Program of the Mariinsky Theater in St

Home , Florence Quivar, Jerry Hadley, Marcello Giordani, Susanne Mentzer

Full Judges’ Bios available at nycmonc.org/news - Singers are accompanied on the piano by Doug Martin and Craig Ketter

Longtime Assistant Conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, Dennis Giauque is a pianist and vocal coach based in New York City. He was the pianist and head of musical preparation for the award-winning recording of Ariadne auf Naxos, recorded with James Levine and the Vienna Philharmonic. He has assisted Maestro Levine at summer festivals in Salzburg and Ravinia, as well as with the Boston Symphony. In addition to assisting Maestro Seiji Ozawa on Der Fledermaus and Carmen for the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy, he has recently been musical assistant and consultant for the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Der Rosenkavalier and Das Rheingold, Caramoor Summer Music Festival’s Fidelio, and the International Festival of Milano’s Akhnaten, by Philip Glass. He is also an instructor at the Atkins Young Artist Program of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia. Chamber music is also an important part of Dennis’ musical career.

Melissa Wegner joined the artistic staﬀ of the Metropolitan Opera in 2011 and currently serves as Deputy Director of the National Council Auditions and Artistic Administration Associate. She auditions hundreds of young singers annually and is passionate about assisting them with their career development. Additionally, Ms. Wegner hears artists in stage and screening auditions at the Met and facilitates the casting of covers and comprimario roles. A frequent judge for the District and Region auditions of the Met’s National Council Auditions, Ms. Wegner has also adjudicated the SAI Vocal Competition, the McCammon Voice Competition, and the Belvedere Competition in South Africa and Russia. As a soprano, Ms. Wegner has performed opera, concerts and recitals in the United States and Europe. She joined New York City Opera as a Supertitles Associate and continues this work on a freelance basis with organizations including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, BAM, and Opera Orchestra of New York.

Ken Benson is one of the leading managers for opera singers, including 25 years as Vice - President of Columbia Artists Management, Inc.,where his artists included Thomas Hampson, Aprile Millo,, Jerry Hadley, Florence Quivar, Susanne Mentzer, Marcello Giordani and Jamie Barton. He is Vocal consultant at Juilliard School of Music, and he regularly gives classes and consultations at Yale, UCLA, Mannes, Manhattan School of Music, Boston Conservatory, DePaul, Roosevelt and Indiana Universities. He also oﬀers private consultations. Mr. Benson is invited to serve as adjudicator for the Metropolitan Opera National Council's auditions, as well as to judge in most of the major vocal competitions throughout the US. Frequently, he lectures on operatic subjects, includes a series of talks on Wagner's "Ring" at the Metropolitan Opera House. He is also heard as frequent Host and panelist on the Metropolitan Opera broadcast's Opera quiz.

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District Auditions Eastern Region Committee Camille LaBarre – National Auditions Chairman Jan 17 & 18, 2018 Stefanie Van Steelandt - Chair Joshua Winograde — Executive Director, MONC & Associate Artistic Administrator Upcoming Events: Lara Marcon - Treasurer Melissa Wegner – Deputy Director, MONC & Tom Cannon Jr. Artistic Administration Associate Region Finals March 4th at Merkin Hall - Tickets: Lisa Litwin Brady Walsh — MONC & Artistic Administration bit.ly/2mylLZ6 Assistant Peter Agnone Ruane Gayletha Nichols – Consultant, MONC Facebook: monc.easternregion National Council Organization Twitter: @nycmonc Eric Owens – National Advisor Instagram: operaidols Mitchell L. Lathrop – President Times and order subject to change without notice. If you wish to hear a speciﬁc singer, please arrive early. Feel free to applaud. Turn oﬀ cellphones and do not leave or enter the auditorium while singing is in progress. Aria selections can be found at nycmonc.org/news. Not all singers are required to sing 2 arias; this decision is up to the judges’ discretion.