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Lotte Lenya Competition for Singers Announces Winners

May. 04, 2007

This year’s Lotte Lenya Competition finals were held on April 21 at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester New York.  Founded by the Kurt Weill foundation in 1998, each of the competition’s seven finalists was required to present a diverse program including an aria, an American musical theater selection and two contrasting Weill selections. The distinguished judges for the 2007 finals were world-renowned soprano Teresa Stratas; conductor and director Ted Sperling; and Theodore S. Chapin, President of the Rogers and Hammerstein Organization. First place was awarded to tenor James Benjamin Garner, a 26 year old graduate of the Manhattan School of Music.  Soprano Analisa Leaming, a 22 year old student at the Eastman School of Music received second place; and two third place prizes were awarded to baritone Christopher Herbert, 26, and soprano Leena Chopra, 27, both of New York City.

Many past winners of the Lotte Lenya Competition have continued on to successful careers in opera and music theater, and two of them have noteworthy performances this month performing music of Weill. Erik Liberman, second place prize-winner of the 2005 competition, makes his Broadway debut on May 3 in the Manhattan Theater Club’s production of “LoveMusik”; and 2005 competition winner Jonathan Richie is featured at this year’s Spoleto Festival USA in an all Weill recital.  See this month’s stories on these events for more specific details.

For more information on the Kurt Weill and the Lotte Lenya Competition, please visit www.kwf.org or www.eamdllc.com

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