Musical America, now in its third century as the indispensable resource for the performing arts, today announced the winners of the annual Musical America Awards, recognizing artistic excellence and achievement in the arts and named Joyce DiDonato as the 2013 VOCALIST OF THE YEAR.  She joins Gustavo Dudamel as Musician of the year, David Lang as Composer of the year, and Dudamel’s mentor, José Antonio Abreu, as Educator of the year.

Read the full press release here.

VOCALIST OF THE YEAR: JOYCE DIDONATO

Joyce DiDonato is the American opera singer par excellence. Onstage or off, there are few people in opera who radiate this Kansas native’s degree of natural goodness and warmth. For all these qualities, however, the intensity, fury, and abandon of roles such as Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda are well within her emotional range, as she proved at Houston Grand Opera last season. This season she performs a recital program called “Drama Queens,” featuring Baroque arias sung by royal characters (recorded by Virgin Records). Operatic appearances include a reprise of the title role in Maria Stuarda at the Metropolitan Opera, Romeo in Bellini’sI Capuleti e i Montecchi in Munich and Kansas City, Elena inRossini’s La donna del lago in Santa Fe, and the title role inCendrillon in Barcelona. 

Photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera