The 23rd Annual "Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition" Awards $20,500 in Prizes

The Dallas Opera Guild's 23rd Annual Vocal Competition for young opera singers concluded on a high-note this evening when ten outstanding finalists (with Texas connections) were awarded a total of $20,500 in prize monies. The historic evening marked the first time this much-anticipated spring musical event has graced the stage of the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Downtown Dallas.

26-year-old countertenor John Holiday, Jr., a 2007 graduate of Southern Methodist University now working towards a master's degree at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (2012), wowed judges and audience members alike with his extraordinary renditions of "Crude furie" from Händel's Serse and "Che farò senza Euridice" from Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, which showcased the exceptional beauty and timbre of his unusual vocal type.

He was accompanied by Andrew Packard.

Among his many awards and accomplishments, Mr. Holiday has performed as a soloist with the Bourbon Baroque, the Cincinnati Boychoir, the Catacoustic Consort, the Meadows Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles.

His stage experience includes Tolomeo in Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Bertarido in Rodelinda, Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Testo in Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda for the College-Conservatory of Music. He also appeared in the roles of Nerone (L'incoronazione di Poppea) and Federico (Ainadamar) in selected scenes performed at SMU.

Mr. Holiday has taken First Place in the Sophomore, Junior and Senior Men's Division competitions sponsored by the National Association of Teachers of Singing. He has also been a finalist in the Corbett Scholarship Competition (2010) and twice placed in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, both district and regional.

Now an apprentice artist for the Santa Fe Opera, Mr. Holiday will cover the role of Corrado in an upcoming production of Vivaldi's Griselda, being touted as "the first major U.S. production" of this work.

Mr. Holiday received his $8,000 award from this year's honoree: Patti Cody.

The 2011 Guild Vocal Competition ended in a tie for Second Place, shared by two very distinctive sopranos.

21-year-old Katrina Galka, a senior at Southern Methodist University studying with Barbara Hill Moore, dazzled the audience with her crystalline coloratura voice and her intelligent phrasing, performing "Caro nome" from Verdi's Rigoletto and "The Fire Aria" from Ravel's L'enfant et les sortileges (accompanied by Jason Smith). In 2009, she sang the roles of Barbarina and Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) and Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) in the Amalfi Coast Music Festival near Naples, Italy. With the SMU Meadows Opera Ensemble, she has performed roles including Eurydice in Orpheus in the Underworld, Elisa in Il re pastore, the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor and Baby Doe in The Ballad of Baby Doe.

A 2010 Merola Regional Finalist, Miss Galka is both a cantor and choir member at Christ the King Catholic Church in Dallas, and appeared as a soloist in "The Messiah" at the First United Methodist Church, Irving.

21-year-old Maren Weinberger, an undergraduate studying Vocal Performance with Larry Wade Keller at Oklahoma City University, has appeared in numerous operas, operettas and musicals for her school, as well as Light Opera Oklahoma. Roles include Nedda in Pagliacci, Violetta in La traviata, Anna Gomez in The Consul, Giulia in The Gondoliers, and Osa in A Little Night Music.

This recipient of the 2007 Tommy Tune Scholarship Award and the 2007 TAPPS (Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools) Solo Acting State Champion (First Place) has also been a member of the Houston Grand Opera High School Vocal Studio (2006-2007). She left the audience entranced with her touching renditions of "O luce di quest'anima" from Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix and "O mio babbino caro" from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, accompanied by Julian Reed.
Former Dallas Opera Guild President Connie Klemow presented a $4,000 prize to each of the Second Place winners.

The judges chose not to award a prize for Third Place this year, instead opting to give a special "Encouragement Award" and a $1,500 cash prize to 22-year-old soprano Julie Marx, a Rice University graduate currently pursuing graduate studies in music with Barbara Hill Moore at Southern Methodist University.

A section leader at Highland Park Presbyterian Church, Miss Marx (an Ohio native) has appeared in a variety of university-level opera and orchestral performances including the role of Cupid in this year's Orpheus in the Underworld at SMU, Despina in Così fan tutte at the Lyric Opera Studio Weimar, and as a soloist in Rice University orchestral performances of Arthur Honegger's King David and Benjamin Britten's Ceremony of Carols.

She charmed the crowd this evening with her silvery coloratura, well-displayed in a saucy rendition of Donizetti's "Chacun le sait" from La fille du regiment, as well as a selection from Der Freischütz, "Kommt ein schlanker Bursch gegangen," accompanied by Jason Smith.
The prize was awarded by Contestant Co-Chair Don Jones.

For the thirteenth consecutive year, opera lovers attending the daylong program were encouraged to cast ballots for the "People's Choice Award," a $1,500 prize which went to 29-year-old baritone Norman Garrett, a Texas Tech University graduate who was awarded a Bachelor of Music Degree in 2005 and has since gone on to earn a Master's at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (2009). He now studies with David Lofton at the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Garrett possesses a commanding stage presence and a rich baritone with great vocal color. During this evening's finals round he performed "È sogno? O realtá" from Verdi's Falstaff and "Sois immobile" from Rossini's Guillaume Tell (William Tell), accompanied by Julian Reed.

The "People's Choice" honor-decided by the ballots of those participating audience members-was awarded to Mr. Garrett by the Presidents of the Dallas Opera Guild, Martha and Robert Allday.

Additionally, seven finalists were honored with $250 grants:
Bass-baritone Noel Bouley, age 27
Baritone Adam Cannedy, age 26
Soprano Dee Donasco, age 28
Baritone Norman Garrett, age 29
Mezzo-soprano Laura Krumm, age 23
Soprano Julie Marx, age 22
Soprano Audra Methvin, age 24

Judges for the semifinal and finals rounds were:
· Daniel Biaggi, General Director of Palm Beach Opera
· Andreas Melinat, Director of Artistic Administration for Lyric Opera of Chicago
· Christina Scheppelmann, Director of Artistic Operations, Washington National Opera
· Joshua Winograde, Artistic Administrator & Director, Domingo-Thornton Young Artist program, Los Angeles Opera
· And from The Dallas Opera, Artistic Director Jonathan Pell, who also serves as artistic advisor to this eagerly anticipated annual competition.

This year's honoree, indefatigable Dallas Opera and Dallas Opera Guild patron and supporter Patti Cody, whose lifelong love affair with opera began at the age of eleven or twelve when she heard the strains of a Metropolitan Opera broadcast through a neighbor's screen door. It was Patti who introduced and instilled a love of the art form in her husband, John T.Cody, Jr., who not only became an avid operagoer himself, he went on to serve twice in the past five years as the Dallas Opera's Interim General Director.

Whether putting together a custom "gimme" cap to show her support for the Dallas Opera's world premiere of Moby-Dick, or giving nervous competitors a broad smile of encouragement before they go onstage, Patti Cody lights up the room with her passion, her enthusiasm, and her unquenchable desire to bring out the best in those around her.

The Dallas Opera Guild's Vocal Competition not only provides vital assistance to the young opera stars of tomorrow; it also creates an outstanding opportunity for people from every walk of life to hear exceptional up-and-coming talents, in free, public performances.

And tough economic times may even increase the value of these experiences for young singers, according to Dallas Opera General Director & CEO Keith Cerny: "We believe that competitions like this are extremely important for young singers, allowing them to build their experience levels and confidence in the midst of an increasingly difficult artistic environment."

As the awards were announced, Washington National Opera's Christina Scheppelmann told the singers, "I think you should see this as a great exercise and experience for you (an audition for several at once) and I encourage you to do as many as possible."

Joshua Winograde of Los Angeles Opera remarked to the finalists, "There's something inherently difficult about competitions...to have made it this far and to have accomplished so much means you are all to be commended and you should truly feel like winners-regardless of the outcome."
Audience members agreed that this was one of the finest field of competitors ever assembled for this annual competition.

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