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
Joan Carden sang a concert repertoire including Verdi's "Requiem", appearing with Sydney Philharmonia and other ensembles. Overseas, she sang Gilda ("Rigoletto") at Covent Garden in 1974, Donna Anna ("Don Giovanni") at the 1977 Glyndebourne Festival (in the production by Sir Peter Hall) and with the Metropolitan Opera in 1978. Her American debut, however, was as Amenaide with the Houston Grand Opera opposite Marilyn Horne in Rossini's "Tancredi". She also appeared as Constanza ("The Abduction from the Seraglio") with Scottish Opera in 1978. In 1980, she performed with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. She sang the four