Metropolitan Opera Announces 2011 National Council Auditions Winners

Yesterday, the Metropolitan Opera held its finals for the National Council Audition.  The events were hosted by the wonderful "American Diva", Joyce DiDonato who indicated that she had not come through the ranks through this competition, but inducated how thrilled these young performers were to be on this stage.  Ms DiDonato, is full of class, humor, spontaneity and most of all charm.  Her career path has been challenging, but she has endured and is at the top of her game.  She will be singing a lead in Le Comte Ory with Diana Damrau and Juan Diego Florez.  The orchestra was ably led by Patrick Summers who used appropriate restraint to allo wthe singers to project and shine in their moment of glory. 

The roster of finalists was unusual in not having any tenors in the ranks.  The lone soprano, who had won the competition had a wonderful stage presence and color to her voice.  The rest of the winners were bass-baritones or baritones. 

The winners were: Joseph Barron, bass-baritone from Pittsburgh, PA; Ryan Speedo Green, bass-baritone from Suffolk, VA; Michelle Johnson, soprano from Pearland, TX; Joseph Lim, baritone from Seoul, South Korea; and Philippe Sly, bass-baritone from Ottawa, Canada. The winners were selected from eight finalists who performed arias with the Met Orchestra, conducted by Patrick Summers. Each winner receives a cash prize of $15,000 and even more importantly, the opportunity to launch a major operatic career.  One only had to be there to witness the joy of Joseph Lim, hugging his colleagues with exuberance and a sense of profound fulfillment. 

For the audience it was a chance to see firsthand the next generation of stars.  Just before the results were announced Joyce introduced Lawrence Brownlee, an American born tenor who has just finsished a 2nd run of Armida.  He wowed the audience to thunderous applause with: “Je crois entendre encore” from Les Pêcheurs de Perles and “Ah! mes amis” from La Fille du Régiment.  It is notable that he and Joyce have both worked with Anthony Pappano and Anna Netrebko in the recent highly acclaimed recording of Rossini's Stabat Mater.

What a thrill to be part of the audience for this event.