Opera Chic

A Mighty Mezzo Wins Spring For Music's 2012 Arts Blogger Contest

Everyone is a winner! But on the real, mezzo soprano Jennifer Rivera is today's biggest. The American opera singer just won the 2012 Spring For Music Great Arts Blogger Challenge for her thoughtful essays on the state of arts funding in North America, which she posted on her blog, Trying to Remain Opera-tional, an unedited account and insider's view of opera from around the world. 

The contest was organized by Spring for Music, a classical music festival which brings North American orchestras together for six concerts from May 7 - May 12 at NYC's Carnegie Hall, tickets just $25. Like OC, if you can't be there, 105.9 FM WQXR will be broadcasting/streaming the concerts live.

First prize of the Spring for Music challenge, which goes to Rivera, is $2,500 freedom dollars and two tickets to each contest. The final round included Rivera's blog, Seated Ovation, Operation Opera and Neo Antennae.

If you're still throbbing with contest fever, Spring for Music launches another contest on Monday called Fantasy Program where you can submit your dream version of the festival's set-list. The contest will be open to public voting (just like the arts blogger challenge), and the winner gets two tickets to this year's and next year's festival.

Spring for Music's artistic director Tom Morris will be speaking about the festival on WNYC's Soundcheck (93.9 FM and 820 AM) with host John Schaefer this Tuesday, April 24 at 2pm.

Congrats to all the participants, who got recognition from North America's online arts community.

Spring For Music Blogger Challenge Heats Up for Round III

American Mezzo Jennifer Rivera has made us laugh with her Cherubino/Rosina, has turned us on with her Agrippina's Nerone -- frankly, a Christian Lacroix costume simply does that -- and has made us think (for years) through her personal blog, Trying to Remain Opera-tional.

She's one of the nine bloggers participating in the current Round III of Spring for Music's 2012 Great Arts Blogger Challenge and brought out the big guns for this week's post on arts in North America and the lack of a Secretary of Arts & Culture position in the U.S. 

Four of the nine bloggers will advance to Round IV Finals this Friday and the power of voting the bloggers ahead is in the hands of the public (well, 1/3 public opinion, 2/3 of three guest judges). Anyway, voting for Round III ends at noon on Thursday, April 12.

Forty-two bloggers originally registered to enter the competition. First prize is $2,500 and two tickets for each of the six Spring For Music concerts at Carnegie Hall May 7-12.

Three cheers for the remaining good sports in Round III: Operation Opera, Classical Beaver, Neo Antennae, Seated Ovation, Also Sprach FraKathustra, Proust Eats a Sandwich, ArtBLT and The Glass.