2009 Opera News Award Ceremony

19 November 2009
Gotham Hall, New York

Above: Philip Glass, Martina Arroyo, Joyce DiDonato and Gerry. [Photo by Dario Acosta]

Extracts from the Opera News press release, 6 August 2009

On Thursday, November 19, the fifth annual OPERA NEWS Awards will be presented. The 2009 honorees are: soprano Martina Arroyo; mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato; bass-baritone Gerald Finley; composer Philip Glass; and mezzo-soprano Shirley Verrett.
The gala awards dinner at New York’s Gotham Hall on November 19 will be co-hosted for the second year running by Susan Graham and Thomas Hampson together; celebrity presenters will speak about the awardees, video and audio clips will be broadcast, and tributes from colleagues will be delivered. The November issue of OPERA NEWS will feature tributes to the five awardees, all of them distinguished members of the international operatic community, and will provide more details about the event.

Click photo to read the Opera News article about Gerry

The OPERA NEWS Awards were created in 2005 to mark the seventieth anniversary of the Metropolitan Opera Guild. The awards recognize five individuals annually for distinguished achievement in the field of opera. Proceeds from the gala evening on November 19 will benefit the education programs of the Metropolitan Opera Guild.

The editors of OPERA NEWS — published by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, which is now celebrating its seventy-fifth anniversary — have written brief pre-publication accolades to this year’s awardees.

Gerald Finley, the only Canadian in this year’s list, is described by Louise T. Guinther, senior editor of OPERA NEWS: GERALD FINLEY’s eclectic, adventurous career has encompassed operas by Mozart, Purcell and Saariaho and songs by Schubert and Ives. His electrifying performance in the title role of John Adams’s Doctor Atomic exemplified his unique ability to create powerful drama through musical and vocal means. Finley is a rare anomaly — an artist whose lush, vibrant sound, intensity of expression and translucent clarity of diction can wring a tender, almost Romantic lyricism from the most modern and angular of idioms.

Click the photo to hear Louise Guinther of Opera News discuss highlights from Gerald Finley’s discography.

The invite in Opera News to the 2009 Awards

This season marks the fifth presentation of the annual OPERA NEWS Awards. On Thursday, November 19, Susan Graham and Thomas Hampson will host the gala tribute to our 2009 honorees — Martina Arroyo, Joyce DiDonato, Gerald Finley, Philip Glass and Shirley Verrett — at Gotham Hall in Manhattan. The musical and spiritual generosity of these five superlative artists provides abiding inspiration to opera-lovers everywhere; the celebration of their distinguished achievements will be a joyous occasion.

Photo Gallery

Courtesy of Opera News [Photos by Dario Acosta]