So you want to sing Cabaret?

Solo Vocal Performance Workshop

July 5 - August 7, 2023

So you want to sing Cabaret?: Solo Vocal Performance Workshop will prepare you for being the star of your own show! Grounded in the history and business of cabaret, students will work one-on-one with master teacher in vocal technique, David Sabella, to craft their own multi-song performance. Get ready for venue doors to open now!          

THEA 3067 L21

Lincoln Center: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 10 a.m.- 1 p.m.
CRN: 15074
3 credits

In this course, students will develop the unique skills required for small venue, solo-vocal performance, from identifying your authentic voice and honing your vocal technique to connecting to the lyric, and with your audience, self-promoting, and producing your own show.

Required textbook: So You Want to Sing Cabaret by David Sabella and Sue Matsuki (Rowman & Littlefield 2020).

Tuition* for this course: $3,060 (2023 rate). 

*In addition to tuition, students should allocate $150 for class trips to local performance venues.

Fordham students register via the student portal. Non-Fordham students register here.


David Sabella (Instructor)

Vocal Technique Instructor

David Sabella is an award winning singer and actor. He is co-author (with Sue Matsuki) of “So You Want to Sing Cabaret,” (2020, Rowman & Littlefield). He is also one of NYC’s most sought-after voice & performance coaches (www.davidsabella.com) and the owner and Editor-in-Chief of www.CabaretHotspot.com.

In his performance career, David Sabella made history during the 1995 Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition when Maestro Pavarotti publicly declared him to be “excellent… not good, Excellent!” Soon after that he originated the co-starring role of “Mary Sunshine” in the 1996 revival of CHICAGO with Bebe Neuwirth, Ann Reinking, and Joel Grey. He appeared with Chita Rivera at Mandalay Bay (Las Vegas) and later returned to the Broadway company with Melanie Griffith as Roxie Hart, where he remained until 2004. He also worked on The Visit, Kander & Ebb’s last collaboration, for which John Kander wrote the role of Luis Perch especially for him. Sabella received an “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play” award from the Fresh Fruit Festival for his work in The Phillie Trilogy. He also starred as Julian Eltinge in Jules, and as both male and female leads in Kiss and Make Up (written specifically for him) at the New York International Fringe Festival.

As a voiceover artist, Sabella appeared on several network television cartoon series, including Peter Pan and the Pirates for FOX and Teacher’s Pet for Disney.

As a classical countertenor, Sabella starred as the title role in Handel’s Giulio Cesare (Virginia Opera, recorded on Koch International Label), Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea (Utah Opera), and Strauss’ Die Fledermaus (Lincoln Center). He appeared numerous times at both Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center as principal alto soloist and was a winner of The New York Oratorio Society Competition at Carnegie Hall, and The Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition.

Professor Sabella has been on faculty at Fordham University since 2012. Additionally, he served on several other faculties including, Montclair State University, NYU Tisch School of the Arts/CAP 21 Studio, and SUNY at Purchase and New Paltz. He was President of the New York Singing Teacher’s Association (2008-2014), and is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.