2025 Competition for Colorado Singers

Welcome to the Home Page of the 2025 Denver Lyric Opera Guild Competition for Colorado Singers!

The results are in! Look below to see the final standings. Congratulations to our amazing Finalists! And thank you for another great year to our Competition Committee, Accompanists, and judges. Thank you all for a job well done!

To watch the Finals in their entirety, check out the DLOG YouTube Livestream of the 2025 Competition.

First Place: $10,000 Galen & Ada Belle Spencer Foundation Award

Claudia de Lourdes Diaz | 27, Soprano

Claudia Díaz

Puerto Rican soprano Claudia de Lourdes Díaz, originally from San Juan, but raised in the city of Caguas, graduated in 2020 from the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico with honors and a bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance. She is currently earning a Performance Certificate at the Lamont School of Music under the tutelage of renowned soprano Heidi Melton. She was selected for the Vozarteum Opera Festival in 2019; traveling from San Diego, California to Baja California, Mexico, performing in various venues with a range of diverse repertoire. Afterward, Ms. Díaz was accepted to Houston’s Grand Opera, Young Artists Vocal Academy and over the course of the 2021 summer, she acquired a scholarship and placement in the Bologna International Opera Academy. Claudia was a 2025 winner of the Colorado – Wyoming District Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. She recently made her debut with the Colorado Symphony performing in Contreras’ Corridos.

Second Place: $5000 Kenneth King Foundation Award

Hallie Schmidt  |  27, Soprano

Hallie Schmidt

American soprano Hallie Schmidt, currently an Artist in Residence with Opera Colorado, has performed with the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Seattle Opera, Tacoma Opera, Pacific Northwest Opera, and Vashon Opera, to name a few. Recent performances include The Abduction from the Seraglio (Blonde) and The Marriage of Figaro (Susanna) with Pacific Northwest Opera; Carmen (Frasquita) with Tacoma Opera; Der Rosenkavalier (Sophie), Ariadne auf Naxos (Zerbinetta), and The Magic Flute (The Queen of the Night, filmed production) with Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Originally from Olympia, WA, Hallie received her Bachelor of Music from Oklahoma City University and an Artist Diploma from William Jewell College in Kansas City, MO. Hallie received awards from the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, the Lotte Lenya Competition, and the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, and was the 2023 winner of the Seattle Opera Guild Singer Development Awards. Seville (Berta) and Hansel and Gretel (Gretel).

Third Place: $4500 Myrle F. Hoffman Memorial Award

Alexander Granito  |  27, Baritone

Alex Granito

Alex Granito is a baritone from Orange County, CA. He is currently with Opera Colorado for a second year as an Artist in Residence for the 2024-25 Season, during which he performed in the Daughter of the Regiment mainstage production and Student Matinee (Corporal). He also sings in Opera Colorado’s touring productions of The Barber of Seville (Figaro) and Hansel and Gretel (Father). In the summer of 2024, Alex was a Studio Artist at Chautauqua Opera and sang in the world premiere of Love, Loss, and the Century Upon Us (Young Man). In the 2023-24 Season with Opera Colorado, Alex sang in the mainstage productions of Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni, cover/Student Matinee), Samson and Delilah (Second Philistine), The Flying Dutchman (Ghost Chorus), and in Opera Colorado’s touring productions of The Elixir of Love (Belcore) and Cinderella (Dandini). In the summer of 2023, Alex was a fellow at Music Academy of the West where he sang in La bohème (Schaunard). Alex earned his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Vocal Performance at San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he studied under Cesar Ulloa.

Fourth Place: $4000 Gary & Gayle Landis Award

Alice Del Simone  |  32, Soprano

Alice Del Simone

Alice Del Simone enjoys performing varied operatic repertoire including an upcoming appearance as Clytemnestra in the premiere of Anne Hege’s The Furies with Stanford Laptop Orchestra. Recent appearances include The Lady with a Hand Mirror in Postcard from Morocco (Argento) with Eklund Opera, Gilda in Three Feathers (Laitman) with Opera Steamboat, La Princesse, Le Rosignol, and Le Feu in L’Enfant et les Sortilèges (Ravel) with Boulder Opera, La Feé in Cendrillon (Viardot) with Loveland Opera’s Educational Outreach, and Poppea in Agrippina (Handel) with Eklund Opera. She has also performed as Cis in Britten’s Albert Herring at the Miami Summer Music Festival, in the Ensemble in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking with Opera Parallèle. She is currently working on her Doctorate at CU Boulder.

Fifth Place: $3500 Tom & Mary Conroy Award

Hanyue Zhang  |  24, Soprano

Hanyue Zhang

Hanyue Zhang began her musical journey at the age of eight, starting with piano lessons and joining the school’s children’s choir. At fifteen, she pursued formal training in classical voice performance. In 2018 she was accepted into the Tianjon Conservatory of Music, where she majored in voice performance and dedicated herself to the study of opera and Bel Canto. Her passion for vocal arts led her to continue her studies at the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver in 2023, where she is pursuing a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance.

Sixth Place: $3000 Carole Johnson Award 

Andrew Konopak  |  32, Baritone

Andrew Konopak

Andrew Konopak is working toward his M.M. in vocal performance and pedagogy at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Andrew graduated with a BM from California State University-Long Beach, and then worked professionally around Southern California for seven years where he became known for his “rich clarion baritone” (San Diego Story), singing with both San Diego Opera and Los Angeles Opera Chorus, and performing in concerts around the area. He has worked as a soloist with the San Diego Master Chorale, La Jolla Symphony, San Diego Festival Chorus, and Artes Vocales of Los Angeles. With San Diego Opera, Konopak performed Il Commissario in Madama Butterfly, Grégorio in Romeo et Juliette, and acted as both a soloist and a pitch pipe in All is Calm. Since coming to Colorado, Andrew has sung bass solos in both Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s B minor Mass with Longmont symphony, Pirate King in Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance.

Seventh Place: $2500 Marcia Ragonetti Bel Canto Fund Award

Sidney Grimm  |  23, Soprano

Sidney Grimm

Sidney Grimm received her Bachelor of Arts in Music and Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Central Washington University. She was awarded Central Washington University’s College of Arts and Humanities Award for Achievement in Arts or Performance. She is currently working on her Master of Music in Vocal Performance at the University of Colorado Boulder. Roles include Gretel from Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, Littler Daughter from Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up, and Cupid from Jacques Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld.

Certificate of Merit: $1000 Julie Johnston in Memory of Harry Williams Award

Sibongakonkhe Msibi  |  29, Tenor

Sibongakonkhe Msibi

Sibo, a native of Swaziland, graduated from Westmont in 2023 and is attending graduate school at Lamont School of Music, University of Denver. While attending Westmont, he joined an elite group of 20 Fellows over the summer at the Vocal Institute at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara — the first Westmont student to achieve this honor. He was chosen from an international pool of talented applicants who seek careers in opera to pursue advanced study and performance under the guidance of internationally renowned faculty artists, soloists and guest conductors.

Certificate of Merit: $1000 Jackie Writz in Honor the Competition Check-in Crew

Mykayla Fitzpatrick  |  24, Soprano

Mykayla Fitzpatrick

Mykayla Fitzpatrick is a recent graduate of Colorado State University with a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance (minor in Microbiology). At CSU she performed in Hansel and Gretel (Gretel), The Tender Land (Laurie), Cosi fan tutte (Despina), and Old Maid and the Thief (Laetitia). She has directed scenes from Mozart, Verdi, Bernstein, and more. Recently she has performed and assistant sales directed with Boulder Opera Company, assistant stage directed at Quisisana Resort in Maine and for Music on Site in Kansas, and will be making her company debut with Loveland Opera Theater..

Certificate of Merit: $1000 Karen Ritz in Honor of Jeremy Reger Award

Mackenzie Laun  |  32, Soprano

Mackenzie Laun

Mackenzie Laun, Soprano, is a Denver native. She holds her Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Northern Colorado, and is currently pursuing her Masters of Music Education with an emphasis in conducting from Colorado State University. She spent nine years as a public high school choir teacher in Jeffco, but now enjoys the life of a stay-at-home mom and freelance singer. Mackenzie sings professionally all over Denver with groups like St. Martin’s Chamber Choir, Anima Chamber Ensemble, and Elus Vocal Ensemble. Some of her favorite past engagements include soprano soloist for Mozart’s Requiem with St. Martin’s Chamber Choir, soprano soloist for Bach’s Magnificat with Colorado Christian University, Pousette in Massenet’s Manon with Boulder Opera, and Lisette in Puccini’s La Rondine at UNC.

Marcia Ragonetti Bel Canto Fund Outstanding Mezzo Award: $500

Melanie Dubil  |  27, Mezzo-Soprano

Melanie Dubil

Melanie Dubil returns as an Artist in Residence with Opera Colorado in the 2024-25 Season. Originally from Philadelphia, PA, mezzo-soprano Melanie’s most recent operatic credits include The Pirates of Penzance (Edith) and Street Scene (Second Nursemaid) with Central City Opera. As a Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera, Melanie appeared in Romeo and Juliet (Stéphano) and Kiss Me, Kate (Wardrobe Lady/Chorus). Last spring, Melanie won first place in Art Song Colorado’s (ASC) 2024 competition.

Honorable Mention Sponsored by Linda Young in Honor of Gene Young, Roger and Nancy Celius, Suzanne Bufton, Lynne and Jon Montague-Clouse, Jackie Writz, Kathy and Peter Van Arsdale, Liverpool Fund

Mason O’Brien,
Bass-Baritone

Meet the 2025 DLOG Competition Judges!

Thank you to our incredible judges.

Judges for the Preliminary Round

Erin C. Lippard, D.M.A. Dr. Erin Lippard is a distinguished mezzo-soprano and educator, serving as an Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Vocal Studies at York College of Pennsylvania. She holds degrees from James Madison University, Indiana University School of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Colorado. Dr. Lippard’s research focuses on musical theater pedagogy and the concept-to-construction process of Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel. Her honors include being a finalist in the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Competition in Colorado and a 2nd Place Winner in the Austrian American Society Competition in Wilmington, Delaware. As a performer, she has appeared in recitals and concerts, including with the Flatiron Trio at the Lower Brandywine Presbyterian Church Concert Series and faculty recitals at York College. In addition to her academic and performance work, she directed York College’s production of On The Town in 2023. Her dedication to vocal arts and education continues to inspire students and audiences alike.

Lyndon Meyer is a Tulsa-based pianist and conductor Mr. Meyer currently serves as Chorus Director, Assistant Conductor, Principal Pianist, and Vocal Coach for Tulsa Opera. He has held vocal coaching positions at the University of Oklahoma, Michigan State University, the Eastman School of Music, and Florida Grand Opera. In February 2019, Meyer made his professional conducting debut with Heartland Opera’s production of La bohème. He also serves as a staff accompanist for the annual Lotte Lenya Competition and appears as a recitalist and chamber musician throughout the region. He holds degrees from the University of Arkansas (BM) and the Eastman School of Music (MM). Meyer’s contributions to Tulsa Opera include conducting the Tulsa Opera Chorus and Orchestra in concerts such as “Grand Voices,” featuring excerpts from Carmen, Roméo et Juliette, and Les Misérables. He has also collaborated with soprano Sarah Coburn in benefit concerts for Tulsa Opera.

Alex Richardson, Tenor. Mr. Richardson is an American tenor acclaimed for his powerful stage presence and versatile vocal artistry. A native of Las Cruces, New Mexico, he holds degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Manhattan School of Music. Richardson made his Metropolitan Opera debut as the Shepherd in Tristan und Isolde in 2016 and has since returned for roles in Salome. He has also covered significant roles at the Met from productions of Brett Dean’s Hamlet, Wagner’s Das Rheingold, and Alban Berg’s Lulu. His diverse repertoire includes leading roles such as Werther in Werther with Boston Lyric Opera, Peter Grimes in Peter Grimes at the Princeton Festival, and Cavaradossi in Tosca at Opera Southwest. On the concert stage, Richardson has been a tenor soloist in works like Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Orlando Philharmonic and Handel’s Messiah with the Santa Fe Symphony. Richardson’s performances have been praised for their emotional depth and technical proficiency, making him a sought-after artist in both operatic and concert settings.

Judges for the Final Round

Ksenia Leletkina, currently Vocal Coach at the Metropolitan Opera and former Head of Young Artists Program at Palm Beach Opera Ms. Leletkina is a Russian-born pianist renowned for her expertise as a vocal coach, recitalist, and conductor. She serves as Principal Coach and Assistant Conductor at Palm Beach Opera, where her “brilliant” playing has been lauded by critics. A specialist in Russian diction and repertoire, Dr. Leletkina is on the faculty at The Juilliard School, teaching Russian diction and vocal literature. She has also been a guest faculty member at the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Program and the Eastman School of Music. Her publications include the Anthology of Russian Songs and the second volume of Libretti of Russian Operas for Leyerle Publications. Dr. Leletkina earned her Doctor of Musical Arts in Accompanying and Chamber Music from the Eastman School of Music and her Master’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, majoring in Piano Performance and Collaborative Piano. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with esteemed artists, including Karita Mattila, Michael Fabiano, and Nicole Cabell, and has performed internationally across Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

Morris Robinson, Bass-Baritone. Mr. Robinson is a celebrated bass-baritone renowned for his commanding stage presence and deeply resonant voice. A graduate of The Citadel and the Boston University Opera Institute, Robinson has established himself as a leading artist in opera and concert performances worldwide. He is a frequent presence on the stages of prestigious opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and San Francisco Opera, where he has performed roles such as Sarastro in The Magic Flute, Porgy in Porgy and Bess, and the title role in Attila. Equally at home on the concert stage, Robinson has appeared with major orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Los Angeles Philharmonic, performing works ranging from Verdi’s Requiem to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Known for his compelling artistry and powerful interpretations, he continues to captivate audiences and critics alike.

Jennifer Rowley, Soprano. Ms. Rowley is an internationally acclaimed soprano celebrated for her unforgettable voice, remarkable stage presence, and deeply expressive artistry. Known for her compelling portrayals of opera’s greatest heroines, Ms. Rowley has graced leading opera stages around the globe, including the Metropolitan Opera, Staatsoper Berlin, Teatro Regio Torino, and Opernhaus Zürich. Her diverse repertoire spans Verdi, Puccini, and French grand opera, with standout roles such as Tosca, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, and Minnie in La Fanciulla del West. Critics praise her “intensity of expression” and “splendid soaring instrument.” Beyond the stage, Ms. Rowley is a passionate mentor, dedicated to nurturing the next generation of opera talent. Founder of Jennifer Rowley’s Aria Bootcamp and a frequent masterclass clinician, she works with young artists worldwide, inspiring them with her artistry and expertise. A decorated soprano, Ms. Rowley holds accolades such as the Richard Tucker Career Grant and is a recommended judge for the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition.

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