Solomon Howard and Norman Garrett to join Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program

Norman Garrett (left in Carmen) and Soloman Howard with Indra Thomas and Noah Stewart

The Washington National Opera has announced its roster for their 12th season of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program. It will include four baritones/basses, including two who we've featured on this site, Soloman Howard and Norman Garrett. They will be joined by baritone Christian Bowers and bass Wei Wu.

The program is expanding from ten artists to twelve artists this year and will include mentorship by its new Artist in Residence, soprano Deborah Voigt, as well as voice teachers Diana Soviero and William Stone, guest master teachers Carol Vaness and Peter Kazaras, and visiting vocal coach Kathleen Kelly.

The new class of young artists will participate in several world premiere productions during the 2013-2014 season, including new commissions from WNO’s American Opera Initiative and Jeanine Tesori’s new family opera The Lion, The Unicorn, and Me. The program will also continue its exchange with the Bolshoi Young Artists Opera Program and will send several artists to Moscow for a two-week period in 2014.

Other participants will include soprano Jacqueline Echols, tenor Yuri Gorodetski, tenor Yi Li, pianist Kevin Miller, pianist Tomoko Nakayama, mezzo Deborah Nansteel, tenor Patrick O’Halloran and soprano Shantelle Przybylo.