Houston Grand Opera Reveals 2025 Concert of Arias Finalists
The competition is on January 17, 2025, at 7 p.m. CT
Houston Grand Opera has announced the seven finalists for this year's Concert of Arias, the 37th Annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, to be presented at the Wortham Theater Center on January 17, 2025, at 7 p.m. CT and livestreamed for a worldwide audience.
Each year, HGO hosts an international competition to discover the most promising emerging artists in opera, all of whom are potential candidates for the company's renowned Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio. The seven finalists will spend the week prior to the Concert of Arias immersing themselves in HGO's culture and collaborating with its music staff.
At the event, each finalist will sing two arias and, for the first time in company history, perform accompanied by the HGO Orchestra, to be conducted by Maestro James Gaffigan, who received his master's degree from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and has close ties to Houston. The General Music Director of Komische Oper Berlin, Music Director of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia, and Music Director of the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra in Switzerland, Gaffigan has supported the development of talented emerging artists throughout his impressive career.
As part of HGO's mission to support and recruit the next generation of top-in-class artists internationally, the company has tripled the competition's prize purse for 2025. The finalists will be competing for prizes including $25,000 for first place, $15,000 for second place, $10,000 for third place, and $5,000 for the Audience Choice Award. Each non-placing finalist will receive $3,500, with one of them selected for the $2,000 Ana María Martínez Encouragement Award.
The 2025 Concert of Arias finalists include:
- Lauren Carroll, soprano
- Daria Lupu, soprano
- Alexis Seminario, soprano
- Meg Brilleslyper, mezzo-soprano
- Luke Norvell, tenor
- Luka Tsevelidze, tenor
- Geonho Lee, baritone
This year's esteemed judges for the competition include guest judge Michael Heaston, the Deputy General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera and the former Music Director of the Butler Studio; Khori Dastoor, HGO General Director and CEO; and Patrick Summers, HGO Artistic and Music Director. Celebrated soprano and HGO favorite Ana María Martínez will select one artist to receive her Encouragement Award, which she created a decade ago to celebrate artists developing their craft.
“Identifying and supporting the most promising voices in opera, at home and abroad, is vital to our mission. That is why we have expanded this year's competition,” says Dastoor. “I am proud to share that this year's 20 semi-finalists represented six countries—a wonderful reflection of Houston's global populace. The seven finalists who remain are an extraordinarily special group. It is going to be such a thrill to hear these stunning voices, accompanied by our own HGO Orchestra.”
HGO will present the competition to a live audience in the Wortham's Cullen Theater, and the event will be streamed online through HGO's Facebook and YouTube platforms. The evening's livestream host is popular Houston media personality Ernie Manouse, an executive producer and host at Houston Public Media. Manouse will engage online viewers with special updates and peeks behind the scenes throughout the evening. Audiences in the theater and online will join together to vote for the Audience Choice Award.
Over six months leading up to the competition, HGO leadership conducted a global search for the finest emerging talent in opera, with Butler Studio Director Colin Michael Brush leading scouting efforts throughout the U.S., Europe, and Mexico. As part of HGO's push to expand its reach and serve the international citizenry of Houston, shortly after this winter's Concert of Arias, Brush will be traveling to Barcelona, Spain for the Gran Teatre de Liceu's 62nd Tenor Viñas International Singing Competition. There, he will select one artist to receive the new Torras Family Foundation prize of $25,000 on behalf of HGO, as well as an automatic invitation to compete in Concert of Arias 2026 as a semi-finalist.
“This season, I've had the privilege of traveling across the globe to discover extraordinary voices, and I'm thrilled to see these incredible talents take the stage in this year's Concert of Arias,” says Brush. “Hearing these dynamic young artists perform with the HGO Orchestra is a truly special moment—it's the perfect showcase for voices of this caliber, which deserve to be heard in their full brilliance. We're so fortunate at the Butler Studio to work with such exceptional singers and dedicated talents, and I cannot wait to present this world-class group to our audiences. It's going to be a night to remember as we watch them shine.”
This year's semifinalists included sopranos Lauren Carroll (U.S.), Madison Horman (New Zealand), Daria Lupu (Romania), Alexis Seminario (U.S.), and Jasmin Ward (U.S.); mezzo-sopranos Kendra Faith Beasley (U.S.), Meg Brilleslyper (U.S.), Ashlyn Brown (U.S.), Julia Holoman (U.S.), Imara Ashton Miles (U.S.), and Mariam Tony Mouawad (Lebanon/U.S.); tenors Matthew Goodheart (U.S.), Palanda Gvinjilia (Georgia), Luke Norvell (U.S.), Tristan Tournaud (U.S.), and Luka Tsevelidze (Georgia); baritones Geonho Lee (South Korea), Gabriel Natal-Báez (Puerto Rico, U.S.), and Adam Partridge (U.S.); and bass-baritone Dylan Gregg (U.S.).
Concert of Arias 2025 is chaired by Reinnette and Stan Marek. Proceeds from the evening, which features a post-concert dinner for company supporters, will benefit the Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers and the Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio.
HGO is grateful to offer an increased prize purse for the 2025 Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers thanks to the generosity of supporters Valerie and Miguel Miro-Quesada (first place); Stephanie D. Larsen (second place); Kathleen Moore and Steven Homer (third place); Jill A. Schaar and George Caflisch (Audience Choice); and Hon. Theresa and Dr. Peter Chang, Ms. Marty Dudley, Mr. Brian Faulkner and Ms. Jackie Macha, the Houston Grand Opera Guild, and Dr. Yin Yiu and Mr. Ron Domantay (non-placing finalists).
Founded in 1977, the Butler Studio has become one of the most respected young artist programs globally. Artists in the program benefit from a rich learning environment that prioritizes hands-on experience in the professional opera world. This includes regular coaching with industry experts, opportunities to perform in HGO mainstage productions, recital performances, and a range of other concert engagements. In 2023, longtime HGO supporters Sarah and Ernest Butler created a new fund within the HGO Endowment valued at $22 million, the largest gift in company history, and the Studio program was renamed to honor their commitment to the operatic art form.
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