertoire in every epoch, and am competent in Italian.

Rates € 30/hour, negotiable for longer stays. Room complimentary. Board variable.