Shreveport Opera hosting national singing competition | Arts & Culture

Some of the area's best opera singers will be on stage for the Shreveport Opera's annual Mary Jacobs Smith Singer of the Year Competition, which begins at 1 p.m. on Sunday, January 20 at the Anderson Auditorium of Centenary College of Louisiana.

This nation-wide competition allows its winner to stand out and have a better chance of performing in the top opera house throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

Singers in the competition must have performed at least one major role with a university, summer vocal program, or professional opera company to qualify. The contestants then go through the preliminary section of the competition, which is based on a professionally recorded CD containing three arias submitted by each applicant. From these applicants, 20 are chosen to participate in the semifinals, which require each singer to sing one aria of his or her choice and one aria per the judges’ request. The judges then choose eleven finalists who compete in the Finalists Concert.

Prizes are as follows: The Mary Jacobs Smith Award (1st prize) $2,500; The Charles Maggio Award (2nd prize) $2,000; The Robert J. Murray Award (3rd prize) $1,500; The Lorena Bessey Mangin Memorial Award (4th prize) $1,000; The Joe Festervan Memorial Award (5th prize) $750; The Rae Selber Memorial Award (6th prize) $500; There are five Honorable Mention Awards in the amount of $250 each: The Jennifer White Memorial Award; The Katherine S. Tyrrell Memorial Award; The Dr. and Mrs. Bob Robinson Award; The Shreveport Opera Board of Directors Award; and The Lucy Morgan Memorial Award. A $250 Shreveport-Bossier Opera Guild Audience Choice Award is also given out.

Admission is free, but donations to Shreveport Opera are appreciated. For more information, please call Executive Director Amanda Gouthiere at (318) 227-9503, email executivedirector@shreveportopera.org or visit us online at www.shreveportopera.org/competitions.