A Summer of Singing

SPRING GGF COMPETITION

The competitors this spring were incredible. It was an exceptional group, and after the scoring was done, it was apparent how close everyone was. All of our finalists could have been prize winners. 

SUMMER SINGING

As usual, Gari and other young singers are scattered all over the world in summer festivals.  

• Santa Fe Opera has seven current and former winners and finalists. Appearing there are Cadie J. Bryan, Sam Dhobhany, Kathryn Henry, Shannon Keegan, Wayd Odle and his wife, mezzo Aubrey Odle and Seijin.Park.
• Opera Theatre of Saint Louis welcomes Krysty Swann (2011) in Ricky Ian Gordon’s This House & Jana McIntyre (2016) in Britten’s A Midsummer Nights Dream.  
• Glimmerglass welcomes Jason Zacher (2022).  
• Appearing at Wolf Trap are Amanda Batista (2023) singing her first Mimi in La Boheme with Blake Denson (2024) as Marcello and Le Bu (2023) as Colline. Le Bu also appears in Kevin Puts’ wonderful Silent Night.

FALL OPERA SEASON
The upcoming 2024-2025 season worldwide is a great one for Gari alumni.  

• Trevor Haumschilt-Rocha is in Vienna in September where he joins the Wiener Volksoper.  
• The Metropolitan Opera features quite a few Gari singers. Angela Meade (2007) and Michael Fabiano (2007) both star in the Met’s production of Verdi’s Il Trovatore in October, November and December. The Fall also welcomes Seok Jong Baek (2018) in Tosca. Later performances have Isabel Leonard (2005) in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Anthony Clark Evans (2012) appears in La Boheme. Returning to the Met as part of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program are Amanda Batists, Magdalena Kuzma, Brittany Olivia Logan, Le Bu. 
• Michael Fabiano opens the San Francisco Opera Season in September as Gustavo III in Verdi’s Un Ballo In Maschera. Also appearing is this year’s Fourth Prize winner Mei Gui Zhang as Oscar. 
• Mei Gui goes from San Francisco to Atlanta to sing Pamina in Zauberflote in November.  
• Yonghoon Lee (2005) has another busy season appearing as Calaf in Turandot in both the Bayerische Staatsoper and Dresden Staatsoper. He returns to Seattle in Tosca.   
• After her appearances at the Met in Il Trovatore Angela Meade moves on to Munich where she sings Lucrezia Borgia, which she repeats later in Rome. A new role for her is in Strauss’ rarely performed Die Liebe der Danae in Genova.  
• Issachah Savage (2009) sings Britten’s Peter Grimes in Amsterdam in October and then has performances of Beethoven’s 9^th with the New Jersey Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nezet-Seguin.  
• Steven LaBrie (2013) continues his journey as the newest member of the tenor-baritone quartet Il Divo touring the United States and worldwide.  
• Joyce El-Khoury (2009) joins Michael Fabiano in August for a performance as Amelia in Un Ballo In Maschera for the Birgit Nilsson Foundation in Bastad, Sweden. This is their second appearance together for the Nilsson Foundation. Joyce goes to Rouen, France in September for her first performances as Aida and to Colorado for the Verdi Requiem. February finds her at the Opera Comique in Paris for Cherubini’s Medee.

FALL GGF CONCERT (and GALA): You will get a chance to hear everyone at our Winners Concert and Dinner which will take place Sunday, October 20, 2024.  

As we did last year, the Concert will be at Blessed Sacrament Church, 151 West 71^st Street, NYC and dinner follows at Arte Café, 106 W. 73^rd St, NYC. We are so fortunate that renowned Metropolitan Opera Assistant-Conductor Jonathan Kelly will be our distinguished pianist, returning for the first time since 2018. Jonathan is an old friend of the Foundation, and we are thrilled to have him.

This is just the tip of the Iceberg. More to follow in our September newsletter where we highlight the 2024-2025 season for the Giulio Gari Foundation and all of our extraordinary alumni.