For many of us living on the Shore, one of our most beloved artists was Anna Sterrett. The consummate professional “singing actress”, Anna has delighted us over the years with performances as Luisa in the Fantasticks, Olympia in Les Contesd’Hoffmann, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel and most recently, as Rosabella in The Most Happy Fella (she also directed this performance). Sadly, Anna left the Shore this spring, moving to the Raleigh-Durham area where she is beginning the next stage of her career as the founder and director of The Saltworks Opera.
We are very pleased to announce that Ms. Sterrett will be bringing a bit of Saltworks back to the Eastern Shore.
The Saltworks Opera Voice Competition will take place at 12:00 noon on October 14th at the Palace Theatre in Cape Charles.
The competition will be judged by American mezzo-soprano Robynne Redmon and Sondra Gelb.
Ms. Redmon has been hailed the world over for her “glorious singing, intense acting, excellent phrasing, ardent tone, splendid shading, solid coloratura and excellent artistic sense”. (Das Opernglas) She has graced the world’s greatest stages including The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Staatsoper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsopera, Opéra de Marseilles, Teatro Regio di Torino, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Opéra Montréal, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, New York City Opera, Atlanta Opera, Boston Lyric Opera and Minnesota Opera. Ms. Redmon has not only made her indelible mark in standard repertoire, but she has also been an ardent champion of new works as well, creating such roles as the eponymous role of Bright Sheng’s opera, Madame Mao.
Ms. Redmon is also an assistant vocal professor at University of Miami Frost School of Music and the Director of the Frost School of Music at Salzburg.
Sondra Gelb, Contralto is a veteran of New York City Opera where she sang 100 performances of 9 roles. She has also graced the stages of The Metropolitan Opera, Florida Grand, Virginia Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Sarasota Opera, Opera Shreveport, Syracuse Opera, and Opera Orchestra of New York among others.
Ms. Gelb has performed as a guest soloist with the Pacific Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Princeton Pro-Musica, Modesto Symphony, New School of Music Symphony and Chorus, Octavo Singers, and the Norfolk Chamber Consort. She is the recipient of numerous awards including: Finalist for Huston Grand Opera Program and Chicago Lyric Opera Program, an International Semi-Finalist at the Belvedere Competition in Vienna, Austria, and a Met Regional Finalist where she took 3rd place in New York and 2nd place in Washington D.C.
After retiring from the stage, Ms. Gelb focused on teaching, carrying on the vocal studio traditions of Ellen Repp. Ms. Gelb has been a voice instructor at the Seagle Music Colony for Singers, an Adjunct Professor of Voice at Old Dominion and Christopher Newport Universities, and an instructor of voice for the Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, VA.
Note: The public will have input. The category of singers that people can vote for for starts at 1:00.
Where: Palace Theatre, 310 Mason Ave Cape Charles, Virginia
When: 12:00 pm October 14th
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