Seven artists have been selected from an international pool of talent to advance to the live final round of the company’s 37th annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers
Finalists to perform at Wortham Theater Center, accompanied by the HGO Orchestra for the first time in company history, as they compete for honors and newly increased cash prizes
HOUSTON—January 13, 2025—Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is proud to announce the seven finalists for this year’s Concert of Arias, the 37th Annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, to be presented at the Wortham Theater Center on January 17, 2025, at 7 p.m. CT and livestreamed for a worldwide audience.
Each year, HGO hosts an international competition to discover the most promising emerging artists in opera, all of whom are potential candidates for the company’s renowned Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio. The seven finalists will spend the week prior to the Concert of Arias immersing themselves in HGO’s culture and collaborating with its music staff.
At the event, each finalist will sing two arias and, for the first time in company history, perform accompanied by the HGO Orchestra, to be conducted by Maestro James Gaffigan, who received his master’s degree from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and has close ties to Houston. The General Music Director of Komische Oper Berlin, Music Director of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia, and Music Director of the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra in Switzerland, Gaffigan has supported the development of talented emerging artists throughout his impressive career.
As part of HGO’s mission to support and recruit the next generation of top-in-class artists internationally, the company has tripled the competition’s prize purse for 2025. The finalists will be competing for prizes including $25,000 for first place, $15,000 for second place, $10,000 for third place, and $5,000 for the Audience Choice Award. Each non-placing finalist will receive $3,500, with one of them selected for the $2,000 Ana María Martínez Encouragement Award.
The 2025 Concert of Arias finalists include:
- Lauren Carroll, soprano
- Daria Lupu, soprano
- Alexis Seminario, soprano
- Meg Brilleslyper, mezzo-soprano
- Luke Norvell, tenor
- Luka Tsevelidze, tenor
- Geonho Lee, baritone
This year’s esteemed judges for the competition include guest judge Michael Heaston, the Deputy General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera and the former Music Director of the Butler Studio; Khori Dastoor, HGO General Director and CEO; and Patrick Summers, HGO Artistic and Music Director. Celebrated soprano and HGO favorite Ana María Martínez will select one artist to receive her Encouragement Award, which she created a decade ago to celebrate artists developing their craft.
“Identifying and supporting the most promising voices in opera, at home and abroad, is vital to our mission. That is why we have expanded this year’s competition,” says Dastoor. “I am proud to share that this year’s 20 semi-finalists represented six countries—a wonderful reflection of Houston’s global populace. The seven finalists who remain are an extraordinarily special group. It is going to be such a thrill to hear these stunning voices, accompanied by our own HGO Orchestra.”
HGO will present the competition to a live audience in the Wortham’s Cullen Theater, and the event will be streamed online through HGO’s Facebook and YouTube platforms. The evening’s livestream host is popular Houston media personality Ernie Manouse, an executive producer and host at Houston Public Media. Manouse will engage online viewers with special updates and peeks behind the scenes throughout the evening. Audiences in the theater and online will join together to vote for the Audience Choice Award.
Over six months leading up to the competition, HGO leadership conducted a global search for the finest emerging talent in opera, with Butler Studio Director Colin Michael Brush leading scouting efforts throughout the U.S., Europe, and Mexico. As part of HGO’s push to expand its reach and serve the international citizenry of Houston, shortly after this winter’s Concert of Arias, Brush will be traveling to Barcelona, Spain for the Gran Teatre de Liceu’s 62nd Tenor Viñas International Singing Competition. There, he will select one artist to receive the new Torras Family Foundation prize of $25,000 on behalf of HGO, as well as an automatic invitation to compete in Concert of Arias 2026 as a semi-finalist.
“This season, I’ve had the privilege of traveling across the globe to discover extraordinary voices, and I’m thrilled to see these incredible talents take the stage in this year’s Concert of Arias,” says Brush. “Hearing these dynamic young artists perform with the HGO Orchestra is a truly special moment—it’s the perfect showcase for voices of this caliber, which deserve to be heard in their full brilliance. We’re so fortunate at the Butler Studio to work with such exceptional singers and dedicated talents, and I cannot wait to present this world-class group to our audiences. It’s going to be a night to remember as we watch them shine.”
This year’s semifinalists included sopranos Lauren Carroll (U.S.), Madison Horman (New Zealand), Daria Lupu (Romania), Alexis Seminario (U.S.), and Jasmin Ward (U.S.); mezzo-sopranos Kendra Faith Beasley (U.S.), Meg Brilleslyper (U.S.), Ashlyn Brown (U.S.), Julia Holoman (U.S.), Imara Ashton Miles (U.S.), and Mariam Tony Mouawad (Lebanon/U.S.); tenors Matthew Goodheart (U.S.), Palanda Gvinjilia (Georgia), Luke Norvell (U.S.), Tristan Tournaud (U.S.), and Luka Tsevelidze (Georgia); baritones Geonho Lee (South Korea), Gabriel Natal-Báez (Puerto Rico, U.S.), and Adam Partridge (U.S.); and bass-baritone Dylan Gregg (U.S.).
Concert of Arias 2025 is chaired by Reinnette and Stan Marek. Proceeds from the evening, which features a post-concert dinner for company supporters, will benefit the Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers and the Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio.
HGO is grateful to offer an increased prize purse for the 2025 Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers thanks to the generosity of supporters Valerie and Miguel Miro-Quesada (first place); Stephanie D. Larsen (second place); Kathleen Moore and Steven Homer (third place); Jill A. Schaar and George Caflisch (Audience Choice); and Hon. Theresa and Dr. Peter Chang, Ms. Marty Dudley, Mr. Brian Faulkner and Ms. Jackie Macha, the Houston Grand Opera Guild, and Dr. Yin Yiu and Mr. Ron Domantay (non-placing finalists).
Founded in 1977, the Butler Studio has become one of the most respected young artist programs globally. Artists in the program benefit from a rich learning environment that prioritizes hands-on experience in the professional opera world. This includes regular coaching with industry experts, opportunities to perform in HGO mainstage productions, recital performances, and a range of other concert engagements. In 2023, longtime HGO supporters Sarah and Ernest Butler created a new fund within the HGO Endowment valued at $22 million, the largest gift in company history, and the Studio program was renamed to honor their commitment to the operatic art form.
2025 Concert of Arias Finalist Biographies:
LAUREN CARROLL
(United States)
Soprano
This season, Lauren Carroll is a Young Artist with Palm Beach Opera, where she will make her company debut as Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro and cover the roles of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Violetta in La traviata. In summer 2025, she will return to the Aspen Music Festival as a Renée Fleming Artist and debut as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte. In summer 2024, she performed the role of Gretel in Hansel and Gretel at the Aspen Music Festival. Carroll was an Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera in 2021 and 2022, where she covered the roles of Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Frasquita in Carmen. She earned her Master of Music degree from Rice University and her Bachelor of Music degree from Drake University.
DARIA LUPU
(Romania)
Soprano
Daria Lupu is a member of the Experimental Studio in Musical Performing Arts “Ludovic Spiess” at the Bucharest National Opera. She has performed roles such as Mimì in La bohème, Marguerite in Faust, and La Bergère in L’enfant et les sortilèges at venues including the Bucharest National Opera, the Romanian Athenaeum, and Radio Hall. She was a finalist in the 2024 Sumi Jo International Singing Competition and represented Romania at the 2023 Voix Nouvelles Semifinal in Paris. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree at the National University of Music in Bucharest.
ALEXIS SEMINARIO
(United States)
Soprano
Alexis Seminario, a 2020 alumna of HGO’s Young Artists Vocal Academy, is currently a Young Artist with Palm Beach Opera, where she will debut as Annina in La traviata and cover the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro. In summer 2024 as a Renée Fleming Artist at the Aspen Music Festival, Seminario stepped in for Tamara Wilson as Sieglinde and sang Helmwige in Act III of Die Walküre, in addition to portraying Gertrud in Hansel and Gretel under the baton of Maestro Patrick Summers. In summer 2025, she will cover Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw and Ortlinde in Die Walküre with the Santa Fe Opera as an Apprentice Artist. During the 2022-23 season, Seminario was a Studio Artist with the Atlanta Opera and an Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera. She received 3rd Place in the Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition and is a Southeast Regional Finalist in the 2025 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. She holds a Master of Music degree from Bard College Conservatory.
MEG BRILLESLYPER
(United States)
Mezzo-Soprano
Meg Brilleslyper is a 2022 alumna of HGO’s Young Artists Vocal Academy. Recent roles include Bradamante in Alcina, Mércèdes in Carmen, Bianca and Lucretia (cover) in The Rape of Lucretia, Filipyevna (cover) in Eugene Onegin, and Ruggiero in Alcina. Brilleslyper won an Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition – Houston District (2024), first place in the Jessie Kneisel Lieder Competition (2023), and first place in the Eastman Concerto Competition (2022). She attended the Aspen Music Festival (2022, 2023) and the Music Academy of the West as a Lehrer Vocal Institute Fellow (2024). In early 2025, she will compete in the live rounds of the International Franz Schubert and Modern Music Competition in Graz, Austria. Upcoming roles include Cherubino in The Ghosts of Versailles at Rice University and Isolier in Le comte Ory at San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program. She is currently pursuing her Master of Music degree at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.
LUKE NORVELL
(United States)
Tenor
Luke Norvell is a fourth-year resident artist at Academy of Vocal Arts. Previous operatic highlights include the role of Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi and Buoso’s Ghost and serving as a tenor soloist in Verdi’s Messa di Requiem at Utah Festival Opera; Werther (Act III) with Opera Philadelphia; performing as Male Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia and as Alfredo in La traviata, Lensky in Eugene Onegin, and Duca in Rigoletto (Act III) at Academy of Vocal Arts; Rodolfo in La bohème and Lensky in Eugene Onegin with Music Academy of the West; Anatol (cover) in Vanessa with Spoleto Festival USA; and Fenton in Falstaff with Puget Sound Concert Opera. Upcoming engagements include the title role in Faust at Academy of Vocal Arts and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi with Opera Roanoke. Norvell has won prizes in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, as well as Opera Index, Young Patronesses of the Opera, and SAS Performing Arts competitions. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Master’s University.
LUKA TSEVELIDZE
(Georgia)
Tenor
Luka Tsevelidze is a student at the Tbilisi State Conservatoire. Tsevelidze made his operatic debut as Tamino in The Magic Flute with the Tbilisi State Conservatoire Opera Studio. In summer 2024, he performed in a concert in Kassel, Germany. He will soon take the stage as Alfredo in La traviata at the Tbilisi State Opera. He was introduced to classical music beginning at the age of 10, when he sang “O sole mio” with the Tbilisi Philharmonic Orchestra, sparking his passion for opera.
GEONHO LEE
(South Korea)
Baritone
Geonho Lee was a 2024 semifinalist in the renowned Operalia Competition. Lee is currently pursuing advanced studies at the University of Music and Theatre Munich, where he participates in frequent performances and productions. He is an active member of the August Everding Academy and holds a prestigious scholarship from the Bühnenverein. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from Seoul National University, where he won several prestigious competitions.
To learn more about the evening, visit HGO.org/COA.
