The Vincerò Academy Journey: Carnegie Hall Debut
On January 13, 2022, 22 singers from Mexico, Guatemala, the United States, Canada, France, England, Germany, Greece, and South Korea graced the stage of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall. Many of them were making their debut in the famed NYC venue, which made attending this inaugural Vincerò Academy Gala even more special.
After a year of following the students’ progress via social media, it was an unforgettable treat to witness their work, beautiful performances and hear their voices live for the first time. I felt extremely proud to have 360° of Opera be a part of their journeys. I also felt a deep, refreshing sense of abundance: abundance of talent, joy, music, opportunity and collaboration. I believe this is one of the keys to making opera more accessible: starting by international accessibility of high level education. Vincerò Academy has this down.
When asking Abdiel Vázquez (Founder, Artistic Director of Vincerò Academy and pianist for the Gala) what his reaction was as he finally met and worked with the singers in person, he enthusiastically responded that he was genuinely impressed at how close the singers' voices, musicality, and overall artistry was in person to the idea he had formed of them only through Zoom coachings and masterclasses last year. “Any surprises were only positive ones, in the cases of voices that were actually more sizable or richer than what I had thought. Also, after mostly having heard them perform with pre-recorded tracks online, it was a pleasure to hear them sing much more freely with live accompaniment.”
[ Pictured: Abdiel Vázquez, Esteban Baltazar, Josaphat Contreras and Cassandra Douglass. ]
The program was a feast of favorite opera arias, ensembles and more, lasting two and a half hours, with Abdiel Vázquez at the piano for the entire performance. There certainly was something for everyone and most importantly, every performer got at least two chances to share their artistry on the stage. This performance managed to beat the odds and go on as planned, in a climate filled with cancelations due to the Omicron wave. True to its name, Vincerò Academy continues to make things happen despite the uncertainty of the pandemic.
It was an inspiring and satisfying evening on so many levels. Congratulations are in order to everyone involved in making this evening a success, including the star-studded faculty of the academy, who guided the students throughout the year. I had the pleasure of sitting next to Irina Meachem, one of the coaches at Vincerò Academy, who was beaming with pride the entire evening. I still smile thinking about it. For some extra inspiration, I checked in with some of the 360° of Opera scholarship winners to see what the experience felt like on their end…
“During my time with Vincerò Academy, Maestro Vázquez would discuss the history and identity of the characters in depth with us amongst of course the orchestral analysis.
So while virtually studying the role of Carmen I was able to theorize the psyche of Carmen it was hard to to connect Carmen with the fabric of her story since essentially Carmen gains power from the men she can enchant and the women she can feel liberated with.
Coming together for our Carnegie hall production was monumental because finally as a group we could understand each other’s unique artistry and bring the characters we theorized not into just practice but into performance immediately. The ability to do so was due to Maestro Abdiel Vazquez and the quality of education he provided during the in depth preparation of our roles.”
“Coming together to sing with Abdiel Vázquez and the colleagues I studied with during lockdown felt like the most incredible celebration of life and music. We had inspiring rehearsals of all the spectacular music on the program throughout the week, and every one of us was buzzing with excitement at the thought of finally singing at Carnegie Hall of all places. Feeling the energy of the iconic stage that featured so many legendary singers in the past and looking out into the stunningly beautiful auditorium made the concert a night to remember.”
“Covid was an opportunity to step away from an opera career, or a chance to hone in on my technique, network, and prepare the roles I hope to perform one day. Vincerò Academy kept me accountable and helped me accelerate my career more than I ever could have imagined. I studied two roles, Mimì from La Bohème and Violetta from La Traviata with the program and I’m ecstatic to share I will perform both roles this year with professional companies. Studying these roles at Vincerò Academy gave me the confidence I needed to land those auditions.
Artistic Director, Abdiel Vázquez brought the program together to perform at the Vincerò Gala at Carnegie Hall. It was an incredible experience to meet my colleagues from around the world in person (!) and debut on this historic stage with such dedicated artists. However, I have to say, my experience at Vincerò Academy was so invaluable, singing at Carnegie Hall was only icing on the cake!”
“To say it felt momentous seems almost too obvious. But that was the essence of the night, on the large scale and the small scale. Grand & momentous, because a person only makes their Carnegie Hall debut once in a lifetime — and because that night was the first time since the start of the pandemic that I had sung for an audience outside of a choral or ecclesiastical setting. Lovely, and delicately momentous, because each one of us there was savoring each and every moment, with joy and appreciation at being all together, sharing the live vibrations of our unique voices in one beautiful, iconic space. And to be with a group of artists living fully in the moment…well, that is simply one of the most wonderful feelings in the world.”
After having had some time to reflect on the event, Abdiel Vázquez thinks the Carnegie Hall Gala left everyone with a great sense of satisfaction. “It meant so much for everyone to meet in person and share this debut together, so we definitely want to keep doing them for each future season's students. I am also actively looking for opportunities in my native Mexico to perform some of our season's operas in concert version or semi-staged productions, since we already have many well-prepared full casts of talented young artists! Hopefully these projects will come to fruition soon.”
To learn more about Vincerò Academy please visit www.vinceroacademy.com and follow on social media @vinceroacademy. To be considered for a 360° of Opera scholarship, follow both organizations on Facebook and Instagram and express your interest in your application.
[ Photography courtesy of Vincerò Academy ]
- written by Eugenia Forteza