Photo Courtesy metauditionsopera.org
Senior Ana Collado, a vocal performance major at the Frost School of Music, was named a 2015 Encouragement Award winner in the Florida District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Sunday.
“I was worried I would forget the words to my German aria, and I wished I could have had a couple more lessons to work on the high note at the end of my French aria,” said Collado. “But when I got onstage, I felt really excited to have the chance to sing for the panel, and I had a great time.”
The local National Council Auditions were held Saturday at the Trinity Preparatory Auditorium. The Florida District accepted 40 singers to perform in the auditions. Prizes included three winners’ prizes of $1,200 each and three encouragement awards of $300 each, awarded at the judges’ discretion.
“It’s always nerve-racking to sing for opera experts, but it was an important opportunity for me to practice performing under pressure,” Collado said. “I got to speak to the judges after they announced the winners. They gave me great feedback. They said I had a mature grandeur about me and that I gave a very genuine performance.”
The National Council Auditions Program was created to allow for young opera singers of varying experience levels to be heard by a representative of the Metropolitan Opera and to “assist those with the greatest potential in their development,” according to its website.
According to Collado, her next focus will be to prepare for her senior recital Feb. 7 in Clarke Recital Hall. She will also perform as Lauretta in the Frost Opera Theater’s production of “Gianni Schicchi” Feb. 28 in Gusman Concert Hall.