Cincinnati Opera's "Opera Idol" Nets Six Finalists

The voting has begun for Cincinnati Opera’s 2010 “Opera Idol.”

Six finalists were selected by audience vote in a public concert July 15 at Jarson-Kaplan Theater.  The six, each of whom sang and received commentary from a panel of judges, were chosen from a field of ten semi-finalists selected in auditions at Music Hall in June. 

They are:

·         Bass Mark Aiken

·         Soprano Lauren Bridges

·         Soprano Melissa Eppinger

·         Soprano Denise Luebbe

·         Countertenor Michael Match

·         Mezzo-soprano Shannon Wilson

All are Cincinnati residents, except Bridges and Wilson, who live in Batavia, Ohio.

Mark Aiken

Aiken, 21, is a student of Alison Acord at Miami University in Oxford.  He works beer bottle stands at Riverbend Music Center in the summer.  He entered the “Opera Idol” contest “on a whim,” he said, and won with “O Isis und Osiris” from Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” an aria with impressive low notes.

Lauren Bridges

Bridges,18, says she draws inspiration from her grandfather, “who loves to sing.”  Her audition piece was the sparkling “Chacun le sait” from Donizetti’s “The Daughter of the Regiment.”

Melissa Eppinger

Melissa Eppinger, 29, a Cleveland native, studied voice at Central State University with William Henry Caldwell and Christina Haan.  She teaches language arts at Alliance Academy and loves to sing Christian contemporary music, having won her “Idol” audition with “The Lord’s Prayer.”

Denise Luebbe

Luebbe, 42, studied voice with Patricia Berlin at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.  Mother of two sons, she sang “Handel’s “Let the Bright Seraphim” from Handel’s “Samson.”

Michael Match

Countertenor Match, 31, a native of Niles, Ohio, earned degrees in voice from Youngstown University and and Indiana University.  Organist and music director at Saint Aloysius Gonzaga in Cincinnati, he sang “L’angue offeso” from Handel’s “Julius Caesar.”

Shannon Wilson

Cincinnati native Wilson, 25, is completing her bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Northern Kentucky University.  Her role model is the late mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson, she says.  A server at Red Lobster in Batavia, she sang “Va? Laisse couler mes larmes” from Massenet’s “Werther.”

The judges were Cincinnati Opera Chorus director Henri Venanzi, musical theater soprano and acting coach Michelle Zimmerman and tenor Mark Panuccio.

Videos of the finalists’ performances may be seen and votes cast at www.operaidol.org through July 19.  The top winner, who will receive a $3,500 contract with Cincinnati Opera, will be announced at Puccini’s “La Boheme,” final production of the Opera's 2010 summer festival, July 21-25 at Music Hall.