As the judges of the 2022 Lotte Lenya Competition Finals deliberated and decided who the next winners would be, six competition alumni treated the audience at Merkin Hall on 6 May to a recital of musical theater and opera selections. The concert was hosted by Tony-winning actor and director Victoria Clark, and featured a collection of prizewinners spanning 20 years of the competition’s history, including:
- Kyle Lopez Barisich (2nd Prize, 2002), who has given more than 1,000 performances as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera between Broadway and national tour;
- Rebecca Jo Loeb (1st Prize, 2008), who recently starred in the world premiere of p r i s m at LA Opera and the German premiere of Love Life at Theater Freiburg;
- Michael Maliakel (3rd Prize, 2015), currently starring as Aladdin on Broadway;
- Robert Ariza (Lys Symonette Award, 2014), best known for his roles in the Chicago company of Hamilton and the national tour of Les Miserables;
- Briana Elyse Hunter (Lys Symonette Award, 2014), who made her Met debut this season in Fire Shut Up In My Bones originated the role of The Mother in Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s Blue;
- Andrew Polec (1st Prize, 2021), winner of the 2017 Best West End Debut award for his starring role in Bat Out of Hell.
Watch all six performances from the concert below:
