Eight Finalists Named for Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Grand Finals Concert 3/13

The Metropolitan Opera today announced the names of eight finalists who will sing in the 2011 National Council Auditions Grand Finals Concert on March 13 at 3:00 p.m. with the Met Orchestra conducted by Patrick Summers. The finalists are: Joseph Barron, bass-baritone from Pittsburgh, PA; Deanna Breiwick, soprano from Seattle, WA; Sasha Djihanian, soprano from Montreal, Canada; Ryan Speedo Green, bass-baritone from Suffolk, VA; Michelle Johnson, soprano from Pearland, TX; Joseph Lim, baritone from Seoul, South Korea; Nicholas Masters, bass from New Canaan, CT; and Philippe Sly, bass-baritone from Ottawa, Canada.

The Grand Finals Concert will be hosted by renowned mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. Tenor Lawrence Brownlee, a Met star and 2001 Auditions winner, will perform during the judges' deliberations once the auditions part of the program is over.

The finalists, between the ages of 20 and 30 years old, will be competing for individual cash prizes of $15,000 each at the Grand Finals Concert. Even more important than the prize money is the contestants' opportunity to perform with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra on the historic opera house stage before an audience that will include opera company executives, artist managers, music critics, and other opinion-makers of the music world. They were chosen from nearly 1500 singers who participated in the auditions held in 41 districts and 14 regions throughout the United States and Canada, sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera National Council. Given the reach of the auditions, the number of applicants, and the long tradition associated with them, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions are considered the most prestigious in North America for singers seeking to launch an operatic career. Some winners are invited to join the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

Past winners of the Met Auditions include many of today's leading operatic artists such as Renée Fleming, Hei-Kyung Hong, Deborah Voigt, Susan Graham, Stephanie Blythe, Dolora Zajick, Nathan Gunn, Ben Heppner, and Thomas Hampson. During a typical opera season, over one hundred alumni of the Auditions are on the Met roster. In 2007, the National Council Audition process was captured in an acclaimed documentary, The Audition, which was shown on PBS and released on DVD.

The Grand Finals Concert on Sunday, March 13 at 3 p.m. is open to the public. Tickets from $20 to $80 are available at the Met Box Office, by phone at 212-362-6000, or at the Met's web site, www.metopera.org.