It was a fabulous finale to the 2019 Vero Beach Opera season: An evening filled to the brim with elegance, sparkle and glorious music – featuring not one but two Metropolitan Opera divas – capped off the VBO Rising Stars Vocal Competition with a concert at the Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center last Friday.
Currently celebrating its 30th year, the internationally recognized Vero Beach Opera not only brings excellent, professionally-oriented productions to its sophisticated local audience, but also encourages promising young talent through training opportunities, career assistance and financial support.
To that end, the VBO has hosted five international vocal competitions: the Marcello Giordani Foundation Competitions in 2013, 2014 and 2015; and the Deborah Voigt/VBO Foundation Competitions in 2016 and 2018, each offering a $10,000 first prize. In large part due to the impressive network of contacts Roman Ortega-Cowan, VBO artistic director, has built over the years, the organization enjoys strong, supportive relationships with tenor Giordani and dramatic soprano Voight, globally acclaimed stars who have sung leading roles in opera houses throughout Europe and the U.S.
Invited to compete in this year’s Rising Stars Competition were finalists who did not win the top prize in the previous five competitions. They would be judged by a truly distinguished jury: Voigt; Eva Franchi, widow of the late Sergio Franchi, an Italian-American tenor, actor and founder of the Sergio Franchi Music Foundation; and Ortega-Cowan. On the Wednesday before the competition began, the young singers were thrilled to also attend a Master Class conducted by Voigt.
From a field of 14 (including a soprano from China), eight finalists took the stage the afternoon before the Friday evening Rising Stars Concert – two sopranos, two mezzo sopranos, a baritone and a tenor. Each sang a final two selections, and each had brought his or her “A” game.
Complete silence was required of the audience, and the deafening silence that followed each applause-worthy aria felt weird in the extreme, as the judges studiously, and with little discernible expression, did their job. The winners would be announced at the evening concert.
Each of these eight aspiring, young operatic singers had come to this time and place with a story to tell, and a couple of the contestants shared a little about their musical journeys.
Mezzo soprano Madison Marie McIntosh says her childhood home in Palm Beach County was perpetually filled with music, from the Beatles to classical – including opera. Even as a little sprout at age 6, singing and playing about the house, she was drawn to Pavarotti, Beverly Sills and Charlotte Church. So much so that if anyone attempted to change the music, she let them know she disapproved.
“My enthusiasm was impressive,” she laughs. McIntosh participated in children’s musical theatre, studied piano and violin, “sang for fun,” and began voice lessons at age 10. She saw her very first live opera, “The Barber of Seville,” then as well, and thought it “spectacular.” Then, at 13, “I was lucky enough” to be accepted as a student of the legendary soprano Virginia Zeani.
Opera has been her life ever since. McIntosh has performed numerous roles over the years and has participated in the Accademia Rossiniana in Italy. She performed the role of Delia in the Rossini Opera Festival’s production of “Il viaggio a Reims,” and later this year she’ll perform the title role in “Carmen” with the Hudson Opera Theatre.
Music has always been a part of Ethan Simpson’s life and, although no one else in his family was musical, he always had their support. The baritone and actor grew up in Kansas City, Mo., where he sang in his church choir, began playing piano at age 6 and started guitar lessons in fourth grade. Now a fourth-year resident artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, Simpson has already garnered numerous awards and honors.
Simpson’s repertoire includes such juicy roles as Count di Luna in “Il Trovatore,” the Demon in “Rigoletto” (which he calls his toughest role so far) and the title role in “Don Giovanni.” A favorite role he hasn’t sung yet? “I’d love to do Silvio (‘Pagliacci’).” Although Simpson is passionate about opera, he feels just as strongly about acting; both passions are crystal clear in his powerful operatic performances.
McIntosh and Simpson joined the other finalists on Friday awaiting the announcement of the Rising Star winners, set to take place right after intermission.
The first half of the concert featured four previous Giordani or Voigt competition first-place winners, performing a diverse combination of arias, duets and quartets by Rossini, Thomas, Offenbach, Puccini and Mascagni – baritone David Pershall, 2013 winner, now at The Met; mezzo soprano Megan Marino, 2014, also at The Met; soprano Anush Avetisyan, 2016 award winner; and tenor Matthew White, 2018.
Giordani had been scheduled to join the Rising Stars in concert, performing a couple of his audience favorites. However, he was taken ill and couldn’t attend. Graciously stepping in for the ailing baritone was another Metropolitan Opera diva and friend of Vero Beach Opera, internationally acclaimed, dramatic soprano Susan Neves, who delighted the opera-loving audience with “Mattinata” by Leoncavallo and “Io son l’Umile ancella” from Cilea’s “Adriana Lecouvreur.”
The lights dimmed for the second half as the finalists took the stage for “the moment we’ve all been waiting for.” $1,000 Encouragement Awards went to Robyn Lamp, Anne Maguire, Madison Marie McIntosh, Kevin Ray and Christine Suits.
Third place and $2,000 to mezzo soprano Julie Miller; second place and $3,000 to soprano Laura Leon; and first place and $5,000 to baritone Ethan Simpson. This stellar trio each performed an aria, and this time the audience didn’t have to be silent.
Simpson led off with the dramatic, emotional “O Carlo, ascolta” from Verdi’s “Don Carlo.” Leon delighted with the hilarious and vocally dizzying “Glitter and Be Gay” from “Candide” by Bernstein. And Miller performed the heartbreaking “Se Romeo t’uccise … La tremenda ultrice spada” from Bellini’s” I Capuleti e i Montecchi.”
Everyone knows that, with the exception of a cappela performances, singers are (way) up a creek without a first-rate accompanist. So the audience and the performers applauded lustily when accompanist extraordinaire Jared Peroune was introduced.
