The Young Patronesses of the Opera Voice Competition
On April 27, The Young Patronesses of the Opera and Florida Grand Opera presented a recital of the 10 semi-finalists of their 27th National Voice Competition at the Ziff Opera and Ballet House in the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.
The Young Patronesses of the Opera Voice Competition is held in Miami every other year and was founded in 1972 by local soprano Irene Patti Schwartz Hammond. In 1988 YPO joined forces with Florida Grand Opera for this competition.
The judges for this year's competition were Andrew Bisantz, music director of Eugene Opera, Gerald Martin Moore, a well-known vocal coach and consultant for Decca Records and Opera Rara, and Maria Zouves, the executive director of VOICExperience and the Savannah VOICE Festival. The singers were accompanied by Roberto Berrocal, the principal coach of Florida Grand Opera's Young Artists Studio.
Ten singers performed in the semi-finals recital: three singers in the junior Category (ages 20 to 25) and seven singers in the senior category (ages 26 to 30.) Each singer presented the judges with a repertory of five songs with the singer choosing one piece to perform and the judges choosing the other. A total of $46,000 in prize money was awarded to the singers this year.
Baritone Steven La Brie, from Dallas, Texas won $7,500 and the Junior Division Grand Prize with renditions of Rossini's "Largo al factotum" and Korngold's "Mein Sehnen, Mein Wähnen."
Second place in the junior division went to mezzo-soprano Alyssa Martin from Greensboro, NC who performed Mozart's "Parto, ma tu ben mio" and Meyerbeer's "Nobles seigneurs, salut!"
Mexican-American Tenor, Sergio Cepeda, from Fort Worth, Texas, took home the third place prize with Puccini's "E lucevan le stelle" and Leandro's "No puede ser."
In the senior competition, Russian tenor Viktor Antipenko came in 6th place with Tchaikovsky's "Kuda" and Puccini's "E lucevan le stelle."
Korean coloratura soprano, Hye Jung Lee, was awarded fifth place as well as the Irene Patti Memorial Award and Audience Favorite Award for her stunning rendition of Adams' "I am the Wife of Mao Tse-Tung" and Offenbach's "Les oiseaux dans la charmaille." Lee, currently a member of the Florida Grand Opera Young Artists studio, was most recently seen in a featured role in their production of "La Sonnambula."
Mississippi baritone Ryan Milstead was awarded fourth place with Rossini's "Largo al factotum" and Korngold's "Mein Sehnen, Mein Wähnen." Milstead, a current member of the FGO Young Artists Studio, was seen this year in "La Boheme." "Die Zauberflöte" and "La Traviata."
Third prize went to tenor Matthew Newlin from Georgetown, IL. Matthew sang Donizetti's "Ah! Mes amis, quell jour de fête" and Weill's "Lonely House." Newlin is a current member of the FGO Young Artists Studio and performed this year in "Die Zauberflöte," "La Sonnambula" and "Tango."
Second prize was taken by mezzo-soprano Kathryn Leemhuis who hails from New York. She won the judges over with beautiful renditions of Strauß's "Wie du warst! Wie du bist!" and Bellini's "Se Romeo, t'uccise un figlio."
Bass Adam Lau, from San Francisco, CA won first place by presenting the judges with spectacular renditions of Britten's "O Beauty, O Handsomness, Goodness" and Rossini's "Deh! Ti ferma ti placa...Que numi." Lau, a current member of the FGO Young Artists Studio, was seen this year in "La Boheme," "Die Zauberflöte," "La Sonnambula" and "La Traviata."
The Winner of the $8,000 Grand Prize was coloratura soprano Brittany Ann Reneé Robinson from Burnsville, MN. Robinson sang Stravinsky's "No Word From Tom" and Offenbach's "Elle a fui." Robinson was featured this year as Musetta in the production of "La Boheme." He is a former member of the FGO Young Artists Studio.
"For more than 20 years, YPO and FGO have worked together to bring opera to the community in South Florida. This competition features the best young singers from across the nation and the proof is in the winners," said Susan Danis, FGO's CEO and General Director.
These young singers are the future of opera in America and organizations like the Young Patronesses of the Opera and Florida Grand Opera are working hard to make sure that opera is alive and well in South Florida.
By Jack Gardner | Published by Edge Media Network | Read the article