Arts & Culture

Catch Tomorrow's Opera Stars at Met Auditions

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 10, 2009) - Opera enthusiasts can listen to the stars of tomorrow this weekend at the University of Kentucky as the district auditions for the Metropolitan (Met) Opera National Council Auditions program takes the Memorial Hall stage.

The Lexington Opera Society, in cooperation with UK Opera Theatre, will host the district competition featuring 25 opera vocalists, scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at Memorial Hall. The competition and a master class with noted soprano Cynthia Lawrence, presented at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15, are free and open to the public.

The Met District Auditions will be judged by bass Richard Best, soprano Carol Vaness and tenor Douglas Ahlstedt. Vocalists competing at the auditions will be accompanied by Cliff Jackson, an associate professor of voice and vocal coach at UK School of Music.

A master class with celebrated lyric soprano Cynthia Lawrence, Endowed Professor of Music at UK School of Music, will follow at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15, in Memorial Hall. The acclaimed vocalist, who has performed on five continents and more than 70 times with Luciano Pavarotti, joined the UK School of Music faculty in August. Lawrence's master class is free and open to the public. 

The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions program provides a venue for young opera singers from all over the U.S. to be heard by a representative of the Met. Applicants prepare a minimum of five operatic arias in their original language; selections must demonstrate contrasting style as well as languages. Upon completing the audition, candidates are given the opportunity to meet with the judges personally to discuss matters of evaluation and advice.

The Met holds the auditions to discover new talent and to search for possible participants in the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program. The Lindemann program, designed to nurture the most talented young artists through training and performance opportunities, provides financial aid together with supervised artistic direction to the young artists.

The district level is the first stage of the three tiered audition process, and contestants can choose to compete in any district regardless of their place of residence. There is no set number of singers to advance to compete in the regional with roughly 1,500 singers participating each year in the 16 regions across the country. Regional finals for this area include participants from Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. Winners at the regional level advance to the National Council Auditions Semi-Finals in New York in the spring. Only eight to 10 singers are selected as national finalists and perform in the Winners Concert at the Met.

For more information on the District Met auditions, contact UK Opera Theatre at (859) 257-9331 or visit online at www.kydistrictauditions.org/currentseason.html.