The Metropolitan Opera National Council Program

A Harvard-trained psychologist, Dr. Beth Grosshans is retired from clinical practice but continues to perform consulting work. Among her other volunteer and philanthropic activities, Dr. Beth Grosshans is both an advisory board member of the New York Metropolitan Opera (the Met) and the chair of the Met National Patrons Program.

Internationally regarded as a premier opera organization, the Met has been presenting stage productions for nearly 140 years. The origins of its National Council Program date back to the 1930s.

Established under the name Auditions of the Air, the Met National Council has helped launch or develop the careers of countless young opera singers, including Renee Fleming, Lawrence Brownlee, Ryan Speedo Green, and Frederica von Stade. Today, the organization mounts annual auditions in 40 districts across the United States and Canada.

The 2019 Met National Council Auditions evaluated more than 1,000 singers at the district level. After engaging in additional competitions at the regional and national levels, the pool of National Council Audition participants included just nine finalists. A panel of expert judges ultimately awarded a $15,000 cash prize to five competition winners. The four runners-up received $7,500 each.

The Metropolitan Opera Announces 2018-2019 Live in HD Series Dates

Met Opera
Image: metopera.org

A retired psychologist, Beth Grosshans guided a private practice in Flemington, New Jersey, for many years. Currently, Beth Grosshans supports various community and cultural organizations, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, which she serves as a member of its board of managing directors.

The Metropolitan Opera has released the show dates for its 2018-2019 Live in HD Series, which features live performances of operas broadcast in cinemas worldwide. The series will kick off in October with an HD performance of Verdi’s Aida starring Anna Netrebko, Anita Rachvelishvili, and Aleksandrs Antonenko. The Met will also broadcast performances of Saint-Saens’ Samson et Dalila and Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West in October.

Other highlights of the 2018-2019 Live in HD Series will include live transmissions of La Traviata in December, Carmen in February, and La Fille du Regiment in March. The series will wrap up in May 2019 with a broadcast of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmelites. Live in HD transmissions will be broadcast on more than 2,200 screens in over 70 countries across the globe. More information is available at www.metopera.org/season/in-cinemas.

A New Documentary about The Metropolitan Opera

 

Documentary
Image: metopera.org

For nearly 20 years, Beth Grosshans worked as a licensed clinical psychologist in New Jersey. Now retired from private practice, Beth Grosshans is an advisory board member of the New York Metropolitan Opera.

Founded in 1883, the Metropolitan Opera has consistently hosted some of the world’s greatest artists. On October 1, 2017, Susan Froemke, an Emmy-winning producer of film documentaries, debuted her newest film, The Opera, as part of the New York Film Festival. Appropriately, the Metropolitan Opera hosted the premiere showing.

The feature details the creation of the Metropolitan Opera‘s current home, which was constructed between 1963 and ’66. A few of the essential characters in the film are Leontyne Price, the famous soprano who starred in the building’s inaugural performance; Rudolf Bing, the opera’s general manager, who orchestrated the move to the new building; and Robert Moses, New York’s city planner, whose dogged determination caused an entire city block to be bulldozed to make way for the new Lincoln Center.

Metropolitan Opera Names 2017 Beverly Sills Artist Award Winner

 

2017 Beverly Sills Artist Award Winner
Image: operawire.com

A retired child psychologist who operated a private clinical practice in New Jersey, Dr. Beth Grosshans now focuses on sharing her knowledge in child development and behavior as a writer and speaker. Apart from her work in these capacities, Dr. Beth Grosshans serves as a member of the New York Metropolitan Opera’s Advisory Board.

The New York Metropolitan Opera recently announced mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton as the latest recipient of the $50,000 Beverly Sills Artist Award. For the past 12 years, the Met has given this award to a vocalist between 25 and 40 years old who has demonstrated superior ability while appearing in featured solo roles.

Barton first rose to prominence in 2007 when she won the Met’s National Council Auditions and made her first appearance with the opera in 2009 as part of the cast of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. In her most recent role, Barton portrayed Ježibaba in the winter 2017 production of Rusalka.