Ten of the most exciting young voices in opera thrilled a sophisticated audience at the Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center as Vero Beach Opera’s heralded Rising Stars 2022 Competition culminated in the Rising Stars Opera Festival Concert on March 25.
When the lauded Vero Beach Opera began its Rising Stars competition in 2013, singers were chosen from applications they submitted. Today, the competition is solely by invitation. This year 10 young singers competed, each a 2021 MET Opera audition winner at some level, and each truly a Rising Star.
On the minimally adorned stage, competition accompanist Jared Peroune sat at an elegant grand piano before a backdrop of twinkling stars. Peroune, a Doctor of Musical Arts student in collaborative piano at Miami University, has performed and collaborated extensively throughout South Florida, Europe and his hometown of Georgetown, Guyana.
Before the finalists took the stage, soprano Meryl Dominguez, first place winner of last year’s competition and a national semifinalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, returned to launch the evening.
The Cuban-American soprano has performed throughout the U.S., and recently made her international debut as the titular character in Vincenzo Bellini’s “Norma,” with Musica Viva (Hong Kong).
Glowing in deep blue satin, Dominguez’s “gorgeous crystalline highs and powerful mid-range” were on full display as she dazzled with “Regnava del silenzio” from Donizetti’s dark and dramatic “Lucia di Lammermoor.”
The first finalist to take the stage was soprano Murella Parton. Charming and animated, she displayed vocal and emotional range as Blanche, performing “I Want Magic” from André Previn’s “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
Ryan Capozzo, a tenor from New York, has been “generating genuine drama” on the operatic stage, according to Opera News. Capozzo brought his ‘A’ game to bear with the Prince’s Aria from Antonín Dvořák’s “Rusalka.”
With regal bearing, channeling a diva from the golden age of opera, California native Brittany Olivia Logan took the stage and immediately owned it, bringing her rich soprano to “Io son L’umile ancella” from Francesco Cilea’s “Adriana Lecouvreur.”
Jongwon Han, from Seoul, South Korea, stunned with his powerful and commanding bass as he delivered “Riez, Alez, Riez” from “Don Quichotte” by Jules Massenet. A host of Bravos ensued.
Georgia native Greer Lyle, noted by Voce di Meche for her “pure vowels and fine vibrato,” brought a fine soprano and engaging acting range to “Dove sono i bei momenti” from Mozart’s comedic “Le Nozze di Figaro.”
Eleomar Cuello, a native of Havana, Cuba, brought a strong baritone and extensive stage experience to the emotional “Per me Guinto … O Carlo ascolta” from “Don Carlo” by Verdi, presenting a fine dramatic range with great passion, and receiving appreciative bravos.
A powerful vocal presence (and a sartorial standout with curly dark hair and beard, shiny gray tuxedo jacket, black ruffled shirt, black boutonniere) with considerable acting ability, tenor Jose Romero, a native of Buenos Aires, moved effortlessly about the stage as he sang “E la Solita Storia del Pastore” from “L’Arlesiana” by Francesco Cilea.
Shaina Martinez impressively brought what the Washington Post described as a “piercing, muscular soprano” to one of opera’s most beloved, longest and challenging arias, “Sempre Libera” from “La Traviata” by Verdi. Bravas followed.
Baritone Tim Murray exuded charm, acting chops and a fine baritone as he performed “Kogna by zhizn domashnim krugom” from Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.”
Soprano Arianna Rodriguez gave voice to the courtesan Magda in “Chi il bel sogno di Doretta,” from Puccini’s “La Rondine,” doing justice to Puccini’s soaring phrases and floating top notes.
From such an exceptionally gifted, experienced group the Vero Beach Opera jury faced the challenge of choosing the top three best of the best.
Of the 10 competitors, four – Han, Logan, Parton and Murray – were in the MET Open Audition Top Ten in the national for 2021; the rest were winners in MET U.S. regionals and districts.
The three jurists were more than up to the daunting task, with years of rich experience among them: jury president, VBO artistic advisor (and operatic baritone) Roman Ortega-Cowan; Gregory Buchalter, Varna International and Metropolitan Opera conductor; and Randall Romig, chairman of Metropolitan Opera Auditions Southeast Region. After two long, grueling days of competition, winners were announced at the conclusion of the concert.
The top three prizes from competition sponsor, the Kleinschmidt Family Foundation: First Place, $10,000, Jongwon Han; Second Place, $5,000, Brittany Olive Logan; and Third Place, $3,000, Jose Romero.
Other awards included the $3,000 Sergio Franchi Music Foundation Special Award, to Dominguez, in continued support of her operatic career; Cuello received a $2,000 Encouragement Award from the Harold and Elma Johnson Foundation.
Community Encouragement Awards from the Windsor Foundation, Tommy and Simonetta Steyer Fund, Harold and Elma Johnson Foundation, Louis Lawson Legacy Fund, and in Memory of Juliet Dykstra, were awarded to Capozzo, Parton, Rodriguez, Murray, Martinez and Lyle.
The three top winners have been able to continue their careers, including virtually, in spite of the past couple of topsy turvy COVID-centric years and they recalled the various life journeys that led them to the opera stage.
As a teenager in Seoul, Han says, “I had a problem with my vocal cords, so I had to train my voice. I didn’t like it – at all!”
Fortunately, Han’s teacher convinced him that he possessed a talent that could take him places he could never have imagined. And so it has. So far, Han’s favorite role has been Aleko from the opera of the same name by Rachmaninoff. His dream role is, hands down, the dashing, boastful bullfighter Escamillo, in Bizet’s “Carman.” With Han’s full, powerful bass and commanding on-stage presence, it is easy to imagine that dream becoming reality.
Logan says with a laugh that opera was never on her radar. “It was crazy. It just sort of fell into my lap,” she recalls.
The Garden Grove native was at the University of California in Long Beach studying marine biology and had to pick an elective. So, she picked voice. With a significant resume of performances and awards already at hand, including such venues as Wolf Trap, Houston Grand Opera and Cincinnati Opera, Logan is currently at the MET as a first year Lindemann Young Artist, and will appear as a priestess in the MET’s production of “Aida” this season. Her dream is to perform center stage at the MET and La Scala. Lofty goals and, with her voice and presence, reachable.
Growing up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Romero listened to opera day and night. “My dad was the singer of the family,” he recalls. “He sang at parties, weddings, karaoke – everywhere. He was my inspiration.”
Even with opera literally in his ears and in his blood, Romero hadn’t considered following in his dad’s footsteps. He went to college to study graphic design.
Then, he laughs at the cliché: “A friend heard me singing in the shower.” A friend who happened to be the music director of the Boston Coliseum.
With urging and encouragement (“Dad was super supportive!”) he was on his way, discovering in himself the personality and the voice for opera, and he’s already compiled an impressive performance repertoire. His favorite roles thus far include Rodolfo in “La Boheme,” and the Duke of Mantua in “Rigoletto.” Dream roles would be Pinkerton in “Madama Butterfly” and Mario Cavaradossi in “Tosca.”
Now in its 34th year, Vero Beach Opera has hosted international vocal competitions since 2013: the Marcello Giordani Foundation Competitions in 2013, 2014 and 2015, and the Deborah Voigt/VBO Foundation Competitions in 2016 and 2018, each with a $10,000 first prize.
In large part though the impressive network of international opera contacts Ortega-Cowan has built over the years, VBO established strong, supportive relationships with Italian tenor Giordani (who died in 2019) and dramatic soprano Voight, both operatic stars who sang leading roles in international opera houses. In 2019, the finalists in Giordani’s and Voigt’s five competitions were invited to the first Rising Stars Competition.
The competition, concert and a glittering Grand Masque Ball ended VBO’s spectacular season, which saw a stunning, fully staged performance of “La Boheme,” under the baton of MET conductor and VBO Music Director Caren Levine; and the “La Bella Italia Concert: Remembering Sergio Franchi.”
For more information, visit VeroBeachOpera.org.
Photos by Kaila Jones
