VOICExperience Announces 2022 Opera Idol Winner - Sydney Fabregas

VOICExperience (VE) announces that soprano Sydney Fabregas is the Grand Prize winner of the 16th annual Opera Idol competition Sponsored by The Tom Lysaught Scholarship Fund. Opera Idol is a competition where young singers from around the country are invited to compete for a full scholarship to attend and study at the Milnes VOICE Studio. This summer the Milnes VOICE Studio will be held at Iowa State University.

Fabregas is an emerging American soprano pursuing a career in classical performance. Her recent performance highlights include operatic and music-theater roles such as Serpetta in Mozart's La Finta Giardiniera, La Princesse in Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges, La Fée in Viardot's Cendrillon and Louise in Sondheim's Gypsy. This year, she plans to perform more, continue operating her teaching studio, and complete her Carnegie Mellon University Master's degree.

"The judges had a very hard decision this year selecting just one winner," said Milnes VOICE Programs' Executive Director Chad Sonka. "In the end, what set Sydney [Fabregas] apart was her opulent voice and we believe that the Milnes VOICE Studio will strengthen her gift even more and catapult her career above and beyond."

The esteemed panel of judges for this year's competition were Presidents and Co-Founders of the Milnes VOICE Programs Sherrill Milnes and Maria Zouves, Artistic Director Jorge Parodi, Andrew Bisantz with the Eugene Opera, Dr. Bernard J. Dobroski with Northwestern University, and Milnes VOICE Programs' Composer-in-Residence Michael Ching.

VOICExperience will be broadcasting the competition recording at 2 p.m. Sunday May 29 and is free to watch at www.voicexperiencefoundation.org. Opera Idol was conceived by Milnes and Zouves as part of their non-profit vocal training organization, VOICExperience Foundation, when the two served as faculty at Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music. The contest aims to showcase and encourage budding opera stars in a format that emulates popular television shows featuring talent searches.

Zouves and Milnes, who hosted and conducted the competition in a master class format, concurred that the level of talent they witness at Opera Idol continues an undeniably impressive upward swing.

For more information on Opera Idol or VOICExperience, please call 855-76-OPERA or visit www.voicexperiencefoundation.org.