March 16, 2020: Following the semi-final round on 11 and 12 March in New York City, twelve contestants representing five countries have advanced to the final round of the 2020 Lotte Lenya Competition:
Gan-ya Ben-gur Akselrod, 32 (Tel Aviv, Israel/Vienna, Austria)
Anighya Crocker, 20 (Springfield, TN)
Dylan Glenn, 26 (Pleasant Grove, UT)
Rivers Hawkins, 30 (Columbia, SC)
Jonah Hoskins, 23 (Saratoga Springs, UT)
Elena Howard-Scott, 23 (Winnipeg, MB, Canada)
Gemma Nha, 19 (Sydney, Australia)
Marie Oppert, 22 (Paris, France)
Teresa Perrotta, 24 (Orlando, FL)
Lauren Senden, 19 (North Mankato, MN)
Jeremy Weiss, 27 (Charlottesville, VA)
Ronald Wilbur, 29 (Atlanta, GA)
A record number of two hundred eighty-two applicants from twenty-four countries and thirty-three U.S. states submitted video auditions for the 2020 Competition. In the semifinal round, twenty-seven contestants were coached and adjudicated by Broadway and opera star Lisa Vroman and three-time Tony nominee Rebecca Luker. Other semi-finalists, who received a $500 prize, include Michael Aiello, 32 (Clarence, NY), David Anderson, 24 (Grand Ledge, MI), Zarah Brock, 26 (Fredericksburg, VA), Michael Day, 28 (Rockford, IL), Darren Drone, 30 (Little Rock, AR), Kaden Forsberg, 28 (Montreal, QC, Canada), Crystal Glenn, 27 (Yonkers, NY), Jonathan Heller, 25 (Huntington, NY), Michael Hewitt, 30 (Arlington, VA), Christine Price, 28 (Tulsa, OK), Emma Sorenson, 28 (Chicago, IL), Meg Supina, 30 (State College, PA), Tabea Tatan, 32 (Cologne, Germany), Sophie Thompson, 24 (Princeton, NJ), and Andy Zimmermann, 30 (Santa Monica, CA).
Update on the Finals
The Eastman School of Music has canceled all on-campus events during the spring semester; therefore the 2020 Lenya Competition Finals will not take place as initially scheduled on 2 May in Kilbourn Hall. The Foundation is considering alternative scenarios for the finals in light of the global pandemic and the CDC’s guidelines that no gatherings of fifty people or more occur over the next eight weeks. An announcement concerning the status of this year’s Competition will be made in the near future.
About the Lotte Lenya Competition
More than a vocal competition, the Lotte Lenya Competition recognizes talented young singer/actors who are dramatically and musically convincing in repertoire ranging from opera/operetta to contemporary Broadway scores, with a focus on the works of Kurt Weill. Since its inception in 1998, the Lotte Lenya Competition has grown into an internationally recognized leader in identifying and nurturing the next generation of “total-package performers” (Opera News) and rising stars in both the opera and musical theater worlds. The roster of prizewinners has likewise grown to over 100, many of whom have gone on to major performing careers.
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If you’d like more information about this topic, please contact Brady Sansone at the Kurt Weill Foundation: (212) 505-5240 x204 or bsansone@kwf.org.
