Divamensch
The host for the finals was bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green, who had been a winner of the 2011 auditions. He did a great job, he was charming.
BRITTANY OLIVIA LOGAN, soprano
Cincinnati, OH
“I want magic” from *A Streetcar Named Desire* (Previn)
“Senza mamma” from *Suor Angelica* (Puccini)
She sounded good and strong, the voice sounded free and comfortable. Her English was exceptionally good. I had the same problem with the Puccini as I had the week before, her portamenti were too slow and sluggish. The high A near the end sort of got away from her, and the high A at the very end was a little touch-and-go.
+ + +
EMILY SIERRA mezzo-soprano
New York, NY
“Deh per questo istante solo” from *La Clemenza di Tito* (Mozart)
“Ich lade gern mir Gäste ein” from *Die Fledermaus* (J. Strauss II)
Sierra’s singing in the Mozart was so confident and secure, she put me at ease right away, which is a nice feeling. The Strauss was darling - - full of the same ease but with a delicious and entirely appropriate sort of swagger. Her voice had a different color but still sounded like the same voice.
+ + +
RAVEN MCMILLON soprano
Houston, TX
“Ah! Douce enfant” from *Cendrillon* (Massenet)
“Ich bin Euer Liebden sehr verbunden” from *Der Rosenkavalier* (R. Strauss)
Something about her rubbed me the wrong way. There didn’t seem to be a strong core to her voice, she seemed to be singing on the frosting without a lot of cake. And yes, the lack of a trill, especially for a coloratoura soprano, is a serious problem. The Strauss was beautifully sung but was missing that extra something that I wanted, something transcendent, something special. I was curious to hear how this would work as an aria, since in the opera it’s clearly a duet. I had the missing voice in my head the whole time, that was distracting.
+ + +
ERICA PETROCELLI soprano
Troy, NY
“Come scoglio” from *Così fan tutte* (Mozart)
“Amour, ranime mon courage” from *Roméo et Juliette* (Gounod)
Another singer who was totally in command of what she was doing, such a treat. As a bonus, she was performing in a hall that had a live acoustic, so you could hear the voice go out into the space and travel somewhere. I was impressed at how she managed her low voice - - she dipped into it, she was audible, but she smartly didn’t try to pump it up into something it wasn’t. The Gounod was a lot of fun, she seemed to enjoy the full tilt diva aspect of the aria.
+ + +
DUKE KIM tenor
“Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön” from *Die Zauberflöte* (Mozart)
“Ah! Mes amis ... Pour mon âme!” from *La Fille du Régiment* (Donizetti)
These two arias have very different requirements, and the hurdles are vocal in nature. The Mozart requires smoothness and poise. The Donizetti has nine notorious high Cs. He jumped over all those hurdles gloriously and seemed to be unfazed and energized by the challenge.
+ + +
EMILY TREIGLE mezzo-soprano
Houston, TX
“Addio, addio, o miei sospiri” from *Orfeo ed Euridice* (Gluck)
“Deh per questo istante solo” from *La Clemenza di Tito* (Mozart)
From her first phrase, you knew you were in the presence of a major voice. And this impression was deepened and confirmed over the course of the two arias. Thrilling. We heard the Mozart earlier, sung by Sierra, an equally impressive mezzo with a very different voice. Treigle’s voice is larger, darker, richer, and I was impressed that she was smooth and elegant, especially after the sports car quality of the Gluck.
+ + +
TIMOTHY MURRAY baritone
San Francisco, CA
“E fra quest’ansie in eterno vivrai” from *Pagliacci* (Leoncavallo)
“Hai già vinta la causa … Vedro mentr’io sospiro” from *Le Nozze di Figaro* (Mozart)
I was more impressed with his singing than I had been last week, his voice sounded more creamy, and it was thrilling how it opened up at the top. The most special thing about his performance, like the week before, was his ability to connect with the audience.
+ + +
MURRELLA PARTON soprano
Cincinnati, OH
“Tacea la notte placida” from *Il Trovatore* (Verdi)
“I want magic” from *A Streetcar Named Desire* (Previn)
Lovely voice, classic lirico spinto. Though Richard, walking through the room, said, “She sounds like Beverly Sills.” An interesting observation, she did have a Sills flavor to her voice. And Sills was not a lirico spinto! You know how I feel about the Previn aria but Parton sang it with immediacy and sparkling clear diction.
+ + +
HYOYOUNG KIM soprano
Seoul, South Korea
“Où va la jeune hindoue” (Bell Song) from *Lakmé* (Delibes)
“Caro nome” from *Rigoletto* (Verdi)
The Bell Song was much better than the week before: the high notes are secure and free, she gave a very polished performance, and her intonation issues were more or less solved. I’m still bothered that she can’t do a real trill. She’s gonna need to be able to do that make a serious career in her chosen rep, and it’s something you can learn. The Verdi was pretty spectacular. She really knew what she was doing, she could sing this role anywhere, she is ready.
+ + +
JONGWON HAN bass-baritone
Seoul, South Korea
“Ves tabor spit” (Aleko’s Cavatina) from *Aleko* (Rachmaninoff)
“Madamina, il catalogo è questo” from *Don Giovanni* (Mozart)
What a gorgeous voice. Unfortunately the feed went dead in the middle of the Rachmaninoff, so we didn’t get to hear the end of that aria. We got him back for the Mozart, which was delightful and full of know-how. Another case of put him on the stage, would love to see him in the role.
+ + +
+ + +
The judges took time to deliberate and they filled the time by showing clips from Met telecast performances of major singers who had been previous winners of the auditions: Teresa Stratas, Grace Bumbry, Frederica von Stade, Jessye Norman, Renée Fleming, Thomas Hampson, Deborah Voigt. Stephanie Blythe, Susan Graham, Eric Owens, Lawrence Brownlee, Jamie Barton, Michael Fabiano, Nadine Sierra, Sondra Radvanovsky, Ryan Speedo Green, Anthony Roth Costanzo, and Lisette Oropesa.
The judges needed a little more time so they showed a short conversation between Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, and Thomas Hampson, talking about their experience of doing and winning the Met auditions.
The winners are:
Soprano Hyoyoung Kim
Soprano Raven McMillon
Tenor Duke Kim
Mezzo-soprano Emily Treigle
Mezzo-soprano Emily Sierra
I was thrilled about the tenor and the two mezzos, I had my eye on the three of them. The two coloratoura sopranos were a little surprising, I thought they both had issues (especially McMillon). And I was disappointed that bass-baritone Jongwon Han wasn’t one of the winners, but I think he will do well.