Media Release: May 11, 2011
Contact: Ashley Tongret, Communications Manager
(513) 768-5526 or atongret@cincinnatiopera.org
Cincinnati Opera Announces 2011 Opera IdolTM Semi-Finalists
Third Annual Opera IdolTM Semi-Finalist Concert will be held on Tuesday, July 5 at the Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater.
Semi-finalists will perform, audience members will vote for their favorites, and the top 5 finalists will be announced that evening.
CINCINNATI—Cincinnati Opera is pleased to announce the 10 semi-finalists in the third annual Opera Idol™ competition. These singers were chosen from the more than 50 singers who auditioned at Music Hall on Saturday, May 7.
Over the next month, the 10 semi-finalists will work individually with a Cincinnati Opera professional who will provide coaching on singing, presentation, and song selection. On Tuesday, July 5, semi-finalists will perform in concert at the Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater, where five finalists will be chosen by the audience. Videos of the five finalists will then be available for viewing online, and the public will vote for their favorite. The winner will receive a $3,500 contract with Cincinnati Opera, which may include public appearances and performance opportunities.
The 10 semi-finalists include:
- Chelsea Fries, a soprano from Cold Spring, Kentucky
- Leah Gordon, a mezzo-soprano from Cincinnati, Ohio
- Samuel Hall, a tenor from Grove City, Ohio
- Walker Jermaine Jackson, a tenor from Bloomington, Indiana
- Shawn Mlynek, a tenor from Cincinnati, Ohio
- Heather Morrey, a soprano from Cincinnati, Ohio
- Catherine Scott, a mezzo-soprano from Cincinnati, Ohio
- Bill Shuler, a baritone from Loveland, Ohio
- Heather Spence, a soprano from Powell, Ohio
- Olivia Yokers, a soprano from Hamilton, Ohio
About the Opera Idol™ Semi-Finalist Concert
The Opera Idol™ Semi-Finalist Concert will feature live performances by the 10 semi-finalists from the third annual Opera Idol™ auditions, along with commentary from judges. The concert will be held on Tuesday, July 5 at 7:00 p.m. at the Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater in downtown Cincinnati. The audience will select the top five finalists by voting during intermission. Concert ticket information will be available beginning June 1.
For more information on Opera Idol™, please visit www.operaidol.org.
Cincinnati Opera’s 2011 Season Presenting Sponsor is PNC. The 2011 season is also made possible with support from ArtsWave, Ohio Arts Council, The Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund, and many generous individuals, corporations, and foundations. Cincinnati Opera’s 2011 Summer Festival runs June 16 through July 31 and features Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto, John Adams’s A Flowering Tree, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Magic Flute.
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