Opera Index Honors Two Singers at Winter Gala, 1/16

Opera Index presents its 2011 Distinguished Achievement Award to two pioneering Metropolitan Opera artists-tenor George Shirley and posthumously to the late mezzo-soprano Shirley Verrett-at its 27th annual black-tie winter gala on Sunday, January 16. The gala begins at 6 p.m. and will be held in the Grand Salon of the Jumeirah Essex House, the luxury hotel on Central Park South, following a reception in the Petit Salon. The awards will be presented by bass-baritone Spiro Malas. Last year's Distinguished Achievement Award recipient was soprano Patrice Munsel. 

The Opera Index Winter Gala, hosted by its president Murray Rosenthal and attended by many opera and theater stars, is the highlight of the non-profit organization's year of activities, which since 1984 has boosted the careers of more than 250 young singers through its annual vocal competition. Under the artistic direction of celebrated opera soprano Elaine Malbin, the Winter

Gala will not only celebrate the extraordinary careers of Shirley Verrett and George Shirley, but also present Opera Index's six major 2010 competition winners-the opera stars of tomorrow-in a program accompanied by pianist Michael Fennelly. They include three singers who won top prizes of $7500 each-sopranos Nadine Sierra and Joyce El-Khoury and baritone Joshua Benaim; soprano Amber Wagner, who won $5,000; Suzanne Vinnik, who won $3,000, and bass Brandon Cedel who won $2,500. In addition, eight Encouragement Awards of $1,000 each were awarded to baritones Robert Balonek, Joseph Flaxman, Joo Won Kang, Will Liverman, and Ricardo Rivera; tenors Samuel Levine and Alexander Lewis, and bass Nicholas Masters.

Tickets for the Opera Index Winter Gala range from $300 to $1000 and are available by contacting Opera Index Executive Director Bob Crosby at oirfc@aol.com or 212-721-9828.

Shirley Verrett (May 31, 1931 - November 5, 2010)

Born in New Orleans and raised in Southern California, Shirley Verrett studied at The Juilliard School and in 1961 won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She went on to win acclaim, not only for her lush and powerful voice, but also for her dramatic abilities, on the world's great concert and opera stages in a vast repertoire embracing both soprano and mezzo-soprano roles. In 1968 she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Carmen and later in 1973 made musical history when she sang the roles of both Cassandra and Dido in the Met's opening night production of Berlioz's Les Troyens. At La Scala in 1975, her commanding performance as Lady Macbeth won her the title La Nera Callas (the black Callas) among Italy's opera fans. She was championed by some of the most distinguished conductors of the past century from Stravinsky and Stokowski to Bernstein and Abbado.

After leaving the opera stage, Ms. Verrett made her Broadway debut as Nettie Fowler in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel at Lincoln Center, a production that won five Tony Awards. During the early days of her career, like many other black artists, she was the target of racial prejudice, which led to her activism in the civil rights movement. She was a life member of the NAACP and a leading figure in the boycott of apartheid in South Africa. Ms. Verrett was also the recipient of many awards and honors, including Marian Anderson and Naumburg Awards and the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres and the Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres from the French government. Ms. Verrett joined the faculty of the University of Michigan School of Music as a Professor Voice in 1996 and was appointed the James Earl Jones Distinguished Professor in 1999.

George Shirley (April 18, 1934 - )

Born in Indianapolis, George Shirley began to study music at age six, when his family moved to Detroit. Following his graduation from Wayne State University with a bachelor's degree in music, he was drafted into the military, where he became the first black member of the United States Army Chorus. After his discharge, he continued his vocal studies with Cornelius Reid in New York, making debuts with small companies in New York and Italy, before his big break. In 1961 he won first prize in the Metropolitan Opera's auditions, which led to an 11-year association with the company. He was the first African-American tenor and second African-American male to sing leading roles at the Met. Beginning with Ferrando in Così fan tutte in his Met debut, he sang 28 different roles in 26 operas. He has also performed with other major opera companies worldwide, such as Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; San Francisco Opera; Teatro Colon, and Santa Fe Opera, and in concerts led by such illustrious conductors as Stravinsky, Solti, Ormandy, Klemperer, Muti, Rudel, and von Karajan.

The Grammy-winning artist (for RCA recording of Così fan tutte conducted by Erich Leinsdorf) began his teaching career in 1979 when he was selected as the Andrew W. Mellon Humanist-in-Residence at Howard University. From 1980-87 he was professor of Voice at the University of Maryland, and in 1987 joined the faculty of the School of Music of the University of Michigan, where his students included countertenor David Daniels. In 1991 he was appointed director of the vocal arts division of U of M and named The Joseph Maddy Distinguished University professor of music the following year. He was granted emeritus status upon his retirement in 2007 but continues to teach part-time at the school and privately.

Opera Index, composed of opera devotees, is an outgrowth of The New York Opera Club, which was founded in the late 1950's by William Wells, an opera lover and radio personality well known for his interviews with opera singers of the day. Opera Index, its name taken from Mr. Wells's file of opera singers, became a formal non-profit organization in 1982 and two years later inaugurated its first annual opera competition for singers in the early days of their careers. Among the prize winners of the first competition were Suzanne Mentzer and Gary Lakes. Later winners have included Deborah Voigt, Susan Graham, Stephanie Blythe, Andrea Gruber, Michelle DeYoung, Elizabeth Futral, and Christine Goerke.

The first recipient of the Opera Index Distinguished Achievement Award was Zinka Milanov. Subsequent honorees have included Birgit Nilsson, Leonie Rysanek, Marilyn Horne, Roberta Peters, Samuel Ramey, Anna Moffo, Grace Bumbry, Rose Bampton, Theodor Uppman, Renata Scotto, Martina Arroyo, Regina Resnik, Jon Vickers, Sherrill Milnes, James Morris, Catherine Malfitano, Jessye Norman, Aprile Millo, Julius Rudel, and Patrice Munsel.

For more information and a complete list of competition award recipients visit www.operaindexinc.org

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