Nine are named to compete for Met auditions
mainNine finalists have been named in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, a showcase that has launched the likes of Renee Fleming, Thomas Hampson and Frederca von Stade.
This year’s contestants are:
Danielle Beckvermit, Soprano, Eastern Region
Ashley Dixon, Mezzo-Soprano, Northwest Region
Jessica Faselt, Soprano, Upper Midwest Region
Megan Grey, Mezzo-Soprano, Upper Midwest Region
Gretchen Krupp, Mezzo-Soprano, Central Region
Madison Leonard, Soprano, Middle Atlantic Region
Emily Misch, Soprano, Eastern Region
Carlos Santelli, Tenor, Western Region
Hongni Wu, Mezzo-Soprano, Eastern Region
Nine young singers, only one male and, I bet, nary a comment on this. If a list of young conductors had only included one female I would expect a few harumphs at the very least.
Could not agree more!
Sure, let me explain.
The fact that fewer men make auditions at the MET doesn’t mean there will be fewer tenors, baritones and basses on stage. Roles are written and will be filled (by men).
It makes no difference whether a conductor is male or female, so gender balance should be achievable.
OK, Malcolm, here’s my comment: Hats off to the judges for resisting the temptation to advance men merely to balance the numbers of males and females. Men often seem to be held to a lower standard in singing competitions because of this very pressure.
I’ll grant you that, here in the U.S. at least, boys need more encouragement to sing from an early age. There are fewer male singers, in large part because the lesson is “taught or caught” that singing isn’t manly.
(By the way, Malcolm was my dad’s middle name, so thanks for putting him on my mind.)
I’m perfectly aware of this, but you are making precisely the arguments put forward about why there are few women conductors, but in reverse and NL is always one of the first to harrumph!
Men face very little gender discrimination in classcial music as a whole, which largely accounts for the lack of harrumphs. (To belabor the obvious…)
This list of finalists highlights what has long been a problem of most vocal competitions. That is, pitting sopranos, mezzos, tenors, basses and baritones against each other.
I am glad the judges didn’t advance more male singers just to balance the tally of finalists.
If the best singers were mainly sopranos and mezzos, so be it.
Once again, I’m just making a point that where women are under-represented it is seen as a societal problem, but where men are under-represented this is because women are better or ‘it’s just the way it is’. An imbalance in one competition might, of course, be down to pure chance.
Does the Met have a history of naming mostly female finalists?
I heard both Beckvermit and Misch perform with the Mannes Opera program and they are both terrific.
+1
Female singers are often chosen to be the winners of singing competitions, this has become a common thing for many years already. Besides, now they don’t care about the singer’s obesity?