Opera Guild of Southern Arizona – Supporting the next generation of opera stars!

Stokes Tolbert Honored
at 2018 Quest for the Best

March 8, 2018 by Frank Finkenberg

Stokes M. Tolbert

We are pleased to announce that the Opera Guild’s honoree at this year’s Quest for the Best is our board member and finance committee chair, Stokes M. Tolbert. His wit and wisdom have long graced not only OGSA functions, but those of all the cultural institutions on whose boards he has served. His active life at age 94 and his continuing dedication to the Tucson community are inspirational models to all.

Stokes enjoyed a long career as an international development economist, including several years with the U.S. Agency for International Development and almost 30 years with the World Bank. He and his family lived for ten years in Asia—in India (where two of his children were born), Thailand and Indonesia.

Upon retiring from the World Bank in 1988, Stokes followed his daughter Leslie and her husband, Paul St. John, to Tucson, where they joined the UA faculty, and where he enjoys the company of not only grandchildren but two great-grandchildren. Stokes also served in leadership roles at the Nature Conservancy of Arizona, the Tucson Committee on Foreign Relations, the United Nations Association of Southern Arizona, and the Yale Club of Southern Arizona. He somehow found time to serve on the advisory boards of the Tucson Museum of Art, the UA School of Music and the UA Press. He has been a board member of the Opera Guild of Southern Arizona since 2006.

Please join us on March 24 at 1:00 p.m. in Holsclaw Hall as we present the top graduate student prize in his honor.

Love in Seville a Hit—See Photos

February 15, 2018 by Frank Finkenberg

A sunny afternoon at the home of member Carmen Dolny provided the setting for great singing by Asleif Willmer and delicious Spanish cuisine by Maria Teresa Limón, as OGSA threw a pre-Valentine’s Day party. Thanks also to Leslie Clark, who produced a slide show of the festivities. (When you’re on the page, click the right-pointing arrow to the right of the headline to start the show.)

Asleif, who won the Guild’s Quest for the Best in 2011 as an undergraduate, enchanted the gathering with two arias from Don Giovanni, in the role of Zerlina, and two from The Marriage of Figaro, as Susanna. Her lyric coloratura soared as she brought these characters to life. Then, audience members bid to hear two additional arias, the Silver Song from The Ballad of Baby Doe, and “Je veux vivre” from Romeo and Juliet.

With her DMA at Arizona State University completed, Asleif has already been hired by Saratoga Opera for this summer. She will also be Juliette in a cabaret production of Romeo and Juliet in Manhattan. Asleif is marked for stardom, and those at Quest in 2011 saw and heard her here first! Discover more future stars and enjoy a reception at this year’s Quest for the Best, on March 24 at Holsclaw Hall.

2018 Quest for the Best Tickets On Sale

January 15, 2015 by Frank Finkenberg

Quest for the Best is March 24, 2018!

2018 Quest flyer

Don’t miss the fifteenth edition of our great vocal competition, and the wine and hors d’oeuvres reception following. Southern Arizona’s best vocal students will vie for $8,000 in cash prizes, and you, the audience, are the judges.

The advance-purchase ticket option is now closed. Please buy tickets at the door: $20 for Fine Arts faculty and all students, and $60 for all others.

You may still donate toward Quest awards online.

See All 2017 Quest Arias in HD Video

July 29, 2017 by Frank Finkenberg

If you missed our 14th annual Quest for the Best vocal competition, now for the first time you can see, hear, and download all the graduate and undergraduate arias. If you prefer, you can hear and download all the graduate and undergraduate arias in uncompressed WAV audio format. You can also see the list of winners and amounts of the awards.

2017 Quest for the Best Awards

March 23, 2017 by Frank Finkenberg

On March 11, 2017, the Opera Guild of Southern Arizona handed out checks totaling $11,050 to 17 student singers from the University of Arizona and Pima Community College. We had committed to award $10,000, but raised more, which was lucky, because the votes for first place among undergraduates and third place for graduates were too close to call. When that happens, we dig into our pockets and award the higher prize to both contenders.

Thanks to Judi Hasbrouck and her committee for a wonderful afternoon of singing and refreshments, and to our Board, membership and friends for supporting our efforts to help these young singers further their careers. Thanks also to Joseph Specter, President of Arizona Opera, for the generous donation of four orchestra seats to Rossini’s Cinderella which were raffled off at Quest.

Graduate winners from left: Ariana Iniguez, Michelle Perrier, Mark Hockenberry, Kristen Lucas

See, hear, and download all the graduate arias.

Undergraduate winners, from left: Antonio Cruz, Taylor Trolia-Giron, Clare Demer, Joseph Gouge

See, hear, and download all the undergraduate arias.

Tucson Opera Calendar