To a voice, drama or theater design major, the American dream isn't a house with a picket fence. It's the Metropolitan Opera, where the careers of such legends as Callas and Caruso rocketed. Its hall rings with the most glorious human voices on the planet. Its curtains frame set designs that are revolving worlds. Its lighting is visual accompaniment, turning an opera at the Met into an experience that transcends libretto and score.

When the Metropolitan Opera and the University of Connecticut raised the curtain on their new partnership, it wasn't just another debut. It was a crescendo -- the first partnership of its kind ever undertaken by the Met's artistic and production departments.

Under the partnership's terms, students from the School of Fine Arts will sit in on Met rehearsals, attend lectures and visit the opera house's backstage labyrinth of sound, scenery, costuming and lighting. They will also learn firsthand from cast members and staff about production underpinnings -- from the way a quartet is staged to how a set is rotated into place. Met General Manager Joseph Volpe will be a featured lecturer.

Ultimately, some of the world's finest creative talents and production experts will mentor selected UConn students. The first of these, John Froelich, a first-year graduate student in lighting design, interned at the Met during the spring semester. His curriculum was hands-on lighting design, costume design, scenery, and production management. "Having the Metropolitan Opera behind your name is not something anyone in my profession will ignore," he says.

Beginning in 2003, UConn will be home to the Metropolitan Opera Summer Institute Program, featuring performances by Met singers and offering instruction to music educators nationwide.

The ambitious UConn-Met partnership was forged by two of the University's most generous benefactors, Raymond and Beverly Sackler. "Raymond Sackler is the cornerstone of this partnership," explains David G. Woods, dean of the School of Fine Arts. "Through his efforts and financial support, two of his 'loves' -- the Met and the University of Connecticut -- are forming a relationship through which both will be enhanced."

Prior to the partnership, UConn's opera program was considered one of the country's strongest, attracting superlative faculty and students. Through the Sacklers' persistence, it is now without peer as a Met partner. For UConn students of opera, that's another American dream.