Contact:Gretchen Miller Basso
Public Relations Director
The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra
Phone: 407/896-6700 x 223
Fax: 407/896-5512
gmiller@orlandophil.org
www.orlandophil.org
(Orlando, FL – February 9, 2011) – María Antúnez, who will perform as Mimì in the Orlando Philharmonic orchestra’s upcoming concert opera production of La Bohème, has advanced to the semi-finals round of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
One hundred and fifty singers competed in the Southeast region, and 15 made it to the regionals in Atlanta. Two singers from the regionals were selected to compete in the semi-finals in New York in March: 26-year-old soprano María Antúnez and 29-year-old tenor Jayson Slayden, both from South Carolina.
Philharmonic Music Director Christopher Wilkins says, “We are all thrilled for María. She will do wonderfully in New York. María is one of the great talents of her generation. She has all the musical and dramatic gifts one could want from a young singer and actress. Her success is evidence of extraordinary hard work and focus, and of the fine training she has had. We are grateful to her teacher, Manny Perez of Miami, for bringing her to our attention earlier this year.”
The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions is a program designed to discover promising young opera singers and assist in the development of their careers. The auditions are held annually in fourteen Regions of the United States and Canada. There are forty-one Districts within these Regions, each providing an opportunity for talented singers to enter the Auditions Program at the local level. The Auditions are administered by National Council members and volunteers in each region. The volunteer co-chairs of our local district are Kathy Miller and Swantje Levin, both of Winter Park.
Winners of the District auditions advance to their Region Finals where they compete to win a trip to New York to participate in the National Semi-Finals, a competition held on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera. Approximately ten of the Semi-Finalists are selected as National Finalists and compete the following Sunday in a public concert, the Grand Finals Concert, accompanied by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. The jury awards approximately five Grand Winner awards of $15,000 each. The concert is broadcast nationwide on the Metropolitan Opera Radio Network. The remaining National Finalists receive $5,000 each, and those singers who were National Semi-Finalists but did not advance to the National Finals will be given $1,500 to further their studies.
Many of the world’s foremost singers, among them Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Thomas Hampson, Ben Heppner, Jessye Norman, Samuel Ramey, Frederica von Stade, Deborah Voigt and Dolora Zajick have received awards from the National Council. Annually, approximately 100 former auditioners appear in Metropolitan Opera productions.
Antúnez stars in the Orlando Philharmonic’s La Bohème alongside Noah Stewart, who will perform the role of Rodolfo. Performances will be held on Friday, April 29, 2011 at 8:00 PM, and Sunday, May 1, 2011 at 2:00 PM at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre, 401 W. Livingston Street, Orlando. The Philharmonic once again collaborates with Mad Cow Theatre, and also collaborates with Florida Opera Theatre for this production. Frank McClain, who has directed Philharmonic productions Porgy and Bess and Guys and Dolls to critical acclaim, serves as director.
Antúnez, who hails from Uruguay, began studying singing at the age of eight under the direction of Jose Martino Rodas in her native city of Mercedes. In 2003, she moved to Montevideo and continued her studies with Eduardo Gilardoni and Beatriz Pazos. There she performed regularly in chamber music, solo recitals and as Adina in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore and Sofia in Rossini’s Il Signor Bruschino. She moved to the USA in 2006 to continue her studies with Deanna McBroom in the Artist Certificate Program at the College of Charleston’s music school, and appeared as Miss Silverpeal in Mozart’s The Impresario, Angelica in Puccini’s Suor Angelica and as Queen Elizabeth I in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda with the College of Charleston Opera.
