February 11, 2007     Opera Showcase of the Desert Mimi Rudulph Reception and Cocktail Party was held at 5:30 p.m. in Palm Springs.  Click here to see pictures taken at the event. 

To see what The Desert Sun said about the glamorous Mimi Rudulph event, click here.

On February 13, 2007, the Opera Showcase Board hosted its annual Sunset Dinner for the young singers and the production group at Le Vallauris.  Please click here to see photos taken at this event.

February 15, 2007 - Opera Showcase Gala.  Opera Showcase of the Desert presented the winners of the Metropolitan Opera Western Regional annual auditions, including finalist Amber Wagner, soprano at the Palm Springs Art Museum, Annenberg Theater. It was followed by a dinner dance at Le Vallauris, 385 W. Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs.  To see pictures of the event, click here.  Amber Wagner is the winner of the Metropolitan Opera Western Region Auditions and will represent Opera Showcase at Metropolitan Opera Finals in March 2007.

Ani Maldjian News:

Ani Maldjian, soprano, was 2006 finalist in the Metropolitan Western Region Auditions.  She wrote to tell us her exciting opera journey.  Click here to learn more about Ani.

Check out Ani's web page at http://www.animaldjian.com/

(The following was written by Betty Francis and  reproduced from the Feburary 12, 2006 issue of The Desert Sun.

Opera Showcase auditions produces bumper crop of talent

Betty Francis

Special to The Desert Sun

February 12, 2006

How do you measure the success of a fundraiser? Number of guests? Dollars raised? How much fun it was? How late folks stayed?

Judged by all of the above, last week's Opera Showcase of the Desert was a grand success.

"Can you imagine this staid old opera crowd dancing every dance from ballroom to rock and whooping it up until midnight?" chortled Lilli Joseph, a 28-year member and president of the Metropolitan Opera Western Regional Auditions.

This year's auditions produced a bumper crop of talent in the personages of three sopranos, Ani Maldjian, Amber Wagner and Christin Wismann; two tenors, Randall Bills and Kalil Wilson; and their versatile and humorous musical director Paul Floyd.

(Please note:  Amber Wagner was the winner of the Metropolitan Western Region Auditions and will represent us at Metropolitan Finals in March 2007 (in which she was one of the winners!). The sopranos Ani Maldjian, and Christin Wismann and the tenors, Randall Bills and Kalil Wilson were the Metropolitan Western Region Auditions finalists.)

"Having only sopranos and tenors forced us to improvise several numbers" Floyd said. "We all learned parts we never performed before."

I can't imagine a more polished and entertaining mix of opera and Jerry Herman show tunes, starting with Verdi's "La Traviata" and ending with "Hello, Dolly!"

All 438 seats at the Annenberg Theater in the Palm Springs Art Museum were filled, despite a few flu casualties. All their turned-back tickets were scooped up by stand-by patrons.

After the performance and standing ovations, major supporters and the cast adjourned to nearby Le Vallauris to dine, imbibe and dance the night away.

"We were on such a high from the show, no one wanted to go home" said executive vice president Brian Webb.

The evening honored longtime supporters Harold Matzner and the late Ann Angel, who have helped this group donate more than $300,000 for aspiring artists over the years.

Last week's event added about $10,000 for future performers, plus free musical programs for local school children.

Opera Showcase information: (760) 323-0154.

News from Kenneth, August 2007:

Am pleased to announce that I will be returning to the roster of the Met Opera in 2007/8 working on the production, War & Peace. I'll be covering the role of Fyodor.

I will be in NYC from approximately November 1, 2007-January 3rd, 2008.

I will also be returning to the San Diego Opera in April, 2008 as the Messenger in Aida, for 5 performances.

Hope all is going well with the Dessert Showcase!