Audience Choice!

On November 23 ago I traveled to the sweet town of Brandon, Vermont for the second annual Vermont Vocal Competition, hosted by BarnOpera, a local-to-Brandon company that, you guessed it, brings opera to a barn near you. (In Brandon.)

It was a rather wild evening for me. After the first round, I strolled through the wee town, awaiting the results — a sandwich and wine shop, a gift shop, the hardware store (I do love a good local hardware store) — and when I received no email (“winners will be notified”), my husband and I decided to grab dinner before heading home. A bit deflated, we wandered into the Cafe Provence where we ran into a fellow singer who congratulated me. “Oh I didn’t pass, but thank you,” I said graciously. And then, in a few very confusing minutes, I discovered that there had been a technological malfunction, and I HAD been invited to sing in the second round! With 30 minutes to spare, I distractedly bolted down a beautiful goats cheese salad and french fries (!) and headed back to the theater.

For the finalists concert, I sang a piece that I adore: an aria from Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tiresias. It’s a tough one collaboratively if you’ve not worked with the pianist before; but I love singing it, it’s quirky and powerful and fun, and I shine in it, so to me it’s worth the risk.

And of the three awards given that evening — First, Second, and Audience Choice — I was granted Audience Choice!

I left Brandon feeling affirmed and buoyed: the Audience Choice award was precisely what I had wished for, for having won the affection of the audience, I knew that I had done my job. I had reached them, and told a compelling, honest, meaningful story.

I also left Brandon feeling honored, humbled: 40 singers competed that day, with 12 in the final round. I can’t emphasize enough what a strong group of singers I sang alongside that evening. It was thrilling to share the stage with such lovely humans and artists. Bravi tutti!

What a pleasure it was to participate in this competition from start to finish — from the ever-warm first correspondences with Joshua Collier (artistic director of BarnOpera), to the warm conversation and farewells in the micro-brewery where we singers communed after the competition. A hearty thank you to Josh Collier, Doug Anderson, Lynn Craver, and fierce pianist Christina Wright-Ivanova, for setting such a wonderful tone for the weekend! Cheers to you all x