Vote Online To Pick The Host For Confessions Of A First-Time Operagoer Project

Seattle Opera is inviting the public to vote online to choose a host for "Confessions of a First-Time Operagoer," a new reality-style video project. The company has selected five finalists, one of whom will win the opportunity to star in a documentary about his or her first Ring cycle experience.

The company received 49 applications over the past severAl Weeks. Applicants either submitted videos to the company-through Facebook or by mail-or attended the live casting call held May 15. The five finalists are Cassidy Quinn Brettler, 19; Colton Michael Carothers, 24; Jeff Powell, 27; Amy Tower, 19; and Howard Wu, 30. Their audition videos can be viewed online at seattleopera.org/confessions/finalists, and voting will continue until June 5.

The five finalists have varying musical interests and experience-some are singers or musicians, others simply enjoy the arts. None of them has seen more than a few operas, and they are all relatively unfamiliar with Wagner's Ring des Nibelungen. The winner will spend some time during the summer learning about the creation of this production-meeting the artists involved, talking with die-hard Ring fans, and taking backstage tours, among other activities-in preparation for attending the full Ring cycle for the first time. The host will share his or her experiences not only through the video Seattle Opera is filming, but also through blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and other forms of social networking.

The five finalists were selected by Seattle Opera and its project partner, Reel Grrls, but the ultimate selection of a host is up to the public. The finalists' videos are available for viewing on Seattle Opera's website, where people can watch each video and vote for their favorite until 10:00 a.m. on Friday, June 5. The winner will be announced on June 6, and then his or her journey toward opening night of the Ring will begin.

For more information on the "Confessions" project, visit seattleopera.org/confessions.

See the finalists' videos and vote for the winner at seattleopera.org/confessions/finalists.