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canzone duo at Carnegie Hall, DCINY Production / Joanne Bouknight Photography
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Saturday, February 19, 2011
8:30 pm Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) and the New
York Opera Studio (NYOS) are proud to introduce The Nico Castel
International Master Singer Competition 2011. A competition like no
other in New York City, offered to aspiring singers who wish to advance
their careers to the next level, this competition rewards and
acknowledges excellent vocal technique and artistry in opera and
oratorio.
Female Finalists: Lisa Algozzini, Maria Elena Armijo, Eileen Mackintosh, Holly Sorensen and Perri Sussman
Male Finalists: Cody Austin, John Kaneklides, Steven Nanni, Nicholas Tamagna and Kreshnik Zhabjaku
2011 COMPETITION RESULTS:
Congratulations to the winners of the Nico Castel International Master
Singer Competition 2011: Holly Sorensen, Mezzo-Soprano, and Nicholas
Tamagna, Counter-Tenor!
what people said
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Finalist bios |
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L. Algozzini
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Lisa Algozzini
Lisa Algozzini, soprano, has studied at The Juilliard School, Renata Scotto Opera Academy, Aspen Music Festival, Dolora Zajick Institute, & Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rome. She has performed Suor Angelica, Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), La Chauve-Souris (L'Enfant es les Sortilèges), & Sorceress (Dido and Aeneas). She has won first place in competitions at Opera Pacific, Music Teachers' Association of CA, Intimate Opera, & the Opera Reading Club of Hollywood & a finalist in the Palm Springs Opera Guild, LA Music Center Spotlight Awards, & Classical Singer Magazine Convention. Her CD, Cleopatra's Voice, will debut this spring.
www.LisaAlgozzini.com
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M. Armijo
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Maria Elena Armijo
Ms. Armijo recently appeared as Lady Pamela in Fra Diavolo with Bronx Opera. Operatic repertoire include Hansel (Hansel and Gretel) Amastre (Serse), Adah (The Naughty Marietta), Annina (La Traviata), Angelina (La Cenerentola), Stéphano (Roméo et Juliette), Mercédès (Carmen), Aminta (Il Re Pastore), L'Enfant (L'Enfant et les Sortiléges), Third Lady (Die Zauberflöte), Venus (Orphée aux Enfers), Zita (Gianni Schicchi), and Dona Elvira (Don Giovanni). She has performed with Pocket Opera of New York, Light Opera of New York, New Rochelle Opera, Opera Manhattan Repertory Theater, Ash Lawn Opera, Syracuse Opera, Dicapo Opera Theatre, Bay View Music Festival, Tacoma Opera, Bellevue Opera, Dona Ana Lyric Opera, AIMS, and OperaWorks.
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C. Austin
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Cody Austin
Cody Austin, a Texas native, just made his professional debut in Otello with the Opera Company of Philadelphia as Roderigo. Other roles include George Gibbs in the world premiere of Our Town, Alfredo and Gastone (La Traviata), Camille (The Merry Widow), Larry/Matt (The Face on the Barroom Floor), and Kudrjas (Kat'a Kabanova). Mr. Austin is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts. He has performed with Opera New Jersey, Central City Opera, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, and Ocean City Pops, among others. Concert works include Verdi's Requiem, Mendelssohn's Elijah, and Dubois' The Seven Last Words of Christ. Mr. Austin has won awards with the Dallas Opera Guild, the Mario Lanza Institute, and Opera Index.
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J. Kaneklides
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John Kaneklides
A vibrant young talent, John has been described as a "richly mellifluous tenor" (Classical Voice of North Carolina). Recent roles include Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas, and Gastone in La traviata (Opera Carolina). John has also performed as tenor soloist in Mendelssohn's Elijah (Central Piedmont Opera), Dubois' The Seven Last Words of Christ, and has an upcoming performance of Bach's St. John's Passion. He has received several vocal awards, including the Louise McFarland Award (Metropolitan Opera National Council). John holds degrees in Voice and Business from Winthrop University.
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E. Mackintosh
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Eileen Mackintosh
Eileen Mackintosh is a lifelong musician: singer, teacher, conductor and pianist. Recent singing performance highlights include the roles of Lady Macbeth, Aida and Hanna Glawari. Eileen will sing Abigaille in Verdi's Nabucco with Amici Opera later this year. As an avid concert artist, Ms. Mackintosh will sing the soprano solo in Mozart's Requiem with Opus Cantorum and the Vier Letzte Lieder of Strauss in concert with Oswego Opera this spring. Equally passionate about teaching and conducting, Eileen maintains a full-time private voice studio and is the newly-appointed Chorus Master for the Delaware Valley Opera. Ms. Mackintosh earned her M.M. from the University of Connecticut and B.M. in Music Education from SUNY at Fredonia.
www.eileenmackintosh.com
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S. Nanni
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Steven Nanni
Steven is a native of Binghamton, New York and began his artistic life by studying the violin. He has been described as having the "intelligence, artistic potential, vocal talent and ambition to have a very important career in this business"- Nico Castel. Steven's operatic roles include Nemorino, Ferrando, Tito, Count Almaviva, and Ernesto. Steven's oratorio roles include Bach's B-Minor Mass and the St. Matthew Passion, Haydn's The Creation, Mendelssohn's Elijah, and Handel's The Messiah. Steven soloed with the Florida Philharmonic, La Lirica di Venezia, The Juilliard School, Kennedy Performing Arts Center, Liederkranz Hall and Opera Company of Dublin, Ireland. Steven has had the privilege to work with Placido Domingo, Renata Scotto and Montserrat Caballe.
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H. Sorensen
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Holly Sorensen
Often hailed as a "true" mezzo soprano, Holly Sorensen is known for her rich, colorful and expressive timbre. A gifted singing actor with great versatility, Ms. Sorensen has been described as having, "a grand time!...dispensing attitude with relish and producing some impressively chilling tones." - Opera News. Recent season highlights include performances with Utah Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and the Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall. Ms. Sorensen has a distinguished list of roles performed on both the operatic and concert stage. She has also participated and placed in varied competitions throughout the U.S.
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P. Sussman
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Perri Sussman
Perri Sussman recently made her Symphony Space debut with the New York Lyric Opera Theater as Le Prince Charmant in scenes from Cendrillon. She is a first year graduate student at Manhattan School of Music where she was recently seen as Kate in a scene from Owen Wingrave. She holds a Bachelor's degree from Westminster Choir College where she performed La Chatte Blanche in L'enfant et les Sortilèges and covered Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro. She won second place in the NATS New York City Chapter and received the Lucille and Leo Martin Scholarship in the Westminster voice competition.
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N. Tamagna
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Nicholas Tamagna
Nicholas Tamagna is a countertenor from New York City. Tamagna was seen as Giulio Cesare in Giulio Cesare in Egitto with Bel Cantanti Opera, described by the Washington Post as handling "his complex runs and vocal ornaments fluently through all eight of his arias." He made his debut performance as Orpheus in Orfeo ed Euridice with Brooklyn Repertory Opera and reprised this role with Opera Memphis in January 2010. Opera Now described him in the role of Orpheus as "exquisite, combining perfect tonal quality with substantial power. His voice soared with piecing [sic] sadness and soothed with a silky beauty, giving a glimpse, perhaps, of why castrati voices became the divos of the Baroque era."
NicholasTamagna.com
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K. Zhajaku
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Kreshnik Zhabjaku
Kreshnik Zhabjaku began his singing career at the age of four. At twelve he won First Prize in the"Young Voices" competition in his native Albania. He received his first graduate degree in 1997 from Tirana's Academy of Fine Arts and went on to perform with many outstanding orchestras in Europe, appearing regularly in France, Italy, and Austria. He also received a master's degree in Vocal Performance from the Mannes College of Music, New York in 2003. Among many distinctions and honors, in 2008 the Washington Post praised him as "a recitalist in his prime...His soothing voice was a conduit for character."
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What People Said... |
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Nicholas Tamagna
Winner
Winning the Nico Castel Mastersinger Competition has opened up doors for me in innumerable ways. It was a true honor to be judged by the esteemed panel and to be held to such high standards. The judges were not influenced by one another, since they were asked to submit scores separately, so you know you were chosen without bias. For singers, Nico Castel is a household name, one we associate with high musical values and pristine diction. As such, this award has tremendous value for me. It was an amazing experience performing the finals at Carnegie Hall, and as a winner, I won the opportunity to sing Messiah at Avery Fisher Hall as a soloist. Thank you to DCINY and Nico Castel for starting such a valuable and prestigious competition that has enabled singers to live their dream.
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John Kaneklides
Finalist
Thank you for the email and the formal letter of congratulations. I would like to commend DCINY for having the smoothest running competition I have been in to date. Your staff was very helpful and you chose a fantastic panel of judges. It was an honor to be able to sing at Carnegie Hall and to sing for the distinguished panel of judges.
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