Barihunks Lawson Anderson and Benjamin Taylor win George London top honors

Benjamin Taylor and Lawson Anderson

Barihunks Lawson Anderson and Benjamin Taylor shared top honors at the 2018 George London Foundation Awards Competition for young American and Canadian opera singers. The two singers will receive $10,000 each, along with fellow winners Raehann Bryce-Davis, Rihab Chaieb, Emily D'Angelo and Lauren Margison.

The George London Foundation and George London Awards are named for the great American bass-baritone (1920-1985), who devoted much of his time and energy in his later years to the support and nurturing of young singers. The announcement of the winners was made by George London's widow, Nora London.

The George London Foundation's 2017-18 season concludes with a duo recital featuring past winners Heidi Melton and Kyle van Schoonhoven on March 4th at The Morgan Library & Museum.

Benjamin Taylor and Lawson Anderson

Lawson Anderson can next be seen as Rocco in Beethoven's Fidelio on March 16th and 18th with the Orquestra Sinfónica Nacional de México.

Benjamin Taylor is a first-year Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist, where is scheduled to perform Sciarrone in Puccini's Tosca, Brian in Jeremy Howard Beck's The Long Walk, and Captain Gardiner in Jake Heggie's Moby-Dick.

Four barihunks take prizes at George London Competition

(Clockwise top left) Will Liverman, Brian Vu, Cody Quattlebaum and Shea Owens

Four barihunks walked away with awards at the 46th annual George London Foundation Awards Competition for young American and Canadian opera singers at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City.

After three days of preliminary auditions, 18 were selected as finalists and a total of $75,000 was given in awards. Five were selected as winners of George London Awards of $10,000, including Will Liverman. Three singers received $5,000 awards, including Cody Quattlebaum and the remainder received $1,000 each, including Shea Owens and Brian Vu.

Barihunk Richard Stilwell in his singing days

his year's panel of judges included soprano Harolyn Blackwell, mezzo-soprano Rosalind Elias, former Metropolitan Opera administrator Alfred F. Hubay, George London Foundation President Nora London, mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer, tenor and voice professor George Shirley, and barihunk Richard Stilwell (who won a George London Award at the first competition in 1971). The competition pianist was renowned collaborative pianist Craig Rutenberg.

Other $10,000 prize winners included tenor Aaron Blake, soprano Michelle Bradley, tenor Errin Duane Brooks and soprano Lara Secord-Haid.