YPO Voice Competition Finals Concert Comes to Arsht Center
Young Patronesses of the Opera (YPO), in conjunction with Florida Grand Opera (FGO), is proud to announce the 27th annual YPO Voice Competition. This year, the Finals Concert will be held for the first time at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. Offering a program of popular and significant arias as sung by today’s brightest young talents, the concert takes place on April 27, 2013, at 1:00 p.m. with tickets available to the public for as low as $10.
“We are not only looking to provide new opportunities for budding opera singers,” said Lucie Spieler, chairman of the YPO Voice Competition. “We also want to give the community the chance to experience their talent and fall in love with opera, whether for the first time or all over again.”
The competition began with hundreds of applicants, which have been narrowed down to 35 semifinalists set to audition in Miami on April 26. The following day, a hand-picked group of 12 finalists will perform at the Ziff Ballet Opera House at the Arsht Center giving the aspiring stars a taste of their future success.
“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 voices from across the nation and the proof is in the winners,” said Susan Danis, Florida Grand Opera’s CEO and General Director. “Past finalists – such as Michael Fabiano, Nadine Sierra, and Elizabeth Caballero – have gone on to successful international careers, singing leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, and more.”
Each of the 12 finalists will perform and compete for $46,000 in prizes, some of which include: the Senior Young Artist division (ages 26-30) grand prize of $8,000; the Junior Young Artist (ages 20-25) division grand prize of $7,500; the Troy Moss Memorial prize of $5,000; the Audience Favorite prize of $1,000, for which tickets buyers will have the chance to vote.
The YPO Voice Competition, held in Miami every other year, was founded in 1972 by Irene Patti Swartz Hammond. In 1988, YPO joined forces with Florida Grand Opera to create a truly prestigious national competition, awarding some of the highest prizes in the category. The chairman of the event is Lucie Spieler with co-chairmen Charlette Seidel and Renee Fink.
The judges for the 2013 competition include: Andrew Bisantz, music director of Eugene Opera and an American conductor with extensive credits leading national orchestras and opera companies throughout the country, most recently FGO’s Magic Flute; Gerald Martin Moore, pianist, conductor, and vocal coach who works with several notable singers, including Renée Fleming, Joyce DiDonato, and Rolando Villazón; Maria Zouves, soprano, founder and director of V.O.I.C.Experience in Tampa, and associate director of Opera Tampa.
Funds for the competition are provided by Young Patronesses of the Opera, with ongoing support from Junior Opera Guild, Dr. and Mrs. Phillip George (the Judy George Award), Ms. Renée Fink (the Marvin A. Fink Memorial Award), the Irene Patti Swartz Hammond Memorial Award fund, and several individual donors.
Contestants scheduled to compete in Miami for the semifinals are:
Senior Young Artists (aged 26 – 30):
Viktor Antipenko, tenor
Noel Bouley, bass-baritone
Cynthia Cook, mezzo-soprano
Stephen Fish, bass-baritone
Joseph Flaxman, baritone
Jeremy Griffin, bass-baritone
Jeff Gwaltney, tenor
Bevin Hill, soprano
Carla Jablonski, mezzo-soprano
Adam Lau, bass
Hye Jung Lee, soprano
Kathryn Leemhuis, soprano
Matthew Maness, tenor
Ryan Milstead, baritone
Matthew Newlin, tenor
Amy Oraftik, mezzo-soprano
Heather Phillips, soprano
Ola Rafalo, soprano
Brittany Ann Reneé Robinson, soprano
Lacy Sauter, soprano
Melinda Whittington, soprano
Junior Young Artists (aged 20 – 25):
Ryan Bradford, baritone
Sergio Cepeda, tenor
Betsy Diaz, soprano
Claire DiVizio, soprano
Melissa Fajardo, mezzo-soprano
Gillian Hollis, soprano
Aumna Iqbal, soprano
Michael Kuhn, tenor
Steven LaBrie, baritone
Alyssa Martin, soprano
Rebecca Nathanson, soprano
Edward Nelson, baritone
Catherine Spitzer, soprano
Brian Vu, baritone