Newtown Native Performing In Met Opera National Council Auditions

By Nancy K. Crevier

Newtown residents Martha Friar and Jeff Wilkins attended the semifinals for the New York City Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Sunday, March 11, expecting to see some of the nation’s best young singers. What they were surprised to see on the list of 19 semifinalists competing that day was a name that was terribly familiar — Matthew Grills.

Newtown residents who have lived in town for any length of time and who follow the first-class Newtown High School musical productions each year are familiar with Matthew, who performed on the high school stage since he was 16 years old, most memorably in a lead role as Marius in the 2004 production of Les Miserables. Matthew graduated from NHS in 2004, earned his undergraduate degree from the Boston Conservatory, and is currently enrolled in the master’s program for vocal performance and music literature at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y.

Performing an aria from Cosi fan Tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as well as Mes Amis by Gaetano Donizetti, an aria famous for its four high Cs, Matthew impressed judges and the audience last Sunday at the semifinals audition. He has been selected as one of nine finalists who will perform this coming Sunday, March 18, at the Met.

“This is such a big deal in the arts world,” exclaimed Ms Friar. “Something like this launches an opera career,” she added.

Sunday was indeed a big deal, agreed Matthew. “All of the regional winners from across the country got to New York City last Thursday to prepare for the audition,” he said in a phone interview Tuesday, March 13. He had competed in competitions, placing first and third, at Eastman, but it was only at the urging of his singing teacher there that he decided to try out for the 2012 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

“I received scholarship money to travel to the district and regional competitions held in New Orleans, January 14 and 15,” Matthew said. As the Gulf Region winner, he then moved on to the March 11 competition in New York. “This was my first competition outside of Eastman,” he said.

The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions is “a program designed to discover promising young opera singers and assist in the development of their careers,” according to the metoperafamily website. “The jury awards approximately five Grand Winner awards of $15,000 each. The concert is broadcast nationwide on the Metropolitan Opera Radio Network. The remaining National Finalists receive $5,000 each, and those singers who were National Semi-Finalists but did not advance to the National Finals will be given $1,500 to further their studies.”

The nine finalists will compete in the Grand Finals Concert, open to the public, Sunday, March 18, at 3 pm, accompanied by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. In preparation for the audition, it has been a full week, said Matthew.

Singers have been working with singing coaches, the orchestra conductor, a dramatic coach, and doing piano run-throughs of their pieces. “Then Friday, we sing with the orchestra,” he said. The performers have a day of rest on Saturday, before the competition the following day.

Although he has fared well in opera, it was not his original intention to follow that path, said Matthew. “I have been involved in musical theater and I do love that,” he said. “Opera, though, is something I feel I can get a steady paycheck doing.”

He will take part in the Young Artists Program with the Sante Fe Opera Company in New Mexico this summer, and has a yearlong residency set up beginning in the fall with the Portland Opera in Oregon.

“If something theatrical comes along, I’m leaving doors open,” admitted Matthew, “but right now, things are happening for me in opera, and I’m happy about that.”

Tickets for Sunday’s performance are available at metoperafamily.org, and range from $20 in the family section to $85 in the orchestra section. A special champagne reception for the 2012 winners follows the concert in The Mercedes T. Bass Grand Tier. Tickets for the reception are $50 and are available only by calling 212-362-6000. The Metropolitan Opera is located in Lincoln Center, with entrances at West 62nd and West 65th Streets.