Vocal Competition

RenéeRapier, first place winner of the 2012 Palm Springs Opera Guild Vocal Competition

*Singers: REGISTER HERE for the 30th Annual Vocal Competition*

The Palm Springs Opera Guild of the Desert will present the 30th Annual Vocal Competition on Saturday, December 7, 2013 at the Rancho Mirage Public Library. This is one of the major events produced by the Guild and over the years it has helped young artists to advance their careers. Many competition winners are currently singing with major opera companies around the world in such venues as Vienna, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, the New York Metropolitan, LA Opera, San Diego Opera and Santa Fe Opera. Among the most famous are tenor Charles Castronovo who will appear in several works in Munich this year including Die Zauberflöte, L’Elisir D’Amore, La bohème and La Rondine, and as Lensky in Eugene Onegin in Vienna; soprano Sondra Radvanovsky, recently appearing in the title role in LA Opera’s Tosca, performing this summer at La Scala and Bayerische Staatsoper and this fall at the met in Norma; soprano Angela Meade scheduled to sing Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with the Cincinnati Opera in June and Helene in Les Vêpres Siciliennes with the Caramoor Music Festival in July; soprano Amber Wagner who debuted at the Met in Nabucco and was featured in the film THE AUDITION; and tenor Bruce Sledge who sings this summer at the Spoletto Festival in Charleston and with the Welsh National Opera and is scheduled to appear next March at Boston Lyric. CLICK HERE to read more about our previous winners.

Young men and women between the ages of 18 and 32 in the calendar year (born 1981-1995) residing in the western United States are encouraged to enter the 2013 Vocal Competition scheduled for Saturday, December 7th at the Rancho Mirage Public Library. This year will mark the Competition’s 30th anniversary. Enrollees will be asked to prepare 4 arias, one of which must be in a foreign language. The event allows young singers to earn valuable experience, cash scholarships, community recognition of their achievements and the opportunity to advance their careers. Application fee is $35.

2012 Competition Finalists

The winners in the 2012 Vocal Competition held on Saturday, December 1st at the Rancho Mirage Public Library were:

First place: Mezzo-soprano Renée Rapier.

Second place: Soprano Hae Ji Chang.

Third place: Soprano Julie Adams.

Fourth place: Soprano Marina Harris. (Appeared in Opera in the Park April 7th)

Fifth place: Mezzo-soprano Hannah Ludwig.

Runners up: Tenor Joshua Guerrero, Soprano Yelena Dyachek, Tenor Benjamin Bliss, Soprano Alannah Garnier and Baritone Jure Počkaj. (Mssrs Guerrero and Počkaj and Alannah Garnier appeared in Opera in the Park April 7th)

Encouragement Award: Baritone David Castillo. (Appeared in Opera in the Park April 7th)

The distinguished judges were Charles MacKay (General Director, Santa Fe Opera), Joshua Winograde (Artistic Administrator and Director, the Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program of LA Opera) and Ian Campbell (General Director, San Diego Opera). Mona Lands was Music Director and pianist.

Following are photos of the Finalists, Encouragement Award Recipient and Music Director Mona Lands: