Region Finals 2015

Last November, 90 singers kicked of the 62nd edition of the National Council Auditions in the Eastern Region. They sang in front of a distinguished panel of judges consisting of Susan Ashbaker, Richard Bernstein and Cori Ellison. Eleven singers were selected to move on to the Region Finals, while four received Encouragement awards (Emily Blair, James Edgar Knight, Nikhil Navkal and Alexis Rodda). We asked our Finalists to answer a few questions about themselves, and you can read the full interviews at nycmonc.org/operaidols. These are the answers of some of them to the question: "When did you know you wanted to be an opera singer?"

“I'd seen professional opera as a kid and in college, but none of it had as big an impact on me as the first time I heard my colleagues at Mannes, my first opera school. The opera studio had us all sing for each other on our first day in the program in this small, unassuming white room. If you've never heard operatic voices in a space that small before, I can't recommend it enough; it absolutely changed my life. Opera up close is so big, beautiful and exciting, and I was just in awe. I think that was the beginning of my trip down the rabbit hole.” - David Leigh

“I always instinctually knew that I wanted be a singer. It was after my first recital at UCLA that I realized that opera was what I wanted to pursue as a career. The first opera I saw was . I remember thinking that opera as an art form was crazy and wonderful, and I was in awe of Mozart.” - Leela Subramaniam

“ is the first opera that I saw. That opera influenced me to become an opera singer.” - Kidon Choi

“I always loved singing growing up, and I decided to be an opera singer the first time I saw La Bohème. I remember that it was a DVD I got from the library at home, and I was sitting comfortably on the sofa wondering what this was, and I completely fell in love. Freni was Mimi, and I cried so badly watching the opera. If this was an art form with beautiful stories, gorgeous music and magical singing, how could I not love it?” - Boya Wei

“I remember as a child being obsessed with the Ingmar Bergman movie of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte- I think we rented that video at least once a month! Though it was sung in Swedish, I was enraptured with the story, the characters, and the music. During the opera's intermission, Bergman cuts to scenes of the singers chatting and playing chess, and I remember being struck by the fact that these people weren't just characters in an opera, but actual people in real life...I could do that!” - Claudia Rosenthal

“I knew when I was about 25 or 26. I didn’t start singing classically until my early 20’s and it took me a few years to catch the opera bug. I sang in a NATS competition and I loved the feeling of being up on stage and having my voice reach the corners of the room. I received a great response from the audience and realized that this training not only can train your voice to reach every part of the hall, but it can reach inside of people and change them for the better.” - Joseph Dennis

“My German grandmother took me on my “7-year-old trip” to Germany. There is a photo of me squinting through opera glasses at a children’s version of The Magic Flute being staged on some random steps in Stuttgart. I remember the fantastical costumes and thinking how amazing it was to experience a full musical-theatrical performance on the steps of a city - no stage, no microphones, just people doing everything.” - Kirsten Scott

“In college, in a bit of a fit, I quit singing cold turkey. In short, I felt I needed to save the world in my own little way, and that singing wasn't saving the world. I switched my studies at school from music to environmental science, and more or less shut classical music and opera out of my life. But seven or eight months into life without opera, I started to yearn for it, deeply. I missed singing and music and opera in a way I didn't know I could. Singing is both physical and emotional. Music really becomes part of us as singers--our bodies are engaged so intrinsically in the process of making this art that it is as if it leaves a kind of imprint on us.” - Joshua Arky

“There was never a moment where I thought, “yes! this is what I want to do!” The idea solidified gradually as I took one step at a time down this path. Growing up, the only thing I really wanted to be was a healer. I thought seriously about nursing school. But music seemed to come into my life almost forcefully, and it came out of me with great impulse, so there was no way I could avoid it. I have since realized that music provides healing in a way that is arguably more important than anything I could do with a nursing degree. I love everything about it.” - Amy Owens

Region Finals 2015 - January 14th at Merkin Hall nycmonc.org Judges' Bios - Full bios at nycmonc.org/operaidols/judges15 A native of Pittsburgh PA, Richard Bado made his professional conducting debut in 1989 leading ’s acclaimed production of Show Boat at the newly restored Cairo Opera House in Egypt. Since then, Mr. Bado has conducted at Teatro alla Scala, Opéra National de Paris, Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera, the Aspen Music Festival, the , the Russian National Orchestra, the Florida Philharmonic, the Montreal Symphony, Wolf Trap Opera, Houston Ballet, and has conducted the Robert Wilson production of Virgil Thomson’s Four Saints in Three Acts at the Edinburgh Festival. An accomplished pianist, this past season Mr. Bado appeared in a recital tour with Renée Fleming. He has also played for Cecilia Bartoli, , Susan Graham, Denyce Graves, , Ramon Vargas, Samuel Ramey and Nathan Gunn. Mr. Bado, who holds music degrees from the Eastman School of Music, where he received the 2000 Alumni Achievement Award and West Virginia University, has studied advanced choral conducting with Robert Shaw. Mr. Bado is the Director of the Opera Studies Program at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. He also is the Chorus Master for the Houston Grand Opera, where he received the Silver Rose Award in 2013. (...)

Susan Graham's operatic roles span four centuries, from Monteverdi’s Poppea to Sister in ’s , which was written especially for her. Graham won a Grammy Award for her collection of Ives songs, and her recital repertoire is so broad that 14 composers from Purcell to Sondheim are represented on her most recent album, Virgins, Vixens & Viragos. Throughout her career, however, this distinctly American artist has been recognized as one of the foremost exponents of French vocal music; a Texas native, she was awarded the French government’s prestigious “Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur,” both for her popularity as a performer in France and in honor of her commitment to French music. The mezzo’s earliest operatic successes were in such “trouser” roles as Cherubino in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. Her technical expertise soon brought mastery of Mozart’s more virtuosic roles, like Sesto in , Idamante in , and Cecilio in , as well as the title roles of Handel’s and Xerxes. She went on to triumph in the iconic mezzo roles, Octavian in and the Composer in . These brought Graham to prominence on all the world’s major opera stages, including the , , , Covent Garden, , , , Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, and many more. In addition to creating the role of Sister Helen Prejean in the world premiere production of Dead Man Walking at San Francisco Opera, Graham sang the leading ladies in the Met’s world premieres of ’s The Great Gatsby and ’s An American Tragedy, and made her Dallas Opera debut as Tina in a new production of The Aspern Papers by . (...) It was in an early Lyon production of Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict that Graham scored particular raves from the international press, and a triumph as Massenet’s Chérubin at Covent Garden sealed her operatic stardom. Further invitations to collaborate on French music were forthcoming from many of that repertoire’s preeminent conductors, including Sir Colin Davis, Charles Dutoit, James Levine, and . (...)This season, she returns to the Met in the title role of Susan Stroman’s new production of Lehar’s , before closing the season opposite Bryan Hymel in a new staging of at San Francisco Opera. She also looks forward to headlining gala concerts at and Lyric Opera of Chicago, where she joins Jane Lynch, Renée Fleming, Ramsey Lewis, and others to celebrate the latter company’s 60th anniversary. Graham’s affinity for French repertoire has not been limited to the opera stage, and serves as the foundation for her extensive concert and recital career. Such great oratorios and symphonic song cycles as Berlioz’s La mort de Cléopâtre and Les nuits d'été, Ravel’s Shéhérazade, and Chausson’s Poème de l’amour et de la mer take her to the world’s leading orchestras, with regular appearances at the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, and London Symphony. Last season, she joined Bernard Haitink and the Boston Symphony for Shéhérazade in Boston and at Carnegie Hall, and in 2014-15 she sings Berlioz with the Royal Flemish Philharmonic for La mort de Cléopâtre, and undertakes Les nuits d'été with both the London Symphony Orchestra and ’s Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique. (...)

Gayletha Nichols joined the artistic staff of the Metropolitan Opera in the fall of 2000 as Executive Director of the National Council Auditions. She brought to the Met two decades of experience as a singer, teacher and career advisor. From 1992-2000, she was Director of Houston Opera Studio, the young artist development program at Houston Grand Opera, where she created and individualized the training both for singers and pianists. Ms. Nichols auditions hundreds of singers across North America every year and in her travels addresses many universities, conservatories, and festivals on developing the next generation of opera singers. She is a frequent adjudicator in national and international competitions and consults for other young artist programs across the country.

Region Finals 2015 - January 14th at Merkin Hall nycmonc.org Awards Please join us in the lobby for some snacks and refreshments while the judges deliberate. The winners will be announced on stage afterwards. They will be moving on to the Semi-Finals and potentially to the Grand Finals to be held on March 22nd at the Metropolitan Opera. Tickets are on sale at metopera.org.

In addition to prize money provided by the Eastern Region and fundraised through the generosity of attendees like you, we are able to award the following prizes:

- 1st Place Mrs. Edgar Tobin Award provided by the Tobin Endowment - $800 awarded to each 1st place winner - Mrs. Rohatyn Encouragement Award(s)

Contributions are very important to us. The MONC Eastern Region is a volunteer based organization which fundraises separately from the Met. We are a 501(c)3 so your contributions are tax-deductible up to the amount allowed by law. Contributions not only help us to organize auditions where each singer has a chance to get his or her talent evaluated by the best in the business, but they also enable us to award considerable prize money to the winners. We can’t emphasize enough how important this competition is to young opera singers and how much it means to them and to the furthering of their careers to receive a substantial amount of prize money. If you would like to make a donation, go to nycmonc.org/donate.

“So why was I crying in a pharmacy over an inhaler? Well, as we all know, life is expensive. There is rent, health insurance, food, transport. Once you’ve left school, as an opera singer, you need to continue working on your voice and repertoire. Throughout your career you need regular lessons and coaching. In New York, these are $125-250 each – today we consider one a week luxurious and optimum. The proponents of ‘bel canto’, the technique developed during the time often considered the golden age of singing, reported that singers would have a lesson everyday and until fairly recently this was common practice in operatic training. Coachings ($80-$150 each) are needed whenever you are learning new music, which hopefully is all the time!” - Kiri Parker (District Singer 2012)

Acknowledgments We would like to thank all our donors for their generosity in supporting the singers of the future.

The National Council Auditions are governed by the Metropolitan Opera National Council Mitchell L. Lathrop - President Camille LaBarre - National Auditions Chairman Gayletha Nichols - Executive Director Melissa Wegner - Associate Director Eric Owens - National Adviser

Eastern Region Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Committee Lara Marcon - Chair Andrew Urbanski - Treasurer Stefanie Van Steelandt - Auditions Director Majal Aguirre Kristin Bograd Tom Cannon Jr. Michelle Everett Danielle Strauss

Region Finalists The singers are accompanied on the piano by Dan Franklin Smith. The schedule and aria list is tentative and subject to change. The singers will announce their name and first aria choice once they come on stage. After that, it is up to the judges’ discretion to ask for a second aria. Please enjoy the performance and make sure your cell-phones are turned off. Feel free to encourage our singers with applause.

Region Finals 2015 - January 14th at Merkin Hall nycmonc.org Amy Owens--Soprano--Age 27 Boya Wei--Soprano--Age 29 Ah! douce enfant------Cendrillon------Massenet Je suis encore tout étourdie------Manon------Massenet Großmächtige Prinzessin------Ariadne auf Naxos------Strauss Da tempeste il legno infranto------Giulio Cesare------Handel I am the wife of Mao Tse-tung------Nixon in China------Adams Ah! non credea mirarti...Ah! non giunge------La Sonnambula------Bellini Durch Zärtlichkeit ------Die Entführung aus dem Serail------Mozart Presentation of the rose------Der Rosenkavalier------Strauss O luce di quest'anima------Linda di Chamounix------Donizetti Be kind and courteous------A Midsummer Night's Dream------Britten

Kidon Choi--Baritone--Age 28 Joseph Dennis----Age 29 Hai gia vinta la causa------Le Nozze di Figaro------Mozart Lamento di Federico------L'Ariesiana------Cilea È sogno? o realtà------Falstaff------Verdi Salut! demeure chaste et pure------------Gounod Eri tu------Un Ballo in Maschera------Verdi Dein ist mein ganzes Hertz------Das Land des Lächelns------Lehár Vision fugitive------Hérodiade------Massenet Martin's Aria------The Tender Land------Copland Heiterkeit und Fröhlichkeit------Der Wildschütz------Lortzing Lensky's Aria (Kuda, kuda)------Eugene Onegin------Tchaikovsky

Kirsten Scott--Mezzo-Soprano--Age 25 Leela Subramaniam--Soprano--Age 26 Que fais-tu, Blanche Tourterelle?------Roméo et Juliette------Gounod Parto, m'affretto------Lucio Silla------Mozart Una voce poco fa------Il Barbiere di Siviglia------Rossini M'hai resa infelice------Deidamia------Handel Deh tu, bell'anima------i Capuleti E I Montecchi------Bellini Comme autrefois------Les Pêcheurs de Perles ------Bizet Vois sous l'archet fremissant------Les Contes d'Hoffman------Offenbach No Word from Tom...I go to him------The Rake's Progress------Stravinsky Must the winter come so soon?------------Barber Care compagne...Come per me sereno...Sovra il sen------La Sonnambula------Bellini

Robert Balonek--Baritone--Age 30 David Leigh----Age 26 Hai gia vinta la causa------Le Nozze di Figaro------Mozart O Isis und Osiris------Die Zauberflöte------Mozart Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen------Die Tote Stadt------Korngold Come dal Ciel------------Verdi Look, through the port...And farewell to ye------Billy Budd------Britten I'm a Lonely Man, Susannah------Susannah------Floyd Ja vas lyublyu------Pique Dame------Tchaikovsky Vecchia Zimarra------La Bohème------Puccini L'orage s'est calmé------Les Pêcheurs de Perles------Bizet Il lacerato spirito------------Verdi

Claudia Rosenthal--Soprano--Age 28 Virginie Verrez--Mezzo-Soprano--Age 25 Je suis encore tout étourdie------Manon------Massenet Deh per questo istante------La Clemenza di Tito------Mozart Non, Monsieur, mon mari!------les Mamelles De Tirésias------Poulenc Ces lettres------------Massenet Padre, germani, addio------Idomeneo------Mozart Disprezzata Regina------l'incoronazione Di Poppea------Monteverdi No word from Tom------The Rake's Progress------Stravinsky Wie Du warst! ------Der Rosenkavalier------Strauss Quando m'en vo------La Bohème------Puccini Oh, la pitoyable aventure!------L'Heure Espagnole------Ravel

Joshua Arky--Bass--Age 24 In diesen heil'gen Hallen------Die Zauberflöte------Mozart Vecchia zimarra, senti------La Bohème------Puccini Vi ravviso------La Sonnambula------Bellini La vendetta------Le Nozze di Figaro------Mozart Let things be like they always was------Street Scene------Weill