OPERA SINGERS

 She made history of sorts at age 20 by becoming the youngest singer ever to win the Metropolitan Opera’s vocal competition. Now, at the age of 29, Nadine Sierra is on the brink of stardom.

It’s been a dizzying rise for the Florida-born soprano, who started voice lessons at age 6, began performing in opera as a teen and made her Met debut as Gilda in Verdi’s “Rigoletto” in 2015.

To cap it off, she won this year’s Richard Tucker Award, worth $50,000 and a chance to headline a gala concert at Carnegie Hall on Sunday, Dec. 10, to be broadcast live on WQXR radio and streamed on its website.

“She has charm, she has style, she has grace, and on top of that she has a terrific voice,” said Barry Tucker, son of the legendary tenor and chairman of the foundation that nurtures up-and-coming American singers.

Critics agree with Tucker’s assessment. Of her Met debut, George Loomis wrote in Opera magazine that her “limpid tone and delicate phrasing proved ideal for the naive, sheltered girl, as did her lithe, slightly fragile appearance.”

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