Opera San Jose to Host 8th Annual Irene Dalis Vocal Competition, 5/10

Opera San José will celebrate classical stars in classical voice at the Eighth-Annual Irene Dalis Vocal Competition on May 10 at 3pm at the California Theatre, 345 South First Street in downtown San José.

Ten winners selected from the 2014 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
Elaina Lappalainen, Artistic Administrator, Director of Vocal Division at Mid-America Productions;
Dan Montez, General Director of Taconic Opera, New York; and Douglas Nagel, Assistant Professor of Voice and Choral Studies at Montana State University.

The preliminary panel of judges include Robert Ashens, Artistic Director and Conductor of West Coast Opera (Opera Oregon); Opera Director David Cox; and Conductor Timm Rolek. 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 Christine Hageman, second-prize winner in 2013, won first-prize in the Grand Junction Symphony Young Artist Competition earlier this year. 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.

"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 in the lobby of the California Theatre, 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.

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