Vinson Cole Vinson Cole Vinson Cole (born November 21, 1950) is an American operatic tenor. A native of Kansas City, the tenor studied at the University of Missouri, Kansas City; the Philadelphia Musical Academy; and at the Curtis Institute of Music with Margaret Harshaw. He made his European debut in Angers, France in Handel's "Acis and Galatea" and followed that with the role of Belmonte in Mozart's "Abduction from the Seraglio" with the Welsh National Opera. In 1977, his youthful promise was recognized when he won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, the WGN Competition, and was awarded both Rockefeller Foundation and National Opera
Maria Stader "The Abduction from the Seraglio", two versions (1954 and 1960) of 'Exsultate, jubilate' and the Great Mass, as well as Verdi's Messa da Requiem. She won, the Geneva International Music Competition in 1939, but although she "seemed poised for major stardom... her career was delayed by the outbreak of World War II," according to "Opera News". Later in her career, Stader acquired a reputation as an outstanding Bach interpreter, especially with Karl Richter and Ferenc Fricsay. She recorded the "Requiem" by Antonín Dvořák with Karel Ančerl, and Beethoven's opera "Fidelio" (as Marzelline) with Hans Knappertsbusch. Stader was highly praised for