2013 AWARDEE: MARIO CHANG

and the WINNER is…“SUPER MARIO”
- the sensational young tenor from Guatemala, MARIO CHANG

MARIO CHANG, from Guatemala City, Guatemala, is in his third year of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera and begins his first year in the Advanced Diploma in Opera Studies program at The Juilliard School. He is the 2014 TOP PRIZE winner in the prestigious LISSNER VOCAL COMPETITION held annually in New York City. Of his delightful February 2014 portrayal of Nemorino in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore in a co-production between the Met’s young artist program and Juilliard Opera, the NY Times wrote:

Mr. Levine drew an elegant performance from the orchestra and a fine cast, headed by Mario Chang, a born bel canto tenor, as the love-struck Nemorino…

In the 2012-2013 season, Mr. Chang made his Metropolitan Opera debut singing the Fourth Esquire in the new production of Parsifal. In the 2013-2014 season, Mr. Chang participated in the Met’s 2013 Summer Recital Series and sings the Italian Tenor in Der Rosenkavlier. Of the latter, the NY Times had this to say:

“Mario Chang sang the Italian Tenor’s aria with warmth and lyric power; this Guatemalan singer was given only once chance at the role in the current run and he made the most of it. His talent should be nurtured and more opportunities given him at The Met, with care taken not to over-extend a naturally pleasing voice. He was affectionately cheered at his solo bow.”

Recent career highlights include a concert in Puerto Rico at the Teatro de La Opera honoring Giuseppi Verdi, his Israeli debut with the International Vocal Arts Institute in Tel-Aviv as the Chevalier de la Force in Dialogues des Carmélites, his Carnegie Hall debut singing in a concert with the Musical Olympus Foundation, and his debut with the Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne in Rennes, France. Mr. Chang’s operatic performances include Nemorino in L’Elisir d’ Amore at Festival de Arte Paiz, Gaston in La Traviata at Centro Cultural Miguel Ángel Asturias, and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni at Teatro Lirico D’Europa. His concert performances include Mozart’s Requiem with Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Guatemala, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Orquesta Centroamericana in Nicaragua. He was also a guest soloist with the Saint Petersburg State Cappella Symphony Orchestra at Festival Music Olympus in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Mr. Chang is the recipient of a career grant from the Festival Musique et Vin au Clos Vougeot in Burgundy, France, the 2013 Hildegard Behrens Foundation Award for promising young classical artists, the 2011 overall First Prize recipient of the Plàcido Domingo Prize and the “Amigos de Sabadell” Prize in the Francisco Viñas Competition. He has also received awards from the Concurso Canto Lírico de Trujillo, the Asociación Artista del Año, and the Asociación Dante Alighieri.

Most recently, Mario won the 2014 First Prize (male voice) of $30,000 at Placido Domingo’s famed Operalia Competition held in Los Angeles, CA as well as The Don Placido Domingo Sr. Zarzuela Prize of $10,000 and an Audience Prize, a Rolex watch.

Watch a video of Mario singing “Ella mi fu rapita!” from Verdi’s Rigoletto at the Operalia 2014.

REVIEW/NEWS EXCERPTS
 
A Summary of His Press Reviews

Read the Opera News story.

Read the LA Times news report

CONGRATULATIONS, super MARIO!

Visit Mario’s website.