FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 5, 2010 Press Contacts: Christopher Novosad, 713-546-0278,cnovosad@houstongrandopera.org

HOUSTON GRAND OPERA ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF

22ND ANNUAL ELEANOR MCCOLLUM COMPETITION FOR YOUNG SINGERS

Nine finalists perform at annual Concert of Arias

Houston, TX – Houston Grand Opera (HGO) held its annual Concert of Arias, the final round of the twenty-

second annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, on February 4, 2010 at the Wortham

Center in downtown Houston. The event was chaired by Anne and Albert Chao and honored Janice and

Tom Borrow for their many contributions and years of support to Houston Grand Opera. Nine finalists

competed for cash prizes.

Guest judge Carlisle Floyd, composer, librettist and co-founder of the Houston Grand Opera Studio

joined HGO General Director Anthony Freud and HGO Music Director Patrick Summers in selecting the

following winners.

� First place and Audience Choice Award winner: countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, who

performed “Aure, deh per pietà” from Handel’s Guilio Cesare and “Rompo i lacci” from Handel’s

Flavio.

� Second place: soprano Devon Guthrie, who sang “No word from Tom… I go to him” from

Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress and “Eccomi in lieta vesta…O quante volte” from Bellini’s

I Capuleti e i Montecchi.

� Third place: baritone Boris Dyakov, who performed “Ah, per sempre io ti perdei” from Bellini’s

I puritani di Scozia and “Luche la fe por el trionfo” from Torroba’s Luisa Fernanda.

This year, HGO’s Eleanor McCollum Competition received nearly 600 applications from young singers

from around the world. After two rounds of auditions in five cities across the U.S., under the watch of Houston

Grand Opera head of Music Staff Kathleen Kelly and Program Director Laura Canning, twenty semi-finalists

were flown in for a weekend of further auditions. The group was then narrowed down to nine finalists including

soprano Jessica Dold, mezzo-soprano Ellie Jarrett, baritone Elliot Madore, bass Tareq Nazmi, mezzo-

soprano Brittany Wheeler and baritone Nicholas Pallesen, in addition to Costano, Guthrie and Dyakov. In

addition to the judged awards, the audience also has the opportunity to partake in the evening’s events by

casting votes for their favorite singer to receive the Audience Choice Award. For the final round of the

competition, contestants were accompanied by Kathleen Kelly.

All proceeds from the event benefit The Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers and

Houston Grand Opera Studio’s ongoing outreach efforts to identify, attract and nurture the best vocal talent in

the United States. Distinguished Studio alumni who now enjoy major careers include Denyce Graves, Eric

Halfvarson, Joyce DiDonato, Richard Paul Fink, Bruce Ford, Susanne Mentzer, Ana María Martínez, and

Raymond Very.

Concert of Arias is one of HGO’s premier events, and is a beloved artistic and social tradition.

A champagne reception underwritten by Vranken Pommery America was held before the

performance and a celebration dinner, prepared by City Kitchen Catering and underwritten by

Jennifer and Doug Bosch / The Inn at Los Brisas followed in the Wortham Center’s Grand Foyer

for the artists, patrons, and underwriters.

Guests at the event included: Jennifer and Doug Bosch, Bobbie-Vee and Jerry Cooney, Beth

Madison and Dick Kuriger, Andrew Schirrmeister, Dian and Harlan Stai, Molly and James Crownover,

Kitty and Robert Hunter, Denise and Philip Bahr, Donna and Robert Bruni, Gracie and Bob Cavnar, Al

Lasher and Carol DeArman, Cynthia and Anthony Petrello, Ann and Don Short, Jana and Scotty

Arnoldy, Lynn Wyatt, Margaret Williams, Susie and Joe Dilg, Marianne and David Duthu, Glen

Rosenbaum, Susan and Dr. Michael Bloome, and Susan and Dr. C. Richard Stasney.

Winners’ Bios Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo began performing professionally at the age of eleven and has since appeared in opera, concert, recital, film, and on Broadway. Last year Mr. Costanzo was named a winner of the grand finals in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Engagements this season include Polinesso in Handel’s Ariodante at the Juilliard Opera Center, and debuts at the New York City Opera as Armindo in Handel’s Partenope, with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra as Prince Go-Go in Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre and with the Cleveland Orchestra in Handel’s Messiah. He also returns to Carnegie Hall for performances of Messiah with Musica Sacra and to Glimmerglass Opera to sing the title role in their new production of Tolomeo. Last season he sang the Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas at Glimmerglass Opera and appeared as a guest artist with the Seattle Opera’s Young Artists Program as Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He performed Debussy’s Ariettes Oubliées in a theater piece at the Guggenheim Museum in New York and was the featured soloist in John Corigliano's A Dylan Thomas Trilogy with the National Symphony Orchestra at both the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. Future seasons include his debut at the Metropolitan Opera.

. Soprano Devon Guthrie is a candidate for a master’s degree from the Juilliard School, where her credits include Susanna in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, Lucia in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia and Laurie in Copland’s The Tender Land. She appeared as Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Tanglewood Music Festival under conductor James Levine, and at Chautauqua Opera as Amor in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea and Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte. An avid recitalist, she was featured in master classes with soprano Dawn Upshaw under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation’s series The Song Continues and performed Ricky Ian Gordon’s Orpheus and Euridice at the Chautauqua Institute in 2007. Last year she gave a solo recital in Carmel, California after winning the 2009 Carmel Music Society Competition. Ms. Guthrie holds a bachelor’s degree from Manhattan School of Music. She will spend next summer as an apprentice at The Santa Fe Opera.

Baritone Boris Dyakov was born in Moscow and began his musical studies as a violinist. He graduated from the Gnessins College of Music in 2004, where he performed the role of Papageno in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. He continued his studies at the International School of Vocal Art in Moscow. Winner of both the Bella Voce and Ippolitov-Ivanov competition, he was the principal soloist in the Russian Army’s Red Army Ensemble from 2006 to 2009, with whom he appeared in concert in China, Poland, Morocco, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Turkey, Germany, Slovakia, Belgium, India and Canada. As a finalist in the “Competizione dell’opera” in Bremen, Germany, he was invited to Bremen Opera Theater to appear in the title role of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.

Presenters

The Estate of Eleanor Searle McCollum

Marianne and David Duthu

Post-Concert Dinner Underwriter

Jennifer and Doug Bosch /

Champagne Reception Underwriters

Audience Choice Award Underwriter

Since its inception in 1955, Houston Grand Opera has swiftly moved from a small regional organization into an internationally renowned opera company. The company has a reputation for commissioning and producing new works (39 world premieres and six American premieres since 1973) as well as a reputation for reaching out to new audiences. HGO has toured extensively, including trips to Europe and Asia, and it is the only opera company to have won a Tony, two Grammy, and two Emmy awards. Houston Grand Opera’s productions are broadcast nationally over the WFMT network, and internationally over the European Broadcasting Union, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.