National Talent, Local Stage

Vero Beach Opera’s Rising Stars Festival Begins Wednesday

Opera has been the proving ground for the world's greatest voices for four centuries, from the courts of Renaissance Italy to the grand houses of Vienna, Milan, and New York.

The Metropolitan Opera alone has launched more careers than any institution in American music. But the MET doesn't discover talent in a vacuum. It relies on a network of smaller companies, competitions, and festivals: scrappy, passionate organizations that find singers before the big stages do.

Eight of the country's most promising young opera singers take the stage beginning this Wednesday, April 15, 16, and 17 for Vero Beach Opera's Rising Stars Opera Festival, a three-day vocal competition and concert at the VBHS Performing Arts Center.

Contestants are vying for $18,000 in prizes before a jury with deep Metropolitan Opera roots, including Music Director Gregory Buchalter, a former MET assistant conductor, and soprano Susan Neves, who has performed Tosca and Aida at the Vienna State Opera and the Arena di Verona.

The singers boast world-class credentials, including the Canadian Opera Company, Houston Grand Opera, and the Glimmerglass Festival.

This weekend, they're coming to 16th Street -- VBHS Performing Arts Center

Competition days are Wednesday and Thursday at 3 p.m. and tickets are just $10. The Rising Stars Concert & Awards gala closes out the festival Friday, April 17 at 7 p.m., with two former first-prize winners returning to perform, including baritone David Pershall, making his comeback after a battle with cancer, and soprano Meryl Dominguez, who made her Metropolitan Opera debut last season.

For more information and to purchase your tickets, click here.