AT 4 p.m. PDT April 1st (this is not an April's Fool joke) you can hear and watch the 2014 Met National Council Auditions winners live in performance on WQXR, New York City’s all-classical station, adding video to FM sound on this occasion.
Four of the five winners at Sunday's finals at the Met, each receiving $15,000 in addition to career-boosting fame, are associated with the San Francisco Opera Center. They are:
* Soprano Julie Adams, 26, from Burbank, CA; (incoming) Merola class of 2014, S.F. Conservatory graduate, coached by César Ulloa
* Bass-baritone Ao Li, 26, from Dezhou China; Merola class of 2010, Adler Fellow, also coached by Ulloa (Li was also the 2013 winner of Plácido Domingo’s Operalia World Opera Competition)
* Tenor Yi Li, 29, from Jinan, China; Merola class of 2012
* Soprano Amanda Woodbury, 26, from Crestwood, KY; (incoming) Merola class of 2014
and
* Bass Patrick Guetti, 26, from Highland Park, NJ
Ulloa, who has coached many other award-winning singers, glowed on Sunday:
It was an amazing afternoon, watching my students walk across the stage at the Metropolitan Opera House and perform with the Met orchestra. I have to say I had butterflies in my stomach, but I was also so happy and excited, and of course so proud to see how far they've come and what amazing artists they've become. They are truly gifted and I am blessed to have them in my life
(Even in the midst of important news, this column is often in the habit of citing the trivial and amusing, so here it is: According to Ulloa, Joan Rivers — yes, her — attending the finals, picked all the winners. Impressive.)
Adams said:
This past week and a half has been the best experience of my life so far. I have learned so much, and have made so many incredible memories. Singing on the Met stage with the Met orchestra was a dream come true. It was so surreal, and I am so blessed and honored to have been a part of the whole experience.I am also so grateful to my teacher, Cesar Ulloa, who flew across the country to support me. I couldn't have done this without him, and I am so grateful that he was here to share this success with me.
At the April concert by the winners, in the Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, they will be joined by yet another former Merolina, soprano Deborah Voigt, class of 1985. According to the National Council, Sunday's finals was recorded for broadcast at a later date on public radio stations; we'll keep an eye on date and time.