Soprano Nadine Sierra wins top prize in national vocal competition

Soprano Nadine Sierra has won first prize in the 38th annual Loren L. Zachary National Vocal Competition finals held Sunday at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles.

Sierra, a 22-year-old native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was a 2009 winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She has been on the roster of singers for the Marilyn Horne Foundation and will be one of the artists in this summer's Merola Opera Program in San Francisco.

For her victory, Sierra will receive $12,000. Bass-baritone Donovan Singletary earned $10,000 for second prize, baritone Nicholas Pallesen $8,000 for third and tenor Matthew Plenk $7,000 for fourth. Jacquelynne Fontaine, a soprano from Los Angeles, came in fifth and took home $6,000.

Ten finalists were selected from a field of 238. The Loren L. Zachary Society for the Performing Arts, which is based in Beverly Hills, has held a competition for young singers since 1972.

-- Karen Wada

Photo: Soprano Nadine Sierra.