Mario Chang and Mikayla Sager Awarded the 2022 Manetti Shrem Opera Prize Artists will perform at Festival Napa Valley in July

Festival Napa Valley today announced that tenor Mario Chang and soprano Mikayla Sager are recipients of the 2022 Manetti Shrem Opera Prize.

The Manetti Shrem Opera Prize is awarded annually to two extraordinary rising stars in the opera world. It was created through a generous gift from Maria Manetti Shrem and Jan Shrem as part of the multifaceted Manetti Shrem Opera Program at Festival Napa Valley. The Prize includes a $10,000 career development grant for each awardee as well as the opportunity to perform in the Festival’s summer season. 

Chang and Sager will appear in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, directed by Jean-Romain Vesperini with Gemma New conducting Festival Orchestra Napa, on the Festival Napa Valley Stage at Charles Krug on July 21. Additional performances by Chang and Sager will be announced when Festival Napa Valley unveils its summer season on March 15.

“I am honored to receive the Manetti Shrem Opera Prize and thrilled to be performing at Festival Napa Valley this summer,” said Sager. 

Chang added, “We are deeply appreciative of Maria Manetti Shrem and Jan Shrem’s generous support of vocal arts and artists.”

Now in its second year, the Manetti Shrem Opera Prize was awarded in 2021 to mezzo-soprano Simone McIntosh and tenor Mario Rojas.

About Mario Chang: Hailing from Guatemala, tenor Mario Chang has appeared with the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, and Carnegie Hall, as well as with orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic and National Symphony Orchestra. In addition, Chang is founder and director of Querido Arte Opera de Guatemala, for which he received the Medalla del Quetza and Cambio de la Rosa de la Paz from the Guatemalan Ministry of Culture and Sports. Chang was a member of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera and holds an Advanced Diploma in Opera Studies from the Juilliard School.

About Mikayla Sager: Canadian soprano Mikayla Sager is a rising star with an affinity for Bel Canto masterpieces. Currently an Adler Fellow with the San Francisco Opera, Sager was a Young Artist for the 63rd season of the Merola Opera Program and was recently selected for the final rounds of the Grand Teatre del Liceu Competition and National Opera Association Competition. She has performed with the New York Philharmonic, New York City Opera, and Opera Exposures. Sager is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music.

About the Manetti Shrem Opera Program at Festival Napa Valley: A comprehensive celebration of the vocal arts, the Manetti Shrem Opera Program nurtures the creative careers of some of the world's most talented singers.  The program includes a fully staged opera performance, a tuition-free summer residential conservatory for college-aged students and recent graduates, a vocal arts concert series, and the Manetti Shrem Opera Prize. 

About Festival Napa Valley: Blending the beauty and bounty of Napa Valley with the very finest performing arts, Festival Napa Valley offers programs that enrich the economic and cultural vitality of the region and make the arts accessible to all. The Festival presents world-class performances staged in iconic venues and inspiring educational programs offered at Napa County schools year-round. It is presented by Napa Valley Festival Association, a nonprofit organization governed by a board of prominent vintners and local leaders. More than 200 artists, wineries, resorts, theaters, restaurants, chefs and vintners participate each year. The 2022 Summer Season will take place July 15-24, 2022.

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Media Contacts:

Jenny LeCoq, Undaunted Communications, jenny@undauntedworks.com

Lissa Gibbs, Festival Napa Valley, lissa@festivalnapavalley.org