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Eastern Region Finals 2014

Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions

January 16th, 2014 - 12.30pm

Merkin Hall - Kaufman Center

One hundred and five singers applied this year to the MONC Eastern Region Auditions. They performed in November at the District Auditions in front of a panel of judges consisting of Roger Malouf, Gayletha Nichols, and Bill Powers. Fourteen singers were selected to move on to the Region Finals, and two (Bass Joshua Arky and Tenor Keaun Guy) received Encouragement Awards.

Today, our fourteen District winners will be singing for Thomas Bagwell, Gayletha Nichols and Nicholas Russell while accompanied on the piano by Keun-A Lee. Today’s winners will move on to the Semi-Finals on March 23rd on the Met stage (closed to the public), and hopefully we will see them next at the Grand Finals Concert on March 30th at the Metropolitan Opera.

For sixty-one years the Metropolitan Opera National Council has been searching for the next shining star in the opera world. This season alone, the Met has twenty-one singers on the roster who won the National Council Auditions (they include Angela Meade, Eric Owens and Anthony Roth Costanzo amongst others) and many more who have participated throughout the years. None of this, however, would have been possible without the help and contributions of opera lovers like yourself.

Contributions are very important to us since we are a volunteer based organization which fundraises separately from the MET. 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.

Following are some excerpts of interviews by our previous winners which show the importance of MONC and your donations to the career of a young singer. You can read the full articles on our blog: http://bit.ly/ singertestimonial

“The fact that I was able to stand before greatness was extraordinary and it showed me my dream of being an opera singer at the MET was obtainable! I'm so grateful for the opportunity I had to experience the audition process. It has taught me not only what I am capable of doing but it showed me what I need to do to be better and be more prepared.” - Sheherazade Hollman (Encouragement Winner Districts 2012)

“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)

“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. I think it was then that I realized I needed to be an opera singer. I couldn't and cannot live without it. 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. I couldn't ignore the wonderful fulfillment of making, listening to and loving music.” - Joshua Arky (Encouragement Winner District 2013)

Singers and Aria Choices 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. Full bios and interviews with the singers can be found at operaidols.blogspot.com ! Paul Han Tenor Age 27 Il mio tesoro Don Giovanni Mozart Fantaisie aux divins mensonges Lakmé Delibes Una furtiva lagrima L'Elisir d'Amore Donizetti Dies Bildnis ist bezauberned schön The Magic Flute Mozart !Kuda, Kuda vï udalilis Eugene Onegin Tchaikovsky Brian Vu Baritone Age 24 Largo al factotum Il barbiere di Siviglia Rossini Mab, la reine des mensonges Roméo et Juliette Gounod Robert's Aria Iolanta Tchaikovsky Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen Die Tote Stadt Korngold !Look! Through the port Billy Budd Britten Raquel González Soprano Age 23 Iolanta's Arioso Iolanta Tchaikovsky Stridono lassù I Pagliacci Leoncavallo Per pietà, ben mio perdona Così Fan Tutte Mozart Ain’t It A Pretty Night? Susannah Floyd !Pleurez, pleurez, mes yeux Le Cid Massenet John Kapusta Tenor Age 26 The Witch's Ride Hänsel und Gretel Humperdinck O Colombina Pagliacci Leoncavallo Jour et nuit je me mets en quatre Les Contes d'Hoffmann Offenbach The Aria of the Worm The Ghosts of Versailles Corigliano !Zwangvolle Plage! Müh' ohne Zweck! Siegfried Wagner Sheila Carroll Soprano Age 27 Non mi dir Don Giovanni Mozart Non so le tetre immagini Il Corsaro Verdi Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante Carmen Bizet I want Magic! A Streetcar named Desire Previn Song to the Moon Rusalka Dvorák ! Scott Russell Bass Age 29 O tu Palermo! I Vespri Siciliani Verdi Come dal ciel precipita Macbeth Verdi Sì, tra I ceppi Berenice Handel Si la rigueur et la vengeance La Juive Halévy Hear me O Lord Susannah Floyd ! Takaoki Onishi Baritone Age 28 Largo al factotum della citta Il barbiere di Siviglia Rossini Silvio's aria I pagliacci Leoncavallo Ja vas lyublyu The queen of Spades Tchaikovsky Tanzlied Die tote Stadt Korngold Avant de quitter ces lieux Faust Gounod !

Lacey-Jo Benter Mezzo-Soprano Age 26 Les Grecs ont disparu Les Troyens Berlioz Non più di fiori La Clemenza Di Tito Mozart The Best Thing Of All Regina Blitzstein Per questa fiamma Anna Bolena Donizetti Joan's Aria The Maid Of Orleans Tchaikovsky ! Brian Michael Moore Tenor Age 21 Dein ist mein ganzes Herz Das Land des Lächelns Lehàr Dei miei bollenti spiriti La Traviata Verdi In qual fiero contrasto… Tradito, schernito Così fan tutte Mozart La fleur que tu m'avais jetée Carmen Bizet Ah! Viens dans la forêt profonde Lakmé Delibes ! Pureum Jo Soprano Age 24 Song to the moon Rusalka Dvorak Jewel song Faust Gounod Piangete voi… Anna Bolena Donizetti Je suis encore Manon Massenet Deh vieni, non tardar Le Nozze di Figaro Mozart ! Robert Balonek Baritone Age 29 Rivolgete Così fan tutte Mozart Within this frail crucible of light Rape of Lucretia Britten Avant de quitter ces lieux Faust Gounod Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen Die Tote Stadt Korngold Papagena! Die Zauberflöte Mozart ! Felicia Moore Soprano Age 25 Non mi dir Don Giovanni Mozart Einsam in trüben Tagen Lohengrin Wagner Do not utter a word Vanessa Barber Morrò, ma prima in grazia Un ballo in maschera Verdi Pleurez, pleurez mes yeux Le Cid Massenet ! Viktor Antipenko Tenor Age 29 Forse la soglia attinse Un ballo in maschera Verdi Kuda, kuda vy udalilis' Eugene Onegin Tchaikovsky Winterstürme Die Walküre Wagner La fleur que tu m'avais jetée Carmen Bizet E lucevan le stelle Tosca Puccini ! Kyle Oliver Baritone Age 28 Silvio's aria I Pagliacci Leoncavallo Pierrot's Tanzlied Die tote Stadt Korngold Count's Aria Le Nozze di Figaro Mozart Avant de quitter ces lieux Faust Gounod !Ah! Je meurs Don Carlo Verdi

Judges’ Bios (Full bios available at operaidols.blogspot.com) !

Thomas Bagwell

Called by Marilyn Horne, "A pioneer for his age," Thomas Bagwell is well known as a pianist in song recital and chamber music. His appearances as a collaborative pianist have taken him to such venues as New York's Carnegie Hall, London's Wigmore Hall, the Musikverein, the Concertgebouw, and numerous halls across the United States , Canada, Puerto Rico, and Japan. Thomas Bagwell's activities as a coach and teacher have led to invitations to give masterclasses for colleges and apprentice programs in opera companies. He is an assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera and the Washington National Opera, the Santa Fe Opera and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Thomas Bagwell has received degrees from the Mannes College of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, and has studied with Warren Jones, Graham Johnson, and Edna Golandsky. After his formal studies, Mr. Bagwell pursued additional training with Elly Ameling and Rudolf Jansen at the Academie Villecroze. Mr. Bagwell organized and performed several concert series' in New York at the Austrian Cultural Forum including the complete songs of Hugo Wolf, Gustav Mahler, surveys of Schubert, Schoenberg and Zemlinsky, in additions to many other concerts. He was co-artistic director for an Austrian Lieder festival in Washington D.C. at the Austrian Embassy, where he has performed many times.

Gayletha Nichols

Ms. 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.

Nicholas G Russell

Nicholas Russell is Director of Artistic Operations for Boston Lyric Opera, a post he has held since December 2008. In this position he is responsible for implementing the repertoire plans of the Company, including casting and production development, as well as its Emerging Artists. This follows ten years in a similar position at Glimmerglass Opera. Prior to Glimmerglass, he was Assistant to the Director, Frank Dunlop, at the Edinburgh International Festival as well as Artists Manager for Scottish Opera. At Glimmerglass Mr. Russell administered the company’s acclaimed Young American Artists Program. Additionally, he was Project Coordinator for the Emmy-nominated production Central Park, co-commissioned between Glimmerglass Opera, New York City Opera and Thirteen/WNET, as well as the Grammy-nominated recording of The Mines of Sulphur for Chandos. As an adjudicator, he has participated on panels for The Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition, The Dallas Opera and The Richard Tucker Foundation. At conferences and seminars, he has made presentations for OPERA America, the National Opera Association and The Auditions Project. Nicholas Russell is an American citizen, having been born in Glasgow, Scotland; he has an MA Honors degree from the University of Glasgow in French and Music.

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

President, Mitchell L. Lathrop

National Auditions Chairman, Camille LaBarre

Executive Director of Auditions, Gayletha Nichols

Associate Director of Auditions, Melissa Wegner

National Adviser, Eric Owens

Eastern Region Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Committee

Lara Marcon - Chair

Andrew Urbanski - Treasurer

Stefanie Van Steelandt - Auditions Director

Majal Aguirre Michelle Everett

Tom Cannon Jr. Charles Moore

Megan Davis Danielle Strauss ! Get Involved !

If you want to play a role in furthering the careers of these wonderful singers, please join us at our Gala and Concert to be held on Thursday February 13th at The Kosciuszko Foundation located at 15 East 65th Street.

Tickets are $200 for the full program (6.30pm cocktail reception - 7.30pm concert - 8.30pm dessert bar) and $100 for the concert and dessert bar only.

If you have not already given us your contact information so we can keep you informed on upcoming events, please talk to one of our volunteers. You can also sign up online to receive our newsletter and make a donation at www.nycmonc.org.

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