FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE (4/02)
Contact: Lynn
Stewart, Centenary News Service, 318-869-5120
Centenary Alumna to
Compete in Met's Grand Finals in New York on April 21
SHREVEPORT, LA -- Centenary alumna
Twyla Robinson is one of ten finalists for the Metropolitan Opera's National
Council Auditions and will compete in the grand finals round on Sunday,
April 21. For the finals, she will sing "To this we've come" from
The Consul by Gian-Carlo Menotti and "Das wahr sehr gut" from Arabella
by Richard Strauss.
A 1993 graduate of Centenary College,
Ms. Robinson earlier was the
winner from Pacific region of the
Metropolitan Opera auditions.There are
20 regions in the Metropolitan Opera
competition. All regions send
winners to the national competition
in New York City. The first round of the New York competition was
on April 14, and was closed to the public. From that round, ten singers
were chosen to perform and compete in a public concert, called the Grand
Finals, on the MET stage on April 21. This competition will be broadcast
on public radio.
The top five winners will receive
$15,000 each, and remaining finalists win $5,000 awards. Some winners
may be invited to join the Metropolitan Opera's apprentice program. While
at Centenary, Ms. Robinson, who is a native of Denham Springs, La., studied with Dr. Horace English and
Dr. Gale Odom. She is currently a student of Constanza Cuccaro, who is
a professor of music at Indiana University.
As a 1999 Merola Opera Program participant,
Ms. Robinson was seen at San Jose's Villa Montalvo as Donna Anna in Don
Giovanni. Later reprising
Donna Anna and adding the role of
Donna Elvira, she went on to visit 31
cities with the 1999 Western Opera
Theater National Tour. In April of
2000, Ms. Robinson was the San Francisco
Opera Center's overbearing Lady Billows in Britten's comedy Albert Herring,
and later that month
performed in the prestigious Schwabacher
Debut Recital Series for an
afternoon of all Brahms--both performances
meeting with critical
acclaim.
Ms. Robinson has earned notices in
several competitions, including the
Eleanor McCollum Concert of Arias
competition at Houston Grand Opera,
the National Association of Teachers
of Singing Artist Awards, and the
San Francisco Opera Center's National
Auditions. She has received
invitations to participate in the
Tucker Foundation Awards and the
inaugural year of the Wigmore Hall
International Song Competition in
London. She has just completed a
residency with the San Francisco Opera
on a Samuel Adler fellowship.
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