In association with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

This Masters programme allows composers and writers to focus on how new opera is created, developed and performed. Part of an exciting partnership between Guildhall School and the Royal Opera House, the programme centres around the creation of a 25-minute chamber opera which is fully staged in Milton Court Studio Theatre.

The programme admits three composers and three writers each year. During an initial induction module, students pair up into composer-writer teams. Each team develops a short opera scene, before going on to create full chamber operas. Two smaller projects allow you to follow your own creative pathway: in poetry, prose, dramatic or film script (writers), and in vocal or instrumental/ electronic works (composers).

The programme focuses on the collaborative nature of opera making, and each composerwriter team is supported by collaborative mentoring. Students also take part in one-to-one tutorials, production seminars and creative development workshops.

Led by Julian Philips, Head of Composition, Stephen Plaice, Writer-in-Residence, and Laura Bowler, composition professor, teaching is enriched through regular seminars with visiting professionals from the opera world including conductors and directors, singers and instrumentalists, designers and stage managers.

The programme collaborates closely with Guildhall’s award-winning Opera Department, led by Dominic Wheeler, with Guildhall opera singers forming the cast for the chamber operas created by composer-writer teams.

Practical experience of opera during the year is hugely augmented by the programme’s association with the Royal Opera House, which provides opportunities to see productions in rehearsal and performance, and to meet and network with key resident and visiting practitioners.

The Masters in Music Therapy aims to develop students’ musicianship and personal potential, and equip them with the knowledge and skills to work as a registered music therapist.

On this programme, students gain experience working with adults and children alongside qualified music therapists on placements in a variety of settings including special and mainstream schools, and with people who experience:

- Mental health problems
- Dementia
- Learning disabilities
- School exclusion
- Communication delay
- Autism
- Acquired brain injury or stroke
- Social, emotional and behavioural difficulties
During the programme, students must undertake a minimum of 40 hours of individual personal therapy as a requirement from the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). This is an additional cost not covered by the tuition fees (funding support is available - see our Postgraduate Funding page for more information).

A one-year Masters programme aims to bring together early-career theatre practitioners to develop new theatre and performance work.

Please note, this programme is undergoing periodic review during the 2022-23 academic year and is therefore subject to change.

This one-year Masters programme aims to bring together early-career theatre practitioners to develop new theatre and performance work. These practitioners include:

- Designers
- Sound Designers
- Lighting Designers
- Production Managers
- Stage Managers
- Video Designers
- Directors
- Writers
- All-round theatre-makers

Students work together in creative teams on an exciting and varied array of theatre projects. The programme is not intended to deliver core technical skills, but rather to develop your theatre making abilities, exploring your potential as a creative artist and enabling you to work with other students on a series of collaborative projects.

Are you an international actor looking to deepen and develop your craft through an intensive exploration of classical plays?

This intensive masters degree in acting is delivered through an inspiring and exhilarating programme of classwork, scene study and workshop performances, culminating in a shared performance in our largest performance space, The Sainsbury Theatre.

Working on plays from the Shakespearean, Jacobean, Spanish Golden Age, French classical and Restoration periods you will discover how classical theatre translates across centuries, cultures and languages, and build an awareness of their historical, political and social context, and their impact on modern theatre.

You will take classes in craft skills to develop and strengthen your existing abilities and prepare you for the rehearsal process. Delivered throughout the year in long modules, these will include acting (voice, textual analysis and contextual studies), movement, music and singing.

You will progress through the application of your acquired knowledge of both theory and practice as it relates to the intelligent exploration and development of original characters. And you will also complete a thesis presentation reflecting on the relationship between your classical training and contemporary theatre practice.

Your intensive year will culminate in the staging of a Shakespeare production to which agents and casting directors are invited.

An intensive, practical course for prospective theatre directors.

Mountview’s Theatre Directing students have gone on to work for the UK’s leading theatre companies, in the West End and on Broadway. Graduates have a reputation for clarity, imaginative engagement and leadership and include Michael Longhurst – Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse, Maria Aberg (Dr Faustus RSC, Little Shop of Horrors Regent’s Park), Joe Murphy (Woyzeck Old Vic) and Iqbal Khan (Antony and Cleopatra RSC).

Teaching is led by Peter James CBE, co-founder of Liverpool Everyman, former Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres, Lyric Hammersmith and Principal Emeritus of LAMDA. Peter is supported by resident and freelance staff and leading professional theatre practitioners from various disciplines.

The core principle is to develop the unique voice of each student director. The course takes place five days per week over 41 weeks split into three terms. It blends lectures, seminars and workshops with practical work as a director – both assisting professional directors and leading on theatre projects. What makes Mountview’s course stand out is that in the third term you will direct your own public showcase production working with a producer, designer and cast.

All modules are compulsory. There is continuous assessment and you will have regular tutorials with the course leader supporting module elements and working towards your self-developed MA public directing project. This project is backed up with a written dissertation or a practical equivalent.