Our talented alumni are singing at major Opera houses, winning awards, and continue to inspire.

 
 

Many of our Prelude to Performance Alumni have gone on to win major voice competitions as well as obtaining performance contracts with both large and small opera companies.

 

MICHELE ANGELINI

Prelude 2005 (Almaviva)

Awards include First Prize in the 2010 Savonlinna Opera Festival International Singing Competition, First Prize in the 2012 Gerda Lissner Foundation Singing Competition, Top Prize winner of the 2013 Opera Index Award, and an Encouragement Award in the memory of Charles Anthony from the George London Foundation.

Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Rossini Opera Festival, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Theatre des Champs-Elysees, Teatro Real, Bayerische Staatsoper, Laeiszhalle( Hamburg) Opera Royal Versailles, , Royal Swedish Opera, Bilbao, Teatro Comunale de Bologna, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Teatre Royal de la Monnaie, Savonlinna Festival, Opera Philadelphia, Washington Concert Opera, Carnegie Hall, Opera Orchestra of New York and Caramoor.

MICHELE ANGELINI                     

Prelude 2005

About Michele Angelini

ANDRE COURVILLE

Prelude 2007/11/12 (Herman, Raimbaldo, Don Alfonso)

Awards in eight national and international vocal competitions, including First Prize in the Loren L. Zachary National Vocal Competition and Top Prize in the Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition.
AVA Resident Artist, Philadelphia Orchestra, Badisches Staatstheater , Spoleto Festival, Santa Fe Opera, Rochester Philharmonic , Caramoor Music Festival, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, Opera Orchestra of New York, Columbus Symphony Orchestra, The Cecilia Chorus of New York, Philadelphia Sinfonia at Verizon Hall. Opera News” Sound Bites”Terry Peterson

ANDRE COURVILLE                     

Prelude 2007/11/12

About Andre Courville

MEGHAN PICERNO

Prelude 2011 (Zerlina)

Currently starring as Christine Daaé in the US Premiere and 1st National Tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies, New York City Opera, BAM, Williamsburg. Canadian Institute of Vocal Arts Festival in Montreal, Barcelona Opera Studio, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center; David Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall, The National Center of Performing Arts in Beijing, Quarterfinalist Operalia International Vocal Competition in London at The Royal Opera House, 1st prize in the Arkadi International Vocal and New York Lyric Opera's Vocal Competitions.

MEGHAN PICERNO                       

Prelude 2011 (Zerlina)

About Meghan Picerno

HYONA KIM

Prelude 2012/15 (Dame Quickly, Suzuki)

San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center
Festival artist with Opera Dortmund 2018
Metropolitan Opera Competition Winner, Grand winner, Joy of Singing, First Prize Wnner Gerda Lissner, multiple grant winner at the Licia Albanese-Puccini and Giulio Gari Competitions. She has won the Suri Competition and the Schubert Lied Competition in her native country, South Korea.

HYONA KIM                                       

Prelude 2012/15

About Hyona Kim

WON WHI CHOI

Prelude 2013 (Hoffmann)

Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Festival artist with Theater Erfurt in Germany.

WON WHI CHOI                               

Prelude 2013  

About Won Whi Choi

ALASDAIR KENT

Prelude 2014 (Almaviva)

Rossini Festival, Wolftrap, Opera Queensland, Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier, Opéra de Toulon Teatro di San Carlo, Hungarian State Opera, Theater Basel, Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari. Philadelphia Opera, Portland Opera, AVA Resident Artist.
Honors include winning First Prizes in the Loren L. Zachary National Vocal Competition, the Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition, the Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Foundation Bel Canto Award, the AVA Giargiari Bel Canto Competition, and the Mildred Miller International Voice Competition. The tenor was also a National Semifinalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Finalist in the Paris Opera Competition and was awarded the Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarship by the Australia Council.

ALASDAIR KENT                             

Prelude 2014

About Alasdair Kent

KAROLINA PILOU

Prelude 2015 (Marquise of Berkenfield)

Metropolitan Opera, Winner, Gerda Lissner, Licia Albanese-Puccini Competition, Olga Forrai Foundation.

KAROLINA PILOU                           

Prelude 2015 

About Karolina Pilou

ETHAN SIMPSON

Prelude 2016 (Schaunard cover)

AVA Resident Artist, Cesar in Movie “ Bel Canto”, Metropolitan Opera Council Finalist 2018
Honors include Paris Opera’s Mozart Awards 2017, the Lotte Lenya Competition, the Giulio Gari Foundation, the Dallas Opera Competition, the Vero Beach Opera International Vocal Competition, the Bel Canto Foundation.

ETHAN SIMPSON                             

Prelude 2016 

About Ethan Simpson

BRIAN MAJOR

Prelude 2017 (Escamillo)

Sarasota Opera, Columbus Symphony, Saratoga, Upcoming: Opera Theater of the Rockies, Opera Grand Rapids, Toledo Opera, Opera Carolina. First Place Opera Ebony Benjamin Matthews Vocal Competition; First Place, Harlem Opera Theater Vocal Competition.

BRIAN MAJOR                                   

Prelude 2017

About Brian Major

NOAH STEWART

Prelude 2005 (Nemorino)

DECCA Recording Artist, ROH Covent Garden, Bregenzer Festspiele, Glimmerglass Festival, Scottish Opera, Bolshoi Opera, Teatro Real Madrid and Opera Perm, Hallé Orchestra, RTÉ Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (UK), Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philhamonic Orchestra, Manchester Philharmonic, Gulbenkian Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, BBC Proms, named a BBC Music Ambassador and made his broadcasting debut at The Cardiff Singer of the World on the BBC.

NOAH STEWART                             

Prelude 2005 

About Noah Stewart

CLARISSA LYONS

Prelude 2009 (Mimi)

Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Cleveland Orchestra Vienna’s Musikverein, and Philharmonie Luxembourg, Wolf Trap Opera’s Filene Young Artist Program , 2016 Catherine Filene Shouse Career Development Grant from Wolf Trap Opera, Bel Canto Young Artist at Caramoor , Boston Symphony at Tanglewood.

CLARISSA LYONS                           

Prelude 2009

About Clarissa Lyons

MICHELLE BRADLEY

Prelude 2012 (Alice cover)

Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist, Carnegie Hall, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Théâtre du Châtelet, New World Symphony. Future engagements include a debut in a leading role in Frankfurt and a return to the concert stage in Paris. Leonie Rysanek Award from the George London Foundation, Hildegard Behrens Foundation Award, and a first place winner in the Gerda Lissner and the Serge and Olga Koussevitzky vocal competitions. She is the 2014 grand prize winner of The Music Academy of the West’s Marilyn Horne Song Competition.

MICHELLE BRADLEY                   

Prelude 2012 

About Michelle Bradley

LEAH HAWKINS

Prelude 2012 (Meg Cover)

A native of Philadelphia, Leah Hawkins is in her final season of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program at Washington National Opera. In the 2017-18 season she appeared at WNO as Ma Zegner in the world premiere of Proving Up by Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek, and Voce dal cielo in Verdi's Don Carlo. In the 2016-17 season she appeared at WNO as the I-Will-Sell-My-Children-Mom in the premiere of Mohammed Fairouz’s The Dictator’s Wife and, to great acclaim, as Cousin Blanche/Sadie Griffith in Champion, Terence Blanchard’s “opera in jazz.” Additionally she appeared in Justice at the Opera with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, performing scenes from Aida and Un ballo in maschera with the Washington National Opera Orchestra.

LEAH HAWKINS                              

Prelude 2012   

About Leah Hawkins

KIRSTEN SCOTT

Prelude 2013/14 (Nicklausse, Rosina)

Library, NY Supreme Court, Merkin Hall, Harris Hall, Wheeler Opera House, Aspen Opera Theater and Tanglewood. Florida Grand Opera, Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater, Jordan Hall.

KIRSTEN SCOTT                               

Prelude 2013/14 

About Kirsten Scott

CECILIA LOPEZ

Prelude 2014 (Violetta)

Cecilia Violetta López, has been named one of opera’s “25 Rising Stars” by Opera News. Metropolitan Opera, Zomeropera in Belgium, Florida Grand Opera, Bard SummerScape, Loft Opera, Michigan Opera Theater, Opera Tampa, Idaho, Saratoga, Austin and Orlando.

CECILIA LOPEZ                               

Prelude 2014 

About Cecilia Lopez

JESSICA SANDIDGE

Prelude 2015/16 (Madama Butterfly cover/ Mimi)

Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, New York City Opera, New York Grand Opera.

JESSICA SANDIDGE                       

Prelude 2015/16

About Jessica Sandidge

HOGNI WU

Prelude 2016 (Orlofsky)

ROH Covent Garden Jette Parker Young Artist Program, Metropolitan Opera Council Finalist 2018.

HOGNI WU                                             

Prelude 2016 

About Hogni Wu

EMILY RIGHTER

Prelude 2017 (Carmen)

Gotham Chamber Opera, Opera Tampa, Carnegie Hall, Salzburger Landestheater, Spoleto Festival,Santa Fe, Chicago Opera Theater, NYCO.

 EMILY RIGHTER                                

Prelude 2017 

About Emily Righter

TAYLOR STAYTON

Prelude 2006/07 (Ernesto and Ferrando)

Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, Glyndebourne, Gran Teatre del Liceu,, Opera de Lille, Baayerische Staatsoper, Teatro dell Opera di Roma, Washington National Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opera Dijon, Staatsoper Dresden, The Norwegian National Opera Opera Orchestra New York.

TAYLOR STAYTON                         

Prelude 2006/07

About Taylor Stayton

RYAN SPEEDO GREEN

Prelude 2010/11 (Sarastro, Commendatore)

Metropolitan Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, Ravinia Festival, Mostly Mozart Festival, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, LA Philharmonic, Houston Grand Opera
Honors and awards include National Grand Finals winner of the 2011 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, a 2014 George London Foundation Award, a 2014 Annenberg grant recipient, a 2014 Gerda Lissner Foundation First Prize winner, both the Richard and Sara Tucker Grants from the Richard Tucker Foundation and recently, the Marion Anderson award.
In the fall of 2016, Little, Brown published Sing for Your Life, by New York Times journalist Daniel Bergner, Ryan’s voyage from a difficult childhood to the Met Stage.

RYAN SPEEDO GREEN                

Prelude 2010/11

About Ryan Speedo Green

NICOLE HASLETT

Prelude 2012 (Nanetta)

Metropolitan Opera, Deutsche Opera Berlin, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Alice Tully Hall, Finalist for Metropolitan Opera Competition, Gerda Lissner and George London Foundation (encouragement award.)

NICOLE HASLETT                         

Prelude 2012 (Nanetta)

About Nicole Haslett

ROBERT KERR

Prelude 2012/14 (Falstaff, Germont)

Glimmerglass, Rose Theater at Lincoln Center, Columbus Symphony, Gotham Chamber Opera,New York City Opera Orchestra in Japan, Opera Columbus, Philharmonia Orchestra, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, Merola Opera Program.

ROBERT KERR                                 

Prelude 2012/14 

About Robert Kerr

JORELL WILLIAMS

Prelude 2013 (Bel Core)

Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center Festival, Seattle Opera, Santa Fe, NYCO, Atlanta Opera, Opera Maine, Chautauqua Opera, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Caramoor, On-Site Opera Juneau Symphony Orchestra, Harlem Chamber Players, Budapesti Nyari Fesztival and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for Marsalis’ Abyssinian Mass. Omaha Symphony, Marc and Eva Stern Fellowship at Songfest, Top awards from the Gerda Lissner International Competition, Schuyler Foundation for Career Bridges, Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation, The American Prize, Serge Koussevitzky Foundation, David Adams Art Song Competition, The American Traditions Competition, Civic Morning Musicals Foundation, the National Association of Negro Music.

 JORELL WILLIAMS                         

Prelude 2013 

About Jorell Williams

CLAIRE COOLENPrelude 2015/16 (Marie cover, Musetta)National Theatre in Belgrade, Knoxville Opera, Sarasota Opera, Opera Tampa, On Rai 3 Radio in Rome, Italy she performed on the well known popular classical program “La Barcaccia”, Siena Music Festiv…

CLAIRE COOLEN

Prelude 2015/16 (Marie cover, Musetta)

National Theatre in Belgrade, Knoxville Opera, Sarasota Opera, Opera Tampa, On Rai 3 Radio in Rome, Italy she performed on the well known popular classical program “La Barcaccia”, Siena Music Festival in Siena, Italy, Yale University. Banff Opera Theatre filmed and sang the role of Musetta in the motion picture film The Bohemians, a modern adaptation of Puccini’s La Boheme due for release in 2016. (www.thebohemiansmovie.com)

CLAIRE COOLEN                             

Prelude 2015/16 

About Claire Coolen

JEFFREY BYRNES

Prelude 2016 (Marcello)

Studio artist at the Michigan Opera Theatre, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Theater St. Louis, Semi-Finalist in the Metropolitan National Council Auditions in 2016, and he was awarded the Encouragement Award in the New Orleans district in 2010. Finalist in the 2017 Mildred Miller International Vocal Competition.

JEFFREY BYRNES                           

Prelude 2016 

About Jeff Byrnes

MICHELLE JOHNSON

Prelude 2017 (Suor Anglica)

Glimmerglass Festival, Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, Boston Philharmonic, Columbus Symphony, Sarasota Opera, Columbus Opera. Ms. Johnson is a winner of numerous competitions, most notably the Grand Prize Winner at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, William Matheus Sullivan Foundation, Gerda Lissner Foundation and Giulio Gari Foundation.

MICHELLE JOHNSON                   

Prelude 2017

About Michelle Johnson

BEN WERLEY

Prelude 2017 (Don Jose)

Florida Grand Opera Young Artist, Auditions Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Merola Opera Program, Virginia Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Colorado.
Semi-finalist, Metropolitan Opera National Council

BEN WERLEY                                    

Prelude 2017 

About Ben Werley

ELENI CALENOS

Prelude 2006 (Dona Elvira)

Glyndebourne, Thessaloniki State Symphony, Wiesbaden Staatstheater, Palm Beach Opera, Athens State Orchestra, Zomeropera, Sarasota Opera, Carnegie Hall, Opera Orchestra of New York, Gerda Lissner award winner, the Renata Tebaldi International Vocal Competition in San Marino (2009), and the Concurso del Canto de Bilbao (2008). New York). In the spring of 2009, Ms. Calenos appeared as the principal soloist with Greek composer A. Paraskevas at Weil Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

ELENI CALENOS                             

Prelude 2006 

About Eleni Calenos

PATRICK GUETTI

Prelude 2011 (Commendatore)

Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Glyndebourne, LA Philharmonic with Dudamel, Lyric Opera Chicago and Santa Fe Honors and Awards:
Grand prize winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2014, Sarah Tucker Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation, Audience Favorite Award at the Gigari Bel Canto Competition in 2013, and First Prize in the Prémio “Verdi” competition.

PATRICK GUETTI                           

Prelude 2011

About Patrick Guetti

CHRISTIAN ZAREMBA

Prelude 2012 (Pistola)

Metropolitan Opera, Wolftrap, Glimmerglass, Michigan Opera Theater, Minnesota Opera, Lyric Opera Kansas City, On Site Opera, Opera Omaha, Portland Opera.

CHRISTIAN ZAREMBA               

Prelude 2012 (Pistola)

About Christian Zaremba

MARIA BREA

Prelude 2013/2015 (Gianetta, Marie)

Apprentice Artist Program at Palm Beach Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, The Alice Tully Hall.
First prize in the Giulio Gari Competition, New York Lyric Opera Competition .Second prize in the Gerda Lissner International Vocal competition 2017 and she received an Encouragement award from The Metropolitan Opera National Council, The Gerda Lissner Lieder/ Song Competition.

MARIA BREA                                     

Prelude 2013/15 

About Maria Brea

YURIY YURCHUK

Prelude 2013 (Hoffmann Four Villains)

Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Wexford Festival Opera, Ukraine National Opera, Zurich Opera
Yuriy is a prize winner in Queen Sonja International Singing Competition (Norway), Montserrat Caballe International Singing Competition (Spain), Ottavio Ziino International Singing Competition (Rome), Monastero Foundation Bel Canto competition (USA), Fritz and Lavinia Jensen competition (USA) and Chicago NATS vocal competition. Sang for the Royall family at the Buckingham and Windsor palaces, appearances for BBC TV series and BBC radio 3 Sean Rafferty's In Tune.

YURIY YURCHUK                           

Prelude 2013 

About Yuriy Yurchuck

BRANDIE SUTTON

Prelude 2015 (Madama Butterfly)

Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Mostly Mozart Festival, Palacio de Bellas Artes, Grand Theatre de Geneve, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Semperoper, Dresden AlterOpera Frankfurt, Teatro Petruzzelli (Bari)Carnegie Hall, National Symphony in Washington, DC, Radio Orpheus, Moscow, Krsnoyarsk Philharmonic, Royal Danish Orchestra, Jazz at Lincoln Center.

BRANDIE SUTTON                         

Prelude 2015

About Brandie Sutton

JOSE RUBIO

Prelude 2015 (Schaunard)

New York City Opera, Carnegie Hall, Portland Opera, Music Academy of the West, Music Festival of Lucca, Northwest Philharmonia.

JOSE RUBIO                                         

Prelude 2015

About Jose Rubio

Leah Marie de Gruyl

Prelude 2017 (La Principessa)

Resident Artist with Pittsburgh Opera, Dallas Opera, PORTopera, Carnegie Hall, Cincinnati Opera, Opera Theater St. Louis, Rome Festival Opera, Sarasota Opera, Virginia Opera, Dallas Opera.

LEAH MARIE DE GRUYL                     

Prelude 2017

About Leah Marie de Gruyl

JENNIFER ROWLEY

Martina Arroyo Role Class

Metropolitan Opera: Cyrano de Bergerac, Tosca, Il Trovatore
Adriana Lecouvreur (upcoming)

Paris Opera : Il Trovatore

JENNIFER ROWLEY                                    

Martina Arroyo Foundation Role Class

About Jennifer Rowley