Marcella Sembrich Memorial Performance Prize Awarded to Tenor Michael Butler at the 2024 Marcella Sembrich International Voice Competition
NEW YORK, NY – The Sembrich has awarded the Marcella Sembrich Memorial Performance Prize to American tenor Michael Butler. This prize is awarded to a finalist in the The Kosciuszko Foundation’s Marcella Sembrich International Voice Competition that best exemplifies the artistic legacy of Polish soprano Marcella Sembrich (1858-1935). The prize guarantees the selected singer a solo performance at The Sembrich, the famed singer’s former lakeside teaching studio in Bolton Landing on Lake George, during an upcoming season.
“Although an impressive range of skill and merit was demonstrated by all the singers in the final round of the competition,” stated Sembrich Artistic Director Richard Wargo, “We felt that tenor Michael Butler best displayed the dramatic presence and the mastery of bel canto and lyric singing espoused by Marcella Sembrich.”
Tenor Michael Butler performing a selection from Gounod’s “Faust” at The Kosciuszko Foundation’s 2024 Marcella Sembrich International Voice Competition. Photo credit: Marcin Zurawicz.
Tenor Michael Butler (center) with The Sembrich” Artistic Director Richard Wargo (right) and Director of Institutional Advancement Caleb Eick (left).
Photo credit: Marcin Zurawicz.
The auditions were held on the weekend of October 12-13 at the Kosciuszko Foundation's house in NYC. Of nearly 120 applicants, 34 singers were admitted to participate. The Competition, presented under the artistic direction of Thomas Lausmann, Director of Music Administration at the Metropolitan Opera, was adjudicated by the following esteemed musicians: Maestro Daniele Callegari; Beata Klatka, Director of the International Stanislaw Moniuszko Vocal Competition hosted by the Polish National Opera; Lee Ann Myslewski - Vice President of Opera and Classical Programming for Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts and three-time Grammy Award-winning bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green. Acclaimed opera singers Piotr Beczala, tenor, and Tomasz Konieczny, bass-baritone, served as Honorary Patrons of the Competition. Established pianists Katelan Tran Terrell and Michal Biel provided the piano accompaniment for the singers.
Butler placed second in the overall competition and won the award for the best performance of a Polish work by a non-Polish entrant. The grand prize was awarded to Polish-American soprano Magdalena Kuźma, and third prize was awarded to Canadian contralto Rose Naggar-Tremblay.
Finalists from the 2024 The Kosciuszko Foundation’s 2024 Marcella Sembrich International Voice Competition. Photo credit: Marcin Zurawicz.
About Michael Butler, tenor
Michael Butler is an American lyric tenor hailing from Washington D.C.. He has been described as a “bright lyric tenor that rings throughout his range,” who possesses a “plush and resonant middle voice with vibrant high notes” (OperaWire). He made his Washington National Opera debut as the Mission Coordinator in the world premiere of Jeanine Tesori’s Grounded; he also sang the same role in the workshop of Grounded at The Metropolitan Opera. He will make his international and Italian debut as Martin in The Tender Land by Aaron Copland, with Teatro Regio di Torino. An alumnus of Des Moines Metro Opera, Butler sang with the company as an apprentice artist in the 2020, 2021, and 2023 seasons. He was also a member of the prestigious Renée Fleming Artist cohort at Aspen Music Festival in the summer of 2022, where he sang the role of Fenton in Verdi’s Falstaff alongside Sir Bryn Terfel in the titular role. He has been frequently seen around the D.C. Metropolitan Area in numerous concerts and productions with notable companies such as Opera Baltimore, Washington Opera Society, BelCantanti Opera, and Partners4theArts.
Butler was recently named the winner of the New York District and Eastern Region of the Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition at The Metropolitan Opera. Other recent accolades include First Place in the 2020 Sue Götz Ross Memorial Voice Competition, and First Place in the 2020 National Classical Singer Competition. In April of 2023, Butler performed the title role in Gounod's Faust with Opera Baltimore, a role he first debuted in March of 2022 with Washington Opera Society.
Butler currently resides in New York City, where he is an Artist Diploma in Opera Studies candidate at the Juilliard School. He studies with Stephen Wadsworth, Diane Richardson, and Kevin Short, among many other world-renowned teachers and performers.
About The Kosciuszko Foundation & The Marcella Sembrich International Voice Competition
The Kosciuszko Foundation is dedicated to promoting educational and cultural exchanges between the United States and Poland and to increasing American understanding of Polish culture and history. Founded in 1925, on the eve of the 150th anniversary of Thaddeus Kosciuszko's enlistment in the American revolutionary cause, the Foundation is a national not-for-profit, nonpartisan, and nonsectarian organization.
The Kosciuszko Foundation’s Marcella Sembrich International Voice Competition was established in 1968 to encourage young singers to study the repertoire of Polish composers and to honor the legacy of Polish soprano Marcella Sembrich (1858-1935). Marcella Sembrich was an avid promoter of Polish art, and her concerts almost always included a piece by a Polish composer. She was one of the first benefactors of the Kosciuszko Foundation when it was created in 1925 and a great philanthropist supporting humanitarian, educational, and cultural causes. The competition is held every three years and welcomes singers from across the globe to compete.
About The Sembrich
Experience music, history, and nature at The Sembrich in Bolton Landing. The Sembrich features museum exhibitions and an annual summer festival with an exciting mix of world-class musicians, noted musical scholars, a free film series, and the opportunity to enjoy it all on the beautiful shores of Lake George. Listed on the National Historic Register, The Sembrich was once the teaching studio of Polish soprano Marcella Sembrich, one of the most famous musicians at the turn of the 20th century. Visitors can discover her storied legacy, which includes over 400 performances at the Metropolitan Opera and faculty positions at both the Juilliard Graduate School and the Curtis Institute of Music. With a treasured museum, performance series, and over four wooded acres of nature paths to explore, The Sembrich is truly a unique cultural experience.
The Sembrich’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
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