The Royal Opera’s newly appointed principal guest conductor Speranza Scappucci leads emerging talents from the company’s Jette Parker Artists program in intensive study of the beloved characters of Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème. Post Juilliard, Scappucci began her career as a coach and rehearsal pianist in houses of ever greater prominence, guiding singers at every level through the intricacies of text and music that separate a passable performance from a great one. That old-fashioned work in the studio has been the springboard to Scappucci’s ascent as a maestro in her own right—and remains the bedrock of her practice with the artists she works with today. The masterclass coincides with a revival of Richard Jones’s triumphant La Bohème on the Royal Opera’s mainstage (December 13 to January 17), Scappucci’s first assignment in her new capacity—a fine opportunity to compare process with the finished product. —Matthew Gurewitsch