Photo courtesy of Opera Birmingham.
From left: Megan Marino (second place winner), Brent Turner (fourth place winner), Clara Nieman (fifth place winner), Melinda Whittington (first place winner), Lesley Anne Friend (third place winner) and Opera General Director Keith Wolfe.
The voices of some of the most talented opera singers in the country will this month fill Vestavia Hills Country Club, the site of the final portion of the annual Opera Birmingham Vocal Competition.
Opera General Director Keith Wolfe said this is the 38th annual competition, and it has grown from a local talent contest into a national event. This year more than 120 people sent in applications, making it one of the biggest years yet.
The competition is open to anyone age 21 to 35 with varying degrees of opera training or experience. Wolfe said that he worked with local vocal teachers and performers to listen to the applications and narrow them down to 20 semifinalists. Opera Birmingham’s competition benefits both the opera and the contestants who reach the semifinal stage.
“[We] identify the next generation of opera stars and help give them a platform to launch their careers,” Wolfe said.
He noted that several previous winners have gone on to national opera careers, and top contestants are on the short list to be considered for future roles with Opera Birmingham.
The semifinal competition will be held on Saturday, May 14, at Hulsey Recital Hall. Each of the contestants will sing two arias for the judges, which include Wolfe, the director of the Shreveport Opera and an artist manager from New York. Wolfe said last year, he didn’t hear a single aria repeated.
“The first rounds are always for me the most interesting because you hear such a wide variety of repertoire,” Wolfe said. “We’ve got almost 400 years — if I’m doing my math correctly, maybe more — of opera. And in the competition you’ll hear stuff from the very earliest operas to stuff that’s been written in the last 10 years.”
Five finalists are chosen from that stage and compete Sunday, May 14, at Vestavia Hills Country Club. The competition is preceded by a cocktail hour at 6 p.m., and a gala dinner follows where the winner is announced.
All five finalists receive a cash prize, including $1,000 for the audience favorite and $3,500 for the judges’ winner. The winner is also invited back to Birmingham to be featured in a special recital.
The gala dinner is a fundraiser which helps Opera Birmingham continue to host the vocal competition and provide prizes. Opera members have already been invited, but Wolfe said the public is welcome to request tickets until May 11. Tickets are $175 per person or $1,500 per eight-person table, and black tie attire is optional. The ticket includes cocktails, a seat at the competition and dinner.
Wolfe said that the vocal competition is a treat for opera fans and newcomers alike because of the variety and skill displayed on the stage. Opera singers must also act well to portray the emotion and actions of their arias to the crowd, so the audience can understand what’s happening even if they don’t know the language.
To learn more about the vocal competition or purchase tickets to the semifinal or final stages, visit operabirmingham.org or call 322-6737.
