Daniel Isengart is an artist of real integrity, striving for excellence in everything he does. His talent is wide-spanning, and he draws on myriad artistic and life experiences to create true and beautiful work. I love working with him as a stage director. He is able to solve narrative and stage issues beautifully and elegantly; he has a deep understanding of the psychology and physicality of opera singing; he knows when to be flexible and when to insist; he is incredibly efficient with rehearsal time; he brings everyone involved in the production, no matter what their experience, to a higher level. Working with him is a joy and a pleasure, and I cannot recommend him highly enough.
– Edwin Outwater, Music Director Laureate KW Symphony

Daniel brings an exceptional set of skills to his work with classical singers. He is a polished performer who understands what stimulates artists towards greater achievement.  And, because he comes from outside the conventions of classical performance, his approach is fresh.  He is sensitive, encouraging and – equally important – practical in his work.  Daniel has much to share, and singers have much to learn from him.
– Andrew Bennett, Executive Director, KW Symphony

Daniel is quite simply a joy to work with. His affirming charm invites me as a singer to a deeper exploration of each character’s physical language, embracing confidence bodily to match the vocal stature of opera. He is equally attentive to every motion as he is to what the music and text request and his positivity and desire to see young artists flourish allows for a productive and engaging session. In the time we have worked together, I feel a marked improvement in confidence and physical variety in how I present myself onstage.
– Daniel Moody, Countertenor

Daniel’s generous and passionate approach to coaching is unique, unusual and efficient, and it all comes from a place of love and knowledge. Any singer would benefit from a chance to work with him.– – Meche Kroop, Blogger (VoceDiMeche)

Daniel Isengart demonstrates an extraordinary enthusiasm for working with a wide range of singers, from undergraduate students to professionals at the top of their operatic careers. He can teach the basics of stagecraft and movement and work in detail on the relationship between words and gestures. Daniel approaches this work from the audience’s perspective; what they see is as important as what they hear in terms of storytelling. For the sake of today’s young artists, I want to see him become a more significant part of the this new and exciting generation of singers. While he strives for the highest professional level with each singer he coaches, he is always positive, encouraging and excited when an artist achieves a greater understanding and discovers the link between words and physical expression, emotion and movement. The results are always astonishing. – Glenn Morton, Artistic Director of Classic Lyric Arts, Inc; Faculty of Manhattan School of Music, Mannes, The Juilliard School

I never expected the gift I would receive by meeting and working with Daniel. Not only was I able to experience him as a performer with one of the strongest stage presences, but I also had the opportunity to work with him as a director who guided me into finding my courage in areas of my own performance that I had been longing to discover for years. He did so with such care, strength, and devotion that to this day I take into sincere consideration what I learned with him while preparing my up and coming roles.
– Lucia Cervoni, Mezzo-Soprano

I first met Daniel in 2005, when he was doing his one-man show at a Spiegeltent cabaret in Berlin. I immediately fell in love with his singing voice and graceful stage presence and eventually hired him as the MC for the variety show I had been commissioned to produce for the opening of the Playboy Casino in Cancun. Seeing that circus artists often need to fill the position of “master of ceremony” and not taught anything about this particular craft, I subsequently asked Daniel to develop a workshop and masterclass we called The Art of the MC, which he brought to Montreal in 2018. It was a great success.
Daniel is one of those rare performers who are also great teachers.  He not only imparted on the students a new, detailed understanding of the role of the master of ceremonies and the principles by which he or she must operate, but also, through encouragement, analysis, improvisation exercises and experiments, allowed them to adopt a new awareness of their stage presence, trust and hone their stage instinct, work creatively to push their own boundaries as performers, and ultimately find a new sense of both joy and responsibility in their work. At the end of the week-long workshop, the students, all of them professional performers, unanimously expressed that his teachings had been an eye-opener and that they would immediately sign up for more classes taught by him.
– Sofranie Trencia, Event Producer (Box5 Creation) 

Several faculty members especially inspired me during my time at CLA Berkshires. Daniel Isengart, CLA's resident stage director & performance coach, is uniquely full of wonder, light, patience, and energy. We connected over a mutual love of character study and fine emotional details. Daniel pushed me to do what I love: to go deeper into a character, to explore the unexpected choices, and to fully commit to those choices with intelligence and abandon. In working with Daniel, I underwent a change: I felt myself stepping into a confident version of myself armed with strength and self-assurance. An artist must fully trust themselves in order to let go and give a performance that is truly in the moment. With Daniel’s guidance, I rediscovered my confidence as an actor and added new tools to my performing arsenal. 

–– Annelise Burghardt, alumnus of CLA Berkshires, 2024