Seattle Opera Young Artists qualify for Round Two of Met National Auditions

Young Artists Elizabeth Pojanowski, Michelle Trovato, and Eugene Chan, along with alumnus Noah Baetge have qualified for the second round of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Twenty-five singers auditioned in the Western Washington and Alaska District in October, and six are moving on to the Regional Finals on January 25 to compete for a chance to sing on the stage of the Met at the National Finals in New York.

Singers prepared five arias in contrasting styles and languages, and performed three—two of which were selected by the judges. That format can be challenging, said mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Pojanowski, who has qualified for the Regional competition twice before. “Sometimes it’s tough vocally to sing one right after the other,” she said. “But if you’ve rehearsed a piece enough times and you’re completely confident with it, you should be able to switch into the right mode immediately.”

David McDade, head of coach-accompanists at Seattle Opera, played at the District auditions and will also play at the Regionals. “The singers from our program all performed very well,” he said. “And I am gratified that Seattle Opera has a hand in the careers of these fine artists.”