New York Opera Studio

presented by the New York Opera Studio (NYOS) and
Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY)

2010 COMPETITION RESULTS: Congratulations to the winners of the Nico Castel International Master Singer Competition 2010: Holly Sorensen, Mezzo-Soprano, and Nicholas Tamagna, Counter-Tenor!

L. Algozzini	Lisa Algozzini Lisa Algozzini, soprano, has studied at The Juilliard School, Renata Scotto Opera Academy, Aspen Music Festival, Dolora Zajick Institute, & Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rome. She has performed Suor Angelica, Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), La Chauve-Souris (L'Enfant es les Sortilèges), & Sorceress (Dido and Aeneas). She has won first place in competitions at Opera Pacific, Music Teachers' Association of CA, Intimate Opera, & the Opera Reading Club of Hollywood & a finalist in the Palm Springs Opera Guild, LA Music Center Spotlight Awards, & Classical Singer Magazine Convention. Her CD, Cleopatra's Voice, will debut this spring. www.LisaAlgozzini.com
M. Armijo	Maria Elena Armijo Ms. Armijo recently appeared as Lady Pamela in Fra Diavolo with Bronx Opera. Operatic repertoire include Hansel (Hansel and Gretel) Amastre (Serse), Adah (The Naughty Marietta), Annina (La Traviata), Angelina (La Cenerentola), Stéphano (Roméo et Juliette), Mercédès (Carmen), Aminta (Il Re Pastore), L'Enfant (L'Enfant et les Sortiléges), Third Lady (Die Zauberflöte), Venus (Orphée aux Enfers), Zita (Gianni Schicchi), and Dona Elvira (Don Giovanni). She has performed with Pocket Opera of New York, Light Opera of New York, New Rochelle Opera, Opera Manhattan Repertory Theater, Ash Lawn Opera, Syracuse Opera, Dicapo Opera Theatre, Bay View Music Festival, Tacoma Opera, Bellevue Opera, Dona Ana Lyric Opera, AIMS, and OperaWorks.
C. Austin	Cody Austin Cody Austin, a Texas native, just made his professional debut in Otello with the Opera Company of Philadelphia as Roderigo. Other roles include George Gibbs in the world premiere of Our Town, Alfredo and Gastone (La Traviata), Camille (The Merry Widow), Larry/Matt (The Face on the Barroom Floor), and Kudrjas (Kat'a Kabanova). Mr. Austin is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts. He has performed with Opera New Jersey, Central City Opera, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, and Ocean City Pops, among others. Concert works include Verdi's Requiem, Mendelssohn's Elijah, and Dubois' The Seven Last Words of Christ. Mr. Austin has won awards with the Dallas Opera Guild, the Mario Lanza Institute, and Opera Index.
J. Kaneklides	John Kaneklides A vibrant young talent, John has been described as a "richly mellifluous tenor" (Classical Voice of North Carolina). Recent roles include Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas, and Gastone in La traviata (Opera Carolina). John has also performed as tenor soloist in Mendelssohn's Elijah (Central Piedmont Opera), Dubois' The Seven Last Words of Christ, and has an upcoming performance of Bach's St. John's Passion. He has received several vocal awards, including the Louise McFarland Award (Metropolitan Opera National Council). John holds degrees in Voice and Business from Winthrop University.
E. Mackintosh	Eileen Mackintosh Eileen Mackintosh is a lifelong musician: singer, teacher, conductor and pianist. Recent singing performance highlights include the roles of Lady Macbeth, Aida and Hanna Glawari. Eileen will sing Abigaille in Verdi's Nabucco with Amici Opera later this year. As an avid concert artist, Ms. Mackintosh will sing the soprano solo in Mozart's Requiem with Opus Cantorum and the Vier Letzte Lieder of Strauss in concert with Oswego Opera this spring. Equally passionate about teaching and conducting, Eileen maintains a full-time private voice studio and is the newly-appointed Chorus Master for the Delaware Valley Opera. Ms. Mackintosh earned her M.M. from the University of Connecticut and B.M. in Music Education from SUNY at Fredonia. www.eileenmackintosh.com
S. Nanni	Steven Nanni Steven is a native of Binghamton, New York and began his artistic life by studying the violin. He has been described as having the "intelligence, artistic potential, vocal talent and ambition to have a very important career in this business"- Nico Castel. Steven's operatic roles include Nemorino, Ferrando, Tito, Count Almaviva, and Ernesto. Steven's oratorio roles include Bach's B-Minor Mass and the St. Matthew Passion, Haydn's The Creation, Mendelssohn's Elijah, and Handel's The Messiah. Steven soloed with the Florida Philharmonic, La Lirica di Venezia, The Juilliard School, Kennedy Performing Arts Center, Liederkranz Hall and Opera Company of Dublin, Ireland. Steven has had the privilege to work with Placido Domingo, Renata Scotto and Montserrat Caballe.
H. Sorensen	Holly Sorensen Often hailed as a "true" mezzo soprano, Holly Sorensen is known for her rich, colorful and expressive timbre. A gifted singing actor with great versatility, Ms. Sorensen has been described as having, "a grand time!...dispensing attitude with relish and producing some impressively chilling tones." - Opera News. Recent season highlights include performances with Utah Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and the Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall. Ms. Sorensen has a distinguished list of roles performed on both the operatic and concert stage. She has also participated and placed in varied competitions throughout the U.S.
P. Sussman	Perri Sussman Perri Sussman recently made her Symphony Space debut with the New York Lyric Opera Theater as Le Prince Charmant in scenes from Cendrillon. She is a first year graduate student at Manhattan School of Music where she was recently seen as Kate in a scene from Owen Wingrave. She holds a Bachelor's degree from Westminster Choir College where she performed La Chatte Blanche in L'enfant et les Sortilèges and covered Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro. She won second place in the NATS New York City Chapter and received the Lucille and Leo Martin Scholarship in the Westminster voice competition.
N. Tamagna	Nicholas Tamagna Nicholas Tamagna is a countertenor from New York City. Tamagna was seen as Giulio Cesare in Giulio Cesare in Egitto with Bel Cantanti Opera, described by the Washington Post as handling "his complex runs and vocal ornaments fluently through all eight of his arias." He made his debut performance as Orpheus in Orfeo ed Euridice with Brooklyn Repertory Opera and reprised this role with Opera Memphis in January 2010. Opera Now described him in the role of Orpheus as "exquisite, combining perfect tonal quality with substantial power. His voice soared with piecing [sic] sadness and soothed with a silky beauty, giving a glimpse, perhaps, of why castrati voices became the divos of the Baroque era." NicholasTamagna.com
K. Zhajaku	Kreshnik Zhabjaku Kreshnik Zhabjaku began his singing career at the age of four. At twelve he won First Prize in the"Young Voices" competition in his native Albania. He received his first graduate degree in 1997 from Tirana's Academy of Fine Arts and went on to perform with many outstanding orchestras in Europe, appearing regularly in France, Italy, and Austria. He also received a master's degree in Vocal Performance from the Mannes College of Music, New York in 2003. Among many distinctions and honors, in 2008 the Washington Post praised him as "a recitalist in his prime...His soothing voice was a conduit for character."

These ten finalists competed for the title (one winner in each male and female categories) on the Weill Recital Hall stage in Carnegie Hall on Saturday, February 19, 2011 8:30PM. Congratulations to all of the finalists on this, the inaugural year of this prestigious competition! To learn more details visit the DCINY website.

A competition like no other offered in New York City to aspiring singers who wish to advance their careers to the next level, this competition rewards and acknowledges excellent vocal technique and artistry in opera and oratorio.

PRIZES:
1. Each winner is featured as a soloist in a major choral master work with orchestra on the 2011 DCINY Concert Season. DCINY produces high quality concerts in major, world-class venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Disney Hall in New York and others.
2. Each winner is awarded a full scholarship to the New York Opera Studio Summer Intensive Program for Singers 2011. During that time they will be highlighted as the Competition's winners and given a shared concert in the Skinner Recital Hall on the Vassar College Campus.

The competition is specifically devoted to oratorio and opera, and requires that each applicant prepare and submit two (2) oratorio pieces in varying styles and languages and two (2) opera arias in varying styles and languages.