Central Region | March 21, 2021

Upper Midwest Region | March 20, 2021

Rocky Mountain Region | March 14, 2021

Southeast Region | March 13, 2021

Northwest Region | March 6, 2021

Gulf Coast Region | February 28, 2021

Western Region | February 27, 2021

New England Region | February 21, 2021

Midwest Region | February 20, 2021

Eastern Region | February 13, 2021

 

Colorado-Wyoming District | January 31, 2021

Kansas City District | January 30, 2021

Iowa District | January 28, 2021

San Francisco District | January 24, 2021

North Carolina District | January 23, 2021

Arkansas District | January 21, 2021

Florida District | January 17, 2021

Tulsa District | January 16, 2021

San Diego District | January 16, 2021

Buffalo-Toronto District | January 10, 2021

Los Angeles District | January 9, 2021

Tennessee District | January 9, 2021

Washington District | January 7, 2021

Houston District | December 20, 2020

Nebraska District | December 19, 2020

Mexico District | December 17, 2020

Western Canada District | December 13, 2020

Boston District | December 12, 2020

New York District | December 10, 2020

Pittsburgh District | December 6, 2020

Illinois District | December 5, 2020

South Carolina District | December 3, 2020

Utah District | November 28, 2020

New Orleans & Puerto Rico District | November 21, 2020

Connecticut District | November 21, 2020

Michigan District | November 19, 2020

Arizona District | November 15, 2020

Georgia District | November 14, 2020

Wisconsin District | November 12, 2020

Kentucky District | November 8, 2020

Idaho-Montana & North Dakota-Manitoba District | November 7, 2020

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT | MARTIN AND MELISSA THOMA

District Directors, Arkansas District

  

How long have you been a part of MONC and how did you get involved?

 

We joined the MONC family in 2005 when chairs Dr. Bill and Mary Morton asked us to consider taking the baton in bringing the Auditions to Arkansas. As an opera singer with the Arkansas Opera Company at Wildwood Park, Melissa was motivated to support the art form and especially encourage and support young singers entering the field as a way of keeping opera alive. We conducted the first two years of auditions by ourselves, doing every task and learning the details of every part of the process. Then we built a committee that has been vital in producing the auditions and fundraising for the past decade.

 

 

Can you describe a rewarding moment of your time with MONC?

 

We've loved those wonderful moments when we have a front row seat to the making of an operatic career--such as watching Arkansas native and mezzo soprano Sarah Mesko make her way to winning the National competition. We've also watched as young singers connected with judges and were invited to participate in their summer programs or professional opera companies.

 

 

Do you prefer being behind the scenes or in the audience for a District/Region audition?

 

We have always been behind the scenes on audition day, preferring to be available to support the singers if they need us. We are careful not to form our opinion about the best singers, so that we can simply congratulate and encourage each auditioner for taking that brave step onto the stage.

 

 

What silver linings/creative solutions to this season's unique structure have been most exciting for you?

 

We've been so impressed by the process of making the auditions work online via the Kiswe and Zoom platforms. The opportunity for a broader audience to watch the Semifinals and Grand Finals is exciting. We must continue to build and engage audiences around this art form--and this years format holds great promise.

 

 

Besides opera, what other hobbies and activities do you enjoy?

 

We are very active in promoting and supporting all arts in Arkansas and in the region, so serve on multiple boards. Melissa also still performs locally in musical theatre. We also love travel, wine, boating, gardening and of course playing with our grandbaby!

 

 

What's your pitch to get first-timers to attend the auditions?

We tell our newcomers that an afternoon at our auditions is like a mini-concert of opera's most beloved arias. And that it is fascinating to watch the audition process--and rewarding to support and encourage these young performers.

 

 

JUDGE SPOTLIGHT | RUTH GOLDEN

Voice Faculty, Manhattan School of Music

How long have you been judging for MONC?

 

29 years

 

 

Do you have any memorable stories from an audition day/weekend?

 

My first judging assignment in 1992 was for the District where I had been a winner in 1981......same school, same room. I told the singers that even if you don't go on to be a National Winner, the process will change you for the better and open many doors, as it did for me!

 

 

How do you approach feedback with the singers? Do you have any specific highlights from MONC feedback sessions?

 

I often tell the singers that I stood, literally, in their shoes, so that I often ask, before I begin feedback, how they felt about the audition, or where they are in their development. This way, I hope to frame the positive feedback within a context they can hear what I am saying. When we are young, we want the RESULT, and learning to sing, and devoting one's life to singing is a PROCESS.

 

 

What silver linings/creative solutions to this season's unique structure have been most exciting for you?

 

I was moved by the singers' resilience to sing to cameras and into computers. And I truly marveled at how far the technology has come, which allowed my fellow judges and Melissa (in New York, Buffalo, San Francisco, and Boston) to communicate through WhatsApp, listen on the new platform Kiswe, and do feedback on Zoom. This is truly an exciting use of technology, to keep singers engaged during this unforeseen world pandemic, and maintain life and music when we all need it the most!

 

 

Besides opera, what other hobbies and activities do you enjoy?

I am an avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction. I am a fitness enthusiast (meeting with my trainer virtually!) through the pandemic, and I enjoy experimenting with healthy recipes!

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT | RHONDA SWEENEY

District Director, Houston District

  

 

How long have you been a part of MONC and how did you get involved?

I joined MONC as District Director in early 2011 for our 1st year as Houston District. I worked closely with Gayletha Nichols, MONC Executive Director, and she helped me tremendously with developing the timeline and budget, and arranged our 1st year judges, our pianist Richard Bado, and with Rice University for the date, facilities, and Welcome Dinner. All we had to do was raise the money for prizes, our pianist, and judges' transportation, which we did, and from that point on, we flew solo successfully!

 

Can you describe a rewarding moment of your time with MONC?

We have a really terrific team who ensure the Auditions are planned, marketed, and held annually.  The most rewarding part of my job has been hearing from the opera professionals who serve as our judges how well run our Auditions are! I have said we are a "well-oiled machine", and each year we seem to do a better job, adding a fundraising recital in our 2nd year with a Houston-based MONC Semifinalist, Finalist, or Grand Finals Winner, engaging with opera professionals and university music professors at our Judges' Welcome dinner, and improving the audience experience. I love my team!

 

Do you prefer being behind the scenes or in the audience for a District/Region audition?

In all 9 years of our Houston District Auditions, I have never sat in the audience! I am either on stage making announcements, or in the lobby overseeing the activity, making sure everything is rolling smoothly. I do get to hear the singers, as we have a large closed circuit monitor in the lobby so singers, volunteers, and arriving guests can see and hear the singer onstage before entering the hall!

 

What silver linings/creative solutions to this season's unique structure have been most exciting for you?

The silver lining for us this year is that without in person events, we have fewer expenses to cover and all our fundraising can go directly toward prizes for the singers. Most of our fundraising is through a solicitation letter, so we were able to send the traditional appeal for gifts, and recognizing that it is a difficult year for many people, did not have to raise as much as we would have typically done when we need to pay for our judges' travel and lodging expenses, and a welcome dinner, along with our annual recital and reception, and the marketing expenses to attract the audience.

 

Besides opera, what other hobbies and activities do you enjoy?

I love to read, both fiction and non-fiction, real hardcover books! Right now I'm reading Erik Larson's The Splendid and The Vile about Winston Churchill between May 1940 - May 1941. I enjoy daily 3 mile exercise walks with my neighbor, love going to the movies, and really enjoy traveling with my husband Donald. We've been to over 80 countries, and our last "big" trip was in 2018 to Berlin and to London, where we saw our 9th Ring Cycle! We spend 2 months in Hawaii each summer, rotating islands each year, and obviously missed going this year. I am a Trustee for Houston Grand Opera, Life Trustee for the HGO Guild, Trustee for the University of Houston Moores School of Music Society, and on the Board of Opera Volunteers International!

 

What's your pitch to get first-timers to attend the auditions?

Our pitch is "Come for an aria, or stay for the day"! It's FREE, it's fun, it's exciting to hear young talented singers "up close and personal".

 

 

JUDGE SPOTLIGHT | VERA LÚCIA CALÁBRIA

Stage Director and Teacher, CSU Fullerton 

 

 

How long have you been judging for MONC?

Since 2002.

 

Do you have any memorable stories from an audition day/weekend?

Yes: onto the stage, very apologetically, comes this very small, young person, on high heels that don't quite seem fit, a dress that seems a bit too big, and with a small, almost whispering voice announces that she would start with Sophie (Rosenkavalier). We smiled... She starts singing, and from the first note on the three of us sit straight up in our seats: a beautiful, big instrument came out of this small body, it was simply a joy to listen to her!

 

How do you approach feedback with the singers? Do you have any specific highlights from MONC feedback sessions? 

A great opera composer is always also a great theatre person. This shows in the subject matter and text chosen, but also in the musical tools used by a composer, from the choice of keys, dynamic, musical line, rests, accents, pitch, note-length, etc. All of these things help define the situation and the character. The more a singer knows about this and uses this knowledge for interpretation, the more they can stand out, and the better they will serve the music and the composer. I call it the emotional-dramatic content of the music which often is disregarded by singers. It is wonderful to see how their faces light up when they start to understand these things and also realize how it actually helps them sing more easily. Once they connect with the emotion, the sound is freer, bigger, more beautiful, and more colorful, giving them more possibilities to interpret and interpretational depth.

 

What silver linings/creative solutions to this season's unique structure have been most exciting for you?

The passing of my mother took me for almost 6 months to Berlin. Had the instruction at the university not been online, I would not have been able to continue my work with my students. Right now, we are working on virtual opera scenes. Rather than bemoan the fact that we cannot be onstage, we are looking - and experimenting with - what the virtual setting can actually add to a scene and an interpretation. It's a big learning curve, but the possibilities are enormous! We just need to remember how Yannik Nézet-Séguin put together the online version of "Va pensiero" together with the Metropolitan Opera Chorus - it was a breathtaking performance!

 

Besides opera, what other hobbies and activities do you enjoy?

Being Brazilian: soccer of course! I also enjoy reading thrillers as they take my mind of anything else, and very much like contemporary art. I also love working with young singers, which gets me to work on song / Kunstlied repertoire, another love of mine, after all they are mini-operas...

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT | Cacey Nardolillo

District Director, Kentucky District

 

How long have you been a part of MONC and how did you get involved?

In 2018 I was invited by Clifton Smith, long-time director of the Kentucky District, to take over the directorship in Lexington. I was thrilled to accept, after having been a participant in this very district in 2000, the first year the auditions were held in Lexington. As a singer, director of an international summer music festival and professor of voice, it's a perfect fit for me. I have a wonderful committee and we present these auditions with OperaLex, a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting and promoting opera in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky. I'm so happy to be able to help facilitate and aid young singers as they forge ahead in their budding careers.

 

Can you describe a rewarding moment of your time with MONC?

My favorite part of being involved with MONC is the interaction with the people - the singers, the industry professionals, the team at the Met, directors around the country, my team members, and donors. I have loved traveling to regional competitions and the finals in NYC. The connections and relationships I've developed through running these auditions have been rewarding and I feel are the kind of partnerships that will help sustain and grow this incredible art form.

 

Do you prefer being behind the scenes or in the audience for a District/Region audition?

I have the best seat in the house as director because I get to be part of both front and back of house! I love organizing the program order, getting to know the judges, interacting with the singers before and after the auditions, and most importantly, getting to hear the singing of the next generation of opera singers.

 

What silver linings/creative solutions to this season's unique structure have been most exciting for you?

I am just so thrilled that we were able to present the auditions. So many people have sacrificed and lost so much this year. Being able to provide the opportunity for these young artists to prepare and perform for industry professionals, receive feedback and win prize money has been incredibly rewarding. Our stages will light up again, but in the meantime, we must continue to provide safe, productive opportunities to make music. My hat is off to Melissa, Brady, all of the folks at the Met, and the volunteers and donors who have made continuing our auditions possible.

 

Besides opera, what other hobbies and activities do you enjoy?

I have two young daughters who love all things music. My husband and I are instilling in our children a love of all kinds of music, theater and dance. We travel every year to Prague, where we run an opera festival, Prague Summer Nights, and it is such a joy to see our daughters be a part of the festival community, where they are immersed in an historic, artistic city and and experiencing a culture different from their own. I met my husband, who is a conductor, while singing Musetta in a production of "La Bohème." We had our first date the night after I accidentally hit him in the head with my shoe, during Musetta's temper tantrum in the Act II café scene. A Cinderella story with an operatic twist, centered around love and beautiful shoes. It's a wonderful life I lead!

 

What's your pitch to get first-timers to attend the auditions?

Being part of a community that nurtures and celebrates young artists is an exciting, rewarding experience. Music and opera are vehicles for us express our humanity and oneness with each other. Be a part of the experience and support gifted young artists as they embark on a journey of creating art that lifts us up, moves us and connects us to one another!

 

 

 

JUDGE SPOTLIGHT | Dean Anthony

Director of Opera, Janiec Opera Company of the Brevard Music Center

 

How long have you been judging for MONC?

8 years

 

Do you have any memorable stories from an audition day/weekend?

I was so fortunate to judge the New England MONC back in 2013. It was surreal! The last time in that theater was in 1989 when I placed 3rd in the MONC. One of the moments that will stick with me for years to come.

 

How do you approach feedback with the singers? Do you have any specific highlights from MONC feedback sessions?

I do enjoy the feedback sessions. My HOPE, is that it is an opportunity for be real with each singer. Assess, not judge!! Communicate that each voice/talent is purely unique. Also truly make sure they know that we want to set them up for success.

 

What silver linings/creative solutions to this season's unique structure have been most exciting for you?

Man... I'm so encouraged that these young talented artist are taking risks, putting it out, and thriving! The essence that we are ALL striving forward is remarkable!

 

Besides opera, what other hobbies and activities do you enjoy?

I love Kayak Fishing, Fly Fishing, Vintage 1940-60 Metal Advertisement Stuff, snow, my dog, and growing stuff at my shack in North Carolina!