UK's Eric Brown Sings His Way to Met Regionals
LEXINGTON, KY. (Nov. 18, 2009) - Baritone Eric Brown, a doctoral candidate from University of Kentucky Opera Theatre (UKOT), sang his way to the top of the Kentucky District Auditions for the Metropolitan (Met) Opera presented last weekend at Memorial Hall. Brown joined three other winners from Ohio schools selected to advance to the regional level of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. The contest's Encouragement Award was also presented to UK vocalist, Holly Flack.
As one of the winners of districts, Brown will advance to the Tri-State Regionals to be held Jan. 16, at Butler University. Joining Brown at the regional competition will be other audition winners soprano Jeremy Parker and baritone R. Kenneth Stavert, of University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and mezzo-soprano Paulette Maria Penzvalto, of Oberlin Conservatory.
Brown, a native of the Washington, D.C. area, is pursuing his doctoral degree at UK. Among his many roles with UK Opera Theatre, he has appeared as Marcello in "La Bohème," Father in "Hansel and Gretel," Raul Perez in world premiere performances of "The Hotel Casablanca," Escamillo in "Carmen," and Bonzo in "Madama Butterfly." Additionally, Brown is a 2009 Kentucky Opera Studio Artist. In Kentucky Opera's current season, Brown sang the roles of Doctor Grenville in "La Traviata" and Sharpless in a concert performance of "Madama Butterfly." He was the recipient of the grand prize in the 2006 inaugural Alltech Opera Scholarship Competition.
Aside from moving forward to regional competition, Brown received a $1,100 cash prize for his win. The competition, presented by Lexington Opera Society in cooperation with UK Opera Theatre, was judged by Met luminaries bass Richard Best, soprano Carol Vaness and tenor Douglas Ahlstedt. Vocalists at the auditions were accompanied by Cliff Jackson, an associate professor of voice and vocal coach at UK School of Music.
Flack, a coloratura soprano, also took home honors as recipient of the Encouragement Award at the Kentucky District Auditions. Flack, who recently began work on a master's degree at UK, received her bachelor's degree from St. Olaf College.
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.