Juan José de Léon (M.M. ’10-Voice), a graduate of SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts, hit the right notes with judges to win the prestigious Metropolitan Opera National Council’s Southwest Regional Auditions January 23 in San Antonio.
Coloratura soprano Dee Donasco (M.M. ’10-Voice), who is pursuing a Performer’s Diploma at Meadows, was a district winner in the competition.
Juan José de Léon</em
The multiphase competition will continue March 6, when de Léon will perform at Lincoln Center in New York City. Voice Professor Virginia Dupuy, with whom he studied at SMU, will attend the event, which is closed to the general public.
“About half of the competitors will go on to the final phase, a public performance at the Met, which will be broadcast live on Sirius radio,” Dupuy explains. “I expect Juan will be one of the finalists.”
Winners will receive cash prizes to finance further studies.
Dupuy notes that another Meadows alumnus, Stephen Hartley ’01, advanced to the second stage of the Met competition in 2007. Hartley will make his Dallas Opera debut in Rigoletto in March, along with noted soprano and fellow Meadows graduate, Laura Claycomb ’90.
De Léon’s talent has grabbed the attention of important players on the opera scene. He was selected recently by renowned tenor Marcello Giordani to attend his master class. In January he accepted a yearlong young artist residency with the prestigious Pittsburgh Opera. He will sing and cover a variety of roles, as well as receive coaching and acting training and the chance to work with a number of directors and conductors.
Dee Donasco
This month he will make his debut with the Dallas Opera in Romeo and Juliet. While a student, he was one of three featured performers in the Dallas Opera/SMU Emerging Artist Program, which presents short operas in schools throughout the Dallas area. The program was good practice for the young tenor, says Dupuy.
“The experience he gained through so many performances in schools helped nurture the professionalism he exhibits today,” she says. “He expresses the text in song so beautifully. He really sings from the heart and makes the audience so comfortable.”
Dee Donasco is a two-season member of the Dallas Opera/SMU Emerging Artist Program. Her most recent role at SMU was Euridice, the female lead in the Meadows Opera Theatre’s production of Orpheus in the Underworld.
She credits voice teacher Dale Dietert and Director of Opera Hank Hammett for her growth as an artist at SMU. “With their guidance and support, I certainly feel like I’m ready to take on whatever comes my way in the future,” she says.
Last year Donasco received the first Ben K. Howard Award of Excellence in Opera from SMU, placed third in the national Lois Alba Aria Competition and was a finalist in the national Jensen Foundation Voice Competition.
“Competitions are important because they provide an opportunity for singers to be heard and get feedback from respected leaders in opera today,” she says.