Basso From Irvine Wins Mario del Monaco Vocal Competition

A basso from Irvine took first-place honors in the Third Annual Mario del Monaco Vocal Competition Saturday at St. Boniface Church in Anaheim.

John Weiss, 36, won the $500 top prize for singing “Che mai vegg’io” from Verdi’s “Ernani” and “La calunnia” from Rossini’s “Il Barbieri di Siviglia.”

The second-place prize of $300 went to mezzo-soprano Suzanna Guzman from Pasadena. Guzman, who did not give her age, sang arias from Menotti’s “The Medium” and Bizet’s “Carmen.” Soprano Angelique Burzynski, 30, of Pasadena won the $200 third prize.

Preliminaries for the competition, on Feb. 20, drew 22 entrants from Orange and Los Angeles counties, nine of whom were selected for Saturday’s finals. Judges were Lorraine Lippold, Nunzio Crisci and LaVerne Ricchio, Southland vocal coaches and opera aficionados. There was no age or experience limit for contestants.

The competition is funded by the Italian-American Lyric Assn., a private organization with about 60 members. The contest is named in honor of the famed Metropolitan Opera tenor who died in 1982, but it is not affiliated with the Del Monaco estate.