Patrice Munsel Honored by Opera Index
Entertainment Desk
December 14, 2009
Patrice Munsel, whose career has spanned the Metropolitan Opera, musical theater, Las Vegas, and network television, will be presented with Opera Index´s Distinguished Achievement Award on Sunday, January 10, 2010 beginning at 6 p.m. at its annual Winter Gala held in the Grand Salon of the Jumeirah Essex House, the luxury hotel on Central Park South. Opera Index is a non-profit organization that since 1984 has boosted the careers of more than 250 young singers through its annual vocal competition, each year it recognizes the opera legends of our time with its Distinguished Achievement Award. Last year´s recipient was Julius Rudel. This year´s award will be presented to Ms. Munsel by WQXR´s Midge Woosey.
The Opera Index Winter Gala is the highlight of the organization´s year of activities. Under the artistic direction of celebrated opera soprano Elaine Malbin and hosted by Murray Rosenthal, the president of Opera Index, the Winter Gala is a black tie affair where attendees, including many opera and theater stars, will celebrate the extraordinary career of Patrice Munsel and have the opportunity to hear Opera Index´s major competition winners—the opera stars of tomorrow—accompanied by pianist Michael Fennelly. They include sopranos Jan Cornelius and Bridgette Gan; tenor Issachah Savage; baritones Alex Lawrence, Elliot Madore; Kelly Markgraf, and Nicholas Pallesen; and bass Evan Boyer. Last year, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo won the top prize of $10,000.
Tickets for the Opera Index Winter Gala range from $300 to $1000 and are available by contacting Opera Index Executive Director Bob Crosby at oirfc@aol.com or 212-721-9828.
Patrice Munsel
Spokane-born Patrice Munsel´s first career goal was to become a famous whistler, but that was set aside when at age 17, she won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, becoming the youngest singer ever to be signed to sing at the Met and one of the company´s leading sopranos. Following her debut as Philine in Mignon at 18, she went on to star in such Met productions as Lucia di Lammermoor, La Boheme, Tales of Hoffman, Cosi Fan Tutti, The Marriage of Figaro, Die Fledermaus, The Barber of Seville, Romeo and Juliet (she loved dying), La Perichole, Lakme, and Rigoletto.
Well known as a gifted actress and comedienne, as well, Ms. Munsel is one of the industry´s most versatile performers. In addition to her Metropolitan Opera performances, she branched out to musical theater with starring roles in The Merry Widow, Hello Dolly!, Applause, My Fair Lady, The King and I, The Sound of Music, and Mame . She was a frequent guest on many TV variety shows, including those hosted by Perry Como, Dean Martin, Red Skelton, and Ed Sullivan, and even popped up on What´s My Line and the Wild, Wild West adventure series. As host of her own half-hour, weekly ABC-TV show, she welcomed such entertainment legends as Tony Bennett, Andy Williams, Martha Raye, and John Raitt.
Today, Ms. Munsel continues to work nonstop, as she inspires the next generation of singers. She works with the Gerda Lissner Foundation, which helps young singers on their way to stardom; gives master classes; and serves as the mistress of ceremonies at the "Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation" gala, held each year at Lincoln Center.
Opera Index, composed of opera devotees, is an outgrowth of The New York Opera Club, which was founded in the late 1950´s by William Wells, an opera lover and radio personality well known for his interviews with opera singers of the day. Opera Index, its name taken from Mr. Wells´s file of opera singers, became a formal non-profit organization in 1982 and two years later inaugurated its first annual opera competition for singers in the early days of their careers. Among the prize winners of the first competition were Suzanne Mentzer and Gary Lakes. Later winners have included Deborah Voigt, Susan Graham, Stephanie Blythe, Andrea Gruber, Michelle DeYoung, Elizabeth Futral, and Christine Goerke. Last year tenor Michael Fabiano was awarded the top prize of $10,000. The first recipient of the Opera Index Distinguished Achievement Award was Zinka Milanov. Subsequent honorees have included Birgit Nilsson, Leonie Rysanek, Marilyn Horne, Roberta Peters, Samuel Ramey, Anna Moffo, Grace Bumbry, Rose Bampton, Theodor Uppman, Renato Scotto, Martina Arroyo, Regina Resnik, Jon Vickers, Sherrill Milnes, James Morris, Catherine Malfitano, Jessye Norman, Aprile Millo, and Julius Rudel.
More information and a complete list of competition award recipients, visit /www.operaindexinc.org.
The Opera Index Winter Gala is the highlight of the organization´s year of activities. Under the artistic direction of celebrated opera soprano Elaine Malbin and hosted by Murray Rosenthal, the president of Opera Index, the Winter Gala is a black tie affair where attendees, including many opera and theater stars, will celebrate the extraordinary career of Patrice Munsel and have the opportunity to hear Opera Index´s major competition winners—the opera stars of tomorrow—accompanied by pianist Michael Fennelly. They include sopranos Jan Cornelius and Bridgette Gan; tenor Issachah Savage; baritones Alex Lawrence, Elliot Madore; Kelly Markgraf, and Nicholas Pallesen; and bass Evan Boyer. Last year, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo won the top prize of $10,000.
Tickets for the Opera Index Winter Gala range from $300 to $1000 and are available by contacting Opera Index Executive Director Bob Crosby at oirfc@aol.com or 212-721-9828.
Patrice Munsel
Spokane-born Patrice Munsel´s first career goal was to become a famous whistler, but that was set aside when at age 17, she won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, becoming the youngest singer ever to be signed to sing at the Met and one of the company´s leading sopranos. Following her debut as Philine in Mignon at 18, she went on to star in such Met productions as Lucia di Lammermoor, La Boheme, Tales of Hoffman, Cosi Fan Tutti, The Marriage of Figaro, Die Fledermaus, The Barber of Seville, Romeo and Juliet (she loved dying), La Perichole, Lakme, and Rigoletto.
Well known as a gifted actress and comedienne, as well, Ms. Munsel is one of the industry´s most versatile performers. In addition to her Metropolitan Opera performances, she branched out to musical theater with starring roles in The Merry Widow, Hello Dolly!, Applause, My Fair Lady, The King and I, The Sound of Music, and Mame . She was a frequent guest on many TV variety shows, including those hosted by Perry Como, Dean Martin, Red Skelton, and Ed Sullivan, and even popped up on What´s My Line and the Wild, Wild West adventure series. As host of her own half-hour, weekly ABC-TV show, she welcomed such entertainment legends as Tony Bennett, Andy Williams, Martha Raye, and John Raitt.
Today, Ms. Munsel continues to work nonstop, as she inspires the next generation of singers. She works with the Gerda Lissner Foundation, which helps young singers on their way to stardom; gives master classes; and serves as the mistress of ceremonies at the "Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation" gala, held each year at Lincoln Center.
Opera Index, composed of opera devotees, is an outgrowth of The New York Opera Club, which was founded in the late 1950´s by William Wells, an opera lover and radio personality well known for his interviews with opera singers of the day. Opera Index, its name taken from Mr. Wells´s file of opera singers, became a formal non-profit organization in 1982 and two years later inaugurated its first annual opera competition for singers in the early days of their careers. Among the prize winners of the first competition were Suzanne Mentzer and Gary Lakes. Later winners have included Deborah Voigt, Susan Graham, Stephanie Blythe, Andrea Gruber, Michelle DeYoung, Elizabeth Futral, and Christine Goerke. Last year tenor Michael Fabiano was awarded the top prize of $10,000. The first recipient of the Opera Index Distinguished Achievement Award was Zinka Milanov. Subsequent honorees have included Birgit Nilsson, Leonie Rysanek, Marilyn Horne, Roberta Peters, Samuel Ramey, Anna Moffo, Grace Bumbry, Rose Bampton, Theodor Uppman, Renato Scotto, Martina Arroyo, Regina Resnik, Jon Vickers, Sherrill Milnes, James Morris, Catherine Malfitano, Jessye Norman, Aprile Millo, and Julius Rudel.
More information and a complete list of competition award recipients, visit /www.operaindexinc.org.
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