The Opera Guild of Dayton has announced the winners of its Tri-State College Vocal Competition.
Lydia Grace Graham is from Danville, Kentucky, but these days, she’s studying at The Juilliard School.
Graham says her second-place prize money will go to Juilliard, too. Tuition is not cheap. One way she’s supported herself is through a fellowship that pays her to perform at nursing homes and psychiatric wards in New York City.
“You want to go in with the best thing you have because for some people, this is the last performance they’re going to see,” she says.
Graham is quick to note that opera isn’t just fat ladies singing with horns on their heads.
“You have visual art with your set, and you have dance and singing and acting. And you have the orchestra. And it’s an art for storytelling, which is why I do it. Opera is not just for old rich people. It’s for everybody.”
See a full list of winners and hear them sing at operaguildofdayton.org
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