About the jury

Kiri Te Kanawa gained legendary status almost overnight after her sensational debut as the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1971. From there she moved rapidly into the front rank of international opera, and has become one of the most famous sopranos in the world.

Continuing to develop as a recitalist, she is now a much sought-after singer in a wide variety of musical contexts.
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Praised for the remarkable agility, precision and warmth of her voice, and for her outstanding musicianship, Sumi Jo has established herself as one of her generation’s most sought-after sopranos. She has been consistently greeted with exceptional accolades, by public and press alike, receiving distinctions such as the Puccini Prize and UNESCO’s designation of “Artist for Peace”. She is renowned for her performances in the most important opera houses, concert halls and galas in places such as the Met Opera, Teatro Colón, Carnegie Hall and the Liege Opera. She has also acquired important features in important worldwide events such as the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and The World Cup, among others.
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Lenore Rosenberg is the Associate Artistic Administrator of the Metropolitan Opera, and the former Director of the Met’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. She joined the Met’s artistic staff in 1985, with a background in both the performance and production aspects of opera. She has degrees in voice from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Ms. Rosenberg, who is responsible for the casting of secondary roles and covers for the Met season, is a member of the in-House Auditions Screening Committee, as well as the Stage Audition Panel, and is a member of the National Council Finals Jury.
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Five-time Grammy® nominated, three time Grammy® winner and 2008 Opera News Award winner, Milnes is internationally recognized as the leading Verdi Baritone of his time. A world renowned opera star who sang for over four decades, Milnes has conquered all of the great opera capitals of the world, including the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; La Scala, Milan; Berlinʼs Deutsche Opera; the Paris Opera; Buenos Airesʼ famed Teatro Colon; the Liceu in Barcelona; the Bavarian State Opera in Munich; the Salzburg Festival; the Hamburg Opera; and Moscowʼs Bolshoi Theatre. Milnes is Commendatore of the Italian Republic and a Chevalier of the French Republic and was inducted into the Lincoln Academy, the highest honor the State of Illinois can bestow. He has had the honor of performing for every United States President since Gerald Ford.
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Nicholas Sears MA (Cantab) has been Head of Vocal Studies at the Royal College of Music since 2007 having formerly been an Artist Manager at Intermusica Artists’ Management in the Vocal and Opera Department. Having studied History at Trinity College, Cambridge, Nicholas trained as a postgraduate singer at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Subsequently, Nicholas joined the BBC Singers and then performed as a freelance opera, concert and recital singer, transferring from baritone to tenor in 1994.

A principal artist for Welsh National Opera, Opera North, English National Opera, Scottish Opera and Garsington Opera, Nicholas performed internationally at the Liceu Barcelona, Bilbao, Lisbon, Antwerp, Porto, Lausanne and Berlin. In concert, Nicholas worked in the UK and internationally with Rene Jacobs, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Paul McCreesh and Harry Christophers in addition to recital work with Graham Johnson and the Songmakers’ Almanac.
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Renaud Loranger has joined the Artists and Repertoire division of Deutsche Grammophon in 2011. As a Producer with the label, he advises on opera projects and oversees the recordings of such vocal luminaries as Elīna Garanča, Bryn Terfel, Mojca Erdmann and Patricia Petibon, among others.

Upon following a stint with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) under the leadership of Kent Nagano, he moved to Berlin, where he contributed to arts coverage to the Financial Times, WFMT-Chicago, CBC Radio and La Presse (Montréal). He also became a founding member of the European Opera Think Tank, a joint initiative of Gerard Mortier and Opera Europa, which brings together young opera professionals from all over the continent.
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