Seventh Annual Irene Dalis Vocal Competition Set for 5/4

Opera San José will celebrate classical stars in classical voice at the Seventh-Annual Irene Dalis Vocal Competition on May 4 at 8pm at the California Theatre, 345 South First Street in downtown San José.

Ten winners selected from the 2013 West Coast Auditions for Singers will perform some of the most beloved opera arias as they vie for $50,000 in cash prizes, including a $5,000 prize for the Audience Favorite to be selected by popular vote during the final intermission. First prize is $15,000; second prize, $10,000; and third prize, $5,000. The remaining seven finalists will each receive a $2,000 award.

The distinguished panel of judges who will select the top three winners at the competition include
Ian Campbell, General Director and Artistic Director of San Diego Opera; Dale Johnson, Artistic Director of Minnesota Opera; and Joshua Winograde, Senior Director of Artistic Planning for the
Los Angeles Opera.

Brian Asher Aldaheff, General Director and Artistic Director of Opera San Luis Obispo; Robert Ashens, Artistic Director and Conductor of West Coast Opera (Opera Oregon); and Opera Director David Cox, will serve on the preliminary panel of judges. Accompanist for both the vocal competition finals and the auditions is pianist Catherine Miller.

The Irene Dalis Vocal Competition continues to recognize emerging opera singers from across the country. Most recently, soprano Rebecca Davis, first-prize winner in 2012, made her Carnegie Hall debut performing Mahler's 8th Symphony with The American Symphony Orchestra for their 50th Birthday Celebration. Baritone Jonathan Beyer, second-prize winner in 2010, made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera during the 2011-12 season as Wagner in a production of Faust. Beyer also made his debut at Carnegie Hall the same season with Stravinky's Canticum Sacrum with The American Symphony Orchestra, and with the Ft. Worth Symphony, performing Copland's Old American Songs.

"Year after year, our competition attracts exciting talent to the Bay Area," says General Director
Irene Dalis. "I can't imagine a more thrilling way to spend an evening than hearing such fine operatic artists sing the most spectacular arias in the repertoire as they compete for such handsome cash prizes. It is an event not to be missed."

Tickets are $150 ($75 is tax-deductible) for premium seating, which includes an opportunity to meet the judges and attend a post-event champagne reception at the Sainte Claire Hotel, and $50 ($25 is tax-deductible) for reserved orchestra seating. Tickets are on sale at the Opera San José Box Office,
by phone at (408) 437-4450 or online at operasj.org.