And the Runners-up Are ...(Jennifer Darius, Dana Elizabeth Fripp)

One of the sobering facts about voice competitions is that the most compelling entrants are often the ones who just miss taking home the prize. Sometimes it's a matter not of talent but of falling a fraction short of the mark in polish, professionalism, presence. The question of how close a contestant is to embarking on a major career is one that the judges of most competitions are forced to take into consideration -- sometimes at the expense of the raw vocal material presented.

In February, the Metropolitan Opera National Council's District Auditions for Connecticut were held at Yale University's Sprague Hall. The winners, who progressed to the Regionals in New York City (but not, ultimately, to the Finals), were all gifted: sopranos Tiffany Jackson and Rachel Watkins, and baritone Brian Mulligan. But the audience was also buzzing about two striking talents who didn't go on to the next round. One was Jennifer Darius, twenty-three, who offered a meltingly lovely "Tu che di gel sei cinta" and "Porgi amor," plus a thrilling "My Man's Gone Now." The other was Dana Elizabeth Fripp, thirty-two, a mahogany-voiced spinto who made time stand still with "L'altra notte" from Mefistofele and "Morro, ma prima in grazia" from Un Ballo in Maschera.

Obviously, there are countless brilliant artists who have triumphed in competitions, but it's also an inescapable truth that there are singers who know how to audition, much as a canny college student may know how to take an exam by spouting back the information that the professor wants to hear, rather than really mastering the material and coming up with an original and creative response. Adelaide Bishop, noted stage director and frequent competition judge, observes, "It seems to me that there are competition singers and there are career singers, and the winners of the competitions are not necessarily the ones who go on to the Met or City Opera or even regional careers. With a house like the Met, the voice has to be of a considerable size in order to be heard at all. And these are not necessarily the best artists."

Both Darius and Fripp made an excellent impression, but at the Met Auditions, there are many factors to consider, not least of which is whether or not the singers chosen might fit into the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. That unfortunately means that sometimes precision may have an edge over individuality; it isn't deemed necessary for a prospective Barbarina in Figaro or Novice's Friend in Billy Budd to give the listener a frisson.

Darius and Fripp have several things in common. Both are gifted African-American women who grew up in Connecticut -- Darius in Hampton and Fripp in New Haven. Both are one-time mezzos coaxed by their teachers into becoming sopranos. Both got relatively late starts. Neither was devastated not to move on to the Met Regionals, and neither walked away empty-handed: Fripp received an Honorable Mention from the judges, while Darius was awarded a $500 encouragement grant. In person, Darius is laid-back and calm; Fripp is keyed much higher. (This may have much to do with the nearly ten-year difference in their ages. No doubt Darius's sense of what was at stake contrasted sharply with Fripp's.)

Darius has been singing for only five years. She entered the University of Connecticut as a science major with no thought of expanding her musical activity beyond singing in choir. But Dr. Peter Bagley of UConn's music department asked her if she would be interested in taking lessons. She began studying with Constance Rock, who couldn't decide at first whether Darius was a mezzo or a soprano. Rock very slowly started taking her up the scale and soon enough decided her pupil was a lyric soprano. Darius had participated in only one competition previously -- the Leontyne Price Vocal Arts Competition in 1999 -- and was "pleasantly surprised" when the Met's National Council awarded her the $500 encouragement grant. Darius wasn't at all sure she ...