MEET THE AUTHORS

Ellen Rissinger and François Germain met on the faculty of a summer program in Salzburg, Austria, in 2009. While jogging together along the Salzach River in the mornings, they discussed their love for lyric diction and languages. When Ellen started the podcast The Diction Police in 2010, they decided to turn this shared passion into a full-service site for lyric diction, with the goal of bringing the sounds of native-speaking singers to everyone.

For over two decades, Ellen has been coaching young artists and seasoned professionals in opera houses while François has been teaching conservatory students in preparation for their professional singing careers. Drawing on their experience working with singers of all levels throughout Europe and North America, they created easy-to-understand explanations of the rules of lyric diction, exercises to make it fun, and interactive handbooks for singing professionals and students alike.