Ms. Bookwalter recalls, "When Eric Owens won the $10,000 P.E. MacAllister prize in 1995, P.E. asked him what he would do with the money. He replied, 'My mom has sacrificed so much for me, now I can help her'."

Since 1995, Mr. Owens has sung in opera houses across Europe and the US. During the 2000-2001 season, he made his English National Opera debut as Seneca in a new production of Coronation of Poppea and continued his ongoing collaborations with the Los Angeles Opera under the baton of Placido Domingo.

Andrea Jones competed in 1998 while a sophomore voice major at the University of Kentucky. She was named the Frederick Mathias Award winner in the college division. "As soon as I won, I got to sing at Mr. MacAllister’s church. This led to other opportunities," recalled the lyric soprano during the 2000 competition, when she came as a visitor. "It’s a small musical world," Ms. Jones said. "Mr. Sylvester was a judge. We’ve stayed in touch."

Another judge, Gail Robinson, was then executive director of the National Council Auditions and artistic advisor to the Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera. Now she’s a distinguished professor of voice at the University of Kentucky. "They and the others are good, honest judges who enjoy listening and directing us how to go on with our training and careers," says Ms. Jones. "Next time I compete I’ll be in the professional division."

Richard Pearlman of the Lyric Opera of Chicago contends, "The best kind of voice competition serves young singers not only as it grants status and monetary rewards to the winners, but as it offers all the participants an occasion for peer learning from the very best among their young colleagues. It also permits them to hear feedback from judges who offer constructive criticism about where they are right on target and where they need to rethink some aspects of their work."

The MacAllister is now one of well over 25 major vocal awards, some unrestricted but most with specifications for how the prize money is to be used. "We try to make things easy for singers," says Ms. Bookwalter. This includes constantly expanding audition locations to enable more young singers to participate and inviting judges who are in a position to further singers’ careers.

Ms. Bookwalter, who holds a degree in music from Illinois Wesleyan University, spends from February to July listening to hundreds of college and professional singers across the nation - in designated locations where collaborations have been made - at a dozen open auditions and seven for affiliate artists only, including organizations such as Wolf Trap, Chautauqua, and Glimmerglass. Even at this level, the contestants are "on the cusp of all sorts of opportunities," contends Ms. Bookwalter. "Just being heard by the regional judges opens opportunities."

In addition, workshops and master classes are made available at regional auditions. While Ms. Bookwalter shares her expertise in the business side of being a singer, Paul Kilmer of the Opera Theatre of St. Louis covers character analysis, and Michael Sylvester "can go into technique."

Singers who meet the standards of the competition at regional auditions are invited to the all region run-off in Indianapolis, set on the last Friday in August. Those who make this final cut continue to compete in the semifinals on Saturday. Ten professional finalists and three college finalists compete on Sunday. As of 2001, the competition is being held at the acoustically enriched theater of the Indiana Historical Society.

The maximum age for college is 25, 35 for professionals. While contenders choose the pieces they present at the run-offs, for their second appearance in the final round they sing the aria judges choose from the six that each has listed in their repertoire.

Judges do not communicate about scoring during the competition. Final decisions are based on numerical outcomes. For each round, each judge assigns points in four categories: quality (maximum of 35), discipline (20), interpretation (10) and appearance (5).

For years, the official accompanist for the professional division has been Ted Taylor; for the collegiate division, Cliff Jackson; for the high school division, Catherine Bringerud. They each sight-read over a hundred different arias, striving to present the singer at his or her best.

As the audience attending the MacAllister Awards has increased, so has the divergence of opinion on who is a winner, with both members of the media and amateur-judges taking exception. Some audience members attend all three days and do their own scoring. At the reception following the finals, several will make a bee-line for judges to learn "what in the world they are thinking," according to one person who preferred to remain anonymous.

"I have admiration for Mr. MacAllister. He never flinches at the decisions of the judges. That shows commitment; on-going passion for the art form," commented Indianapolis-based tenor Steven Stolen, who also is chair of the Butler University department of voice. "He’s not an artist. He lets the judges do their work."

Nevertheless, those who run the MacAllister seem to take note of public opinion. Following the 2000 event, Tom Aldrich, music critic for Indianapolis' Nuvo Newsweekly, wrote, "...the disparity between first [$20,000] and second [$7,500] prize seems well out of proportion to the difference in the singers’ abilities. It stresses winning over proportionate recognition - a regrettable paradigm in our present society."

In 2001, first prize was pared back to $15,000 while second prize remained at $7,500, third at $5,000, fourth at $3,000, fifth through tenth at $1,500 and eleventh through twentieth at $1,000.

"You have no idea what judges are looking for," explained Angela Brown, granting an interview while appearing in the title role of the Indianapolis Opera’s production of Aida in the Fall of 2001. "In the beginning, I used to think winning is most important. I financed most of my early career with competitions. It’s a learning experience. Voice is a personal thing. It’s about how you sound that particular day. Sometimes it’s connected with certain venues and you just don’t fit the bill with what they wanted. When I won second two years in a row at MacAllister, I said, 'I can pay bills. What am I going to take with this.' My advice, stay with it if this is what you want to do. Your talent will make ways for you. I never stopped."

In 1992, when Ms. Brown placed second, she made her Kennedy Center debut as Seena in Leonard Bernstein’s 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Michael Capasso of DiCapo Theatre was a judge in 2000. "I like interesting or exciting voices. I’m tired of pretty voices," he admitted. His opera company performs in the basement of a Catholic Church in New York City. "You need someone who can communicate a role, sing and act. Opera is growing; opera is interesting theater."

John Gage of the Dallas Opera has been a MacAllister judge from its beginnings in 1980. "I listen for very large voices [in the professional division]," he stated during an interview at the 2000 competitions. "I want to be able to hire them tomorrow, particularly people who have the ability to stand on a stage and do very little and still enthrall me [with their singing]. One of the things about opera is the unamplified voice in its own great glory. It’s a visceral delight to hear. I listen very carefully for text. Did they learn by rote or by linking their text to careful analysis [of character]. I suspect we all listen for different things. When I was in Milwaukee, I hired two to three singers a year from this competition. In Dallas, they’re not yet ready for a major role, but I hire for secondary roles."

And he watches and waits and hires MacAllister contestants for leading roles when they fit his bill, no matter where they placed. On 15 December 2001, Dallas Opera presents Elizabeth Futral in the title role of Lucia, which John Copely is staging and Richard Bonynge is conducting. Ms. Futral never made first in two or three appearances at the MacAllister. Other non-firsts he has hired include Denyce Graves, Marquita Lister, Mark Baker, Joan Gibbons, Patricia Racette and Patrick Wrolewski. But top-winning Michael Sylvester and Jan Grissom have also appeared at Dallas.

"I could list twenty more," wrote Mr. Gage in a recent email to Ms. Bookwalter, "but it is clear to me that these singers who are bringing us so much joy now were clearly helped up the ladder by their appearances in the MacAllister. The financial help from the prize money is one kind of help, but the other unseen benefit from the competition is just that. The competition between and among singers and the camaraderie of the competition has brought out the best in most of these fine artists. It also has led to some exiting the field, but that is ok too."

Melvin Carraway is a tenor who sings with the Indianapolis Opera Chorus. His day job is Superintendent of the Indiana State Police. He has been judging the college and high school divisions for a number of years. "When it gets to this level, you’re looking for a voice that’s got room to grow. That includes presence, vocal technique, good repertoire, great sense of musicality. It’s a package. And it’s subjective. You have to listen. Sometimes a room makes a difference. But you ask, 'Has the voice stayed at a high level throughout the three days of the competition?' "

"With each single appearance [of a singer] we note a different quality distinguished by nature and timbre of the instrument, the degree of training, discipline and control, the style employed in interpreting a given aria and, last of all, distinct impression about the 'presence' of a given performer," stated Mr. MacAllister. "It is the magic of great music, the joy it provides that keeps me hooked."

P.E. MacAllister recalls his childhood, "sitting in the balcony of the Old Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, eating peanuts and drinking Coke" while listening to the touring division of the Metropolitan Opera. His love for opera "began with the voices of Lily Pons, Gladys Swartout and many others." In school, along with playing the clarinet, he successfully competed in music memory contests.

"I have utmost respect for P.E.," said Michael Sylvester. "He is a true philanthropist. He does it because he believes in it. He has given an enormous amount of money without any expectation of return."

"If we only start two or three careers a year, after a while it adds up," summarizes volunteer David Ratts.

"Thank you for the great work you have done on behalf of young American singers," wrote Charles MacKay of Opera Theatre of St. Louis, in an email to Elaine Bookwalter. "It is because of people like you and P.E. who work to support and showcase young talent that companies like ours can exist."

Unique in its format as a competition almost fully supported by one person, the MacAllister Awards has grown from a few dozen contestants around the Midwest to nearly a thousand across the United States. A survey of only a dozen who placed within the top five reveals a staggering record of appearances with over one hundred opera houses, festivals and orchestras worldwide.

"As I searched the net to find up-to-date information about MacAllister winners even I was surprised at the volume of singing that goes on around the world by these young people," commented Ms. Bookwalter. "All of them have 'made it' with or without Indianapolis on their résumé. But it is nice to point with pride and think that the MacAllister Awards contributed a bit to each of their careers."

Decades before the current crop of philanthropists began preferring "hands-on" giving, P.E. MacAllister carved out his own niche of direct involvement. Going against the then-established tide of hands-off giving caused some rifts in the Indianapolis arts community, but that never detracted Mr. MacAllister, who does his own thing because he likes doing it.

In addition to the opera awards, he shares his entrepreneurship and wealth with Indianapolis Parks, which has named the eastside Garfield Park MacAllister Center for Performing Arts in his honor. The MacAllister Ensemble of sixteen singers, which he supports, performs concerts throughout the city, including at the annual first of July "America, We Remember" concert featuring patriotic vocal and instrumental music.

Reflecting on the opera awards, Mr. MacAllister characteristically deflected self-praise. "The hard work is done by Elaine Morgan Bookwalter," he said, "so if this is indeed a successful effort to enhance the careers of aspiring young singers, give kudos to her."

Then he added, "This is a unique and relatively rare opportunity. One which I have enjoyed now since 1980."

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MacAllister Award Statistics:

The 2001 professional contestants live in 36 different location, from New York City (seven), Chicago (four), Lexington, Ky. (four), San Francisco (three) to one each in places as diverse as Heber Springs, Ariz.; Finleyville, Penn.; Clifton, Ohio; Freeport, Ill.; Kenosha, Wis.; Livermore, Calif.

The 2001 college contestants attend 35 different institutions, including Manhattan School of Music (seven); Indiana University (six); Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (four); two each from Boston University, University of Kentucky, Loyola University, University of North Texas, Peabody Conservatory, and Yale; and one each from 24 other institutions.

First place winners: 1980 Nova Thomas 1982 Constance Cloward 1983 James Ramlett 1984 Sheila Smith 1985 Jonathan Welch 1986 Michael Sylvester 1987 Fredrick Kalt 1988 Phyllis Pancella 1989 Cynthia Lawrence 1990 Jan Grissom

1991 Dong Jian Gong 1992 Susan Wallin 1993 Kelly Anderson 1994 Emily Magee 1995 Eric J. Owens 1996 Claudia Waite 1997 Mark McCrory 1998 Norman Shankle 1999 Kyle Ketelsen 2000 Valerian Ruminski 2001 Oren Gradus

Some of the other voice competitions - operated by opera companies, superstars, philanthropists and foundations as memorials to greats - include:

Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Mozart Vocal Competition Birgit Nilsson Prize

Luciano Pavarotti Competition The Sullivan Competition The Zachery Competition

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About the Author:

Rita Kohn is a playwright and journalist based in Indiana. See more articles by her in the Newsletter Archives.

Resources:

For more information on the MacAllister Awards, including an application form, visit their website at www.macallisterawards.com, which also has links to numerous opera companies.