Opera singer hopefuls gear up for Midwest Regional Auditions
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 4:45Opera singer hopefuls gear up for Midwest Regional Auditions
Tomorrow’s opera greats may be waiting in the wings of stardom as the winners of the recent Tulsa District Auditions for Metropolitan Opera National Council look toward the Midwest Regional Auditions.
Regional auditions will be held at 8 p.m. Feb. 11 at Union High School Performing Arts Center and are open to the public.
Judges will be Gayletha Nichols, executive director of the Metropolitan Midwest Regional Auditions National Council; Erie Mills, opera singer and principal English diction coach of Opera Theatre of St. Louis; and Michael Egel, artistic director of the Des Moines Metro Opera. Gail Hintz will be the accompanist.
A single winner from the three Midwest districts – Tulsa, Kansas City and St. Louis – will advance to the national auditions in New York City and perform on stage at the Metropolitan Opera House.
Prior to the regional competition, the Tulsa District will host a dinner at Meadowbrook Country Club and honor longtime members of the Tulsa District Committee: Margo Wallace, Doris Wellemeyer and Madge Turley.
The Grand Finals Concert will be held March 18 at the Met. Tickets are available at tulsaworld.com/metopera
The Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions are designed to discover exceptional young singers and assist in the development of their careers at venues all over the country. The auditions also feed the search for new talent for the Metropolitan Opera and the Met’s Lindeman Young Artist Development Program.
Tulsa’s 2011-12 winners are Alex DeSocio, baritone, University of Maryland; Laura Begley, mezzo-soprano, University of North Texas; J. Warren Mitchell, tenor, Oklahoma City University; and Sara Petrocelli, mezzo-soprano, Carnegie Mellon University.
Bonnie Frauenthal, soprano, Oklahoma City University, was the recipient of the Trudy Oliphant Sundgren Young Singer Encouragement Award.
Judges for the Jan. 14 Tulsa District Auditions were: Richard Bado, chorus master for Houston Grand Opera and official accompanist; Brad Trexell, director of artistic planning for Opera Colorado; and Cynthia Lawrence, professor of voice and endowed chair for vocal performance and opera, University of Kentucky School of Music. Lawrence is best remembered locally as the soprano who sang with Luciano Pavarotti during his farewell tour stop in Tulsa in September 2005.
The Tulsa District directors are Stephen Greubel and Linda Van Arkel-Greubel, and the assistant directors are Dr. Timothy and Susan Young. Ronald and Barbara Glass are the Midwest Regional Auditions directors.
Tulsa District awards include the Patti Johnson Wilson Foundation Award; the Doris Wellemeyer and Kendall Sherrill Awards, given by Jimmy and Marilyn Strange; the Albert and Hete Barthelmes Foundation Award; the Richard D. Turley Memorial Award, given by Ron and Katie Petrikin; and the Trudy Oliphant Sundgren Young Singer Encouragement Award.
Tulsa District premier patrons include Rick and Jeanette Dunn, Ron and Barbara Glass, Stephen and Linda Greubel, and Dixie Reppe.
Patrons were Rainer and Myriam Dupont, Richard Ekdahl and Doris Franklin, Don and Polly Hamilton, Joe Kestner and Anna Norberg, Charles Johnson and Kelly Kirby, Mike and Gina Lodes, Franklin and Kay Miller, Leonard and Kathleen Pataki, Dave and Barbara Sylvan, and Doris Wellemeyer.
Preceding the auditions, Susan and Tim Young hosted a dinner in their home for the three judges. Guests included Ron and Katie Petrikin, Marilyn Strange, Carleton and Frankie James, and Becky and Robert Billings.
Others at the judges and winners dinner at The Summit Club were Dixie Reppe and William Harjo; Ranier and Myriam DuPont; Richard Ekdahl and Doris Franklin; Jane Hoffman; Charles Johnston; Kelly Kirby; Franklin and Kay Miller; Dave and Barbara Sylvan and Debbie Sylvan; Harley and Debra Thomas; Tom and Vicki Warburton; Dr. Tom and Carole Ashcraft; Robert and Becky Billings; Rolf and Adele Blom; Don and Polly Bowen; David and Pattie Bowman; Nan Buhlinger; Louann Buhlinger; Shirley Carle, her daughter Carolyn Carle and her daughter Laura Saulnier; Phillip and Donna Diggdon, Dr. Marc and Linda Frazier; Harvey and Phyllis Gaspar; Herbert Haschke Jr. and Beverly Smith; Jerry and Nancy Henry; Jeep and Iliana Jeffries; Russell Kidd, Scott Williams and Mark Weathers; Frank and Elizabeth Palmieri; Dr. Frank and Mary Shaw; Burl and Nita Watson; Patty McNeer; and John Everitt, a new audition committee member.
Special thanks went to Chris Thompson, Andrew Thompson and Marty Martin for their behind-the-scenes help, along with Katherine Greubel, Nancy Henry, John Fisher, Leonard and Kathleen Pataki, Robert and Becky Billings, and Elote Restaurant.
A members’ reception in September at Harwelden marked the beginning of the year’s new season.
Sponsors for the reception included Sid and Susan Shupack and First State Investment Advisors; Riggs Abney Law Firm, Linda Greubel, and Harley and Debra Thomas; Bank of Oklahoma; Trust Company of Oklahoma; Arvest Bank; Gene Bishop and the Family Wealth Consortium; and Tom Warburton and Warburton Capital Management.
The 2011-12 members of the Metropolitan Opera National Council are Mark Armstrong, Rolf and Adele Bloom, Nan Buhlinger, Philip and Donna Diggdon, Richard Ekdahl and Doris Franklin, Harvey and Phyllis Gaspar, Stephen and Linda Greubel, Jerry and Nancy Henry, Marvin and Soohyun Jin, Joseph Kestner and Anna Norberg, Mike and Gina Lodes, Leonard and Kathleen Pataki, Dixie Reppe, Joan and Harry Seay III, John and Sandy Stava, Dave and Barbara Sylvan, Burl and Nita Watson, Tom and Carole Ashcraft, Don and Polly Bowen, Tom Campbell, Rick and Jeannette Dunn, John Fisher, Ron and Barbara Glass, Don and Polly Hamilton, Carleton and Frankie James, Charles Johnson and Kelly Kirby, Russell Kidd and Scott Williams, Franklin and Kay Miller, Ron and Katie Petrikin, Frank and Mary Shaw, Bruce and Linda Stoesser, Madge Turley, Doris Wellemeyer, Robert and Becky Billings, David and Pattie Bowman, Shirley Carle, Rainer and Myriam DuPont, Marc and Linda Frazier, Katherine Greubel, Herbert Haschke Jr., Jeep and Iliana Jeffries, Inge Kahn, William and Grace Leiter; Frank and Elizabeth Palmieri, Deborah Pinkerton, Patricia Savage, Jane Sneed, Marilyn Strange, Margo Wallace, and Tim and Susan Young.
Source: http://www.tulsaworld.com
