Metropolitan Opera competition looks for the voices from Kentucky

The journey to the stage of the Metropolitan Opera starts this year on the stage of Lexington’s First Presbyterian Church.

That is the venue Saturday afternoon for the Kentucky District competition in Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, widely considered to be the premiere competition for aspiring opera singers in the United States. The top three competitors Saturday will move on to the Central Region Finals of the Met competition, Nov. 20 in Evanston, Ill.

The University of Kentucky and other area colleges and universities have enjoyed success in the Met competition over the years, sending numerous singers to the regionals and some all the way to the national semifinals and finals on the Metropolitan Opera stage in New York City. The last winner out of UK was baritone Reginald Smith Jr., who was a national finals winner in 2015. But singers in the Kentucky District come from a myriad of locations and institutions around the United States. Here’s a look at who opera fans will hear this weekend.

▪  Simon Barrad, 25, baritone, bachelor’s California State University, Long Beach, 2013; master’s University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music 2015.

▪  Jessica Bayne, 24, soprano, bachelor’s University of Kentucky, 2015.

▪  Melisa Bonetti, 27, mezzo-soprano, bachelor’s Queens College, 2011; master’s University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, 2013.

▪  Taylor Comstock, 26, tenor, bachelor’s University of Kentucky, in progress

▪  Claire DiVizio, 28, soprano, bachelor’s University of Michigan, 2011; master’s University of Louisville, 2013.

▪  Jinan Huang, 26, baritone, bachelor’s Adelphi University, 2014; master’s, Indiana University, 2016.

▪  Courtney Jameson, 24, mezzo-soprano, bachelor’s Taylor University, 2014; master’s Indiana University, 2016; doctorate Indiana University, in progress.

▪  Alexander Lee, 29, tenor, bachelor’s Myongji University, 2011; master’s Manhattan School of Music, 2013, doctorate Rutgers, in progress

▪  Thabang Masango, 28, tenor, bachelor’s University of Kentucky, in progress.

▪  Conor McDonald, 27, baritone, bachelor’s Northwestern University, 2012; master’s University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, 2014.

▪  Clara Nieman, 27, mezzo-soprano, bachelor’s Indiana University, 2009; master’s Eastman School of Music, 2011.

▪  Katherine Olson, 26, soprano, bachelor’s Furman University, 2012; master’s University of Kentucky, 2014.

▪  Manuel Ortega, 25, tenor, current student at Berea College.

▪  Matt Pearce, 21, tenor, current student at University of Kentucky.

▪  Kristine Phillips, 23, soprano, bachelor’s Middle Tennessee State University, 2016; master’s University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in progress.

▪  Jeremiah Marcele Sanders, 25, baritone, bachelor’s Manchester University, 2014; master’s Butler University, in progress.

▪  Elise Vikari, 27, soprano, bachelor’s Brigham Young University, 2010; master’s University of Michigan, in progress.

This story was originally published November 10, 2016 at 2:06 PM with the headline "Metropolitan Opera competition looks for the voices from Kentucky."