[From the Seattle Opera]

   Eight Singers Chosen from Auditions in Berlin, Vienna,
   
   London, Paris, New York, and Seattle
   
   Competition Will Be Held August 19 at McCaw Hall
   
   Seattle Opera General Director Speight Jenkins announced today
   the names of the eight finalists and two alternates in the
   company's first International Wagner Competition. This event
   will feature eight opera singers, between the ages of 25 and 40,
   competing for two $15,000 prizes in a concert with full orchestra
   on August 19, 2006, at McCaw Hall. Tickets for this event will
   go on sale on April 10, 2006.
   
   Finalists:
   
   Carolyn Betty, soprano, auditioned in New York
   Jason Collins, tenor, auditioned in Seattle
   Dorothy Grandia, soprano, auditioned in London
   Paul McNamara, tenor, auditioned in Berlin
   Miriam Murphy, soprano, auditioned in London
   James Rutherford, baritone, auditioned in London
   Andrew Lindsay Sritheran, tenor, auditioned in London
   Carsten Wittmoser, bass, auditioned in Berlin
   
   Alternates:
   Maria Jooste, soprano, auditioned in New York
   Philip O'Brien, tenor, auditioned in London
   
   Last summer, during the run of Seattle Opera's Ring des Nibelungen,
   Jenkins announced the creation of the Seattle Opera International
   Wagner Competition, made possible by a generous contribution
   from the Simonyi Foundation for Arts and Sciences.  Since 1975,
   with the presentation of its first Ring cycle, Seattle Opera has
   built an international reputation for being the leading presenter
   of the Wagner repertoire in the United States.  This Wagner
   tradition began under the leadership of the company's Founding
   General Director Glynn Ross and has continued under the leadership
   of Jenkins.  (During the Jenkins administration, Seattle Opera
   has completed the daunting artistic feat of presenting not only
   two original productions of Wagner's Ring des Nibelungen but
   original productions of all ten of Wagner's major operas.)  The
   Seattle Opera International Wagner Competition, as an extension
   of Seattle Opera's commitment to Wagner, has been established
   to identify and recognize opera singers who demonstrate clear
   promise of an important career in the Wagner repertoire. >>

Janos Gereben/SF
www.sfcv.org
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