2025-26 Utah District Judges
The competitors sing for three judges who have been selected from an elite list of opera professionals (vocal coaches, career singers, opera composers, opera stage directors, heads of opera companies and artistic administrators) who are highly qualified to identify talent and to assist young singers with developing and refining their singing.
Mark Schnaible
Bass-baritone
Voice Teacher
Paul Hopper
Senior Director,
Artistic Planning
LA Opera
Beth Clayton
Mezzo-soprano
Integrative Performance Coach
Mezzo Soprano Beth Clayton led an active solo career for over twenty years, singing over fifty leading roles with companies both in the U.S. and abroad. Particularly known for her interpretation of the title role of Carmen, she also created a number of roles in world premieres, including John Adams’ Doctor Atomic, Thomas Adès’ America, Howard Shore’s The Fly, William Bolcom’s A Wedding, Carlisle Floyd’s Cold Sassy Tree, Deborah Drattell’s Lilith, and Lembit Beecher’s I have no stories to tell you. On the concert stage, she made appearances with leading orchestras ranging from the New York Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra to The Israeli Philharmonic. Her discography includes the Grammy-nominated recording of The Glimmerglass Festival production of The Mines of Sulphur as well as Five Songs of Bernstein with The Minnesota Orchestra. She holds two Bachelors’ degrees in both Voice Performance and Music Education from Southern Methodist University, a Master of Music in Voice Performance from Manhattan School of Music, and most recently a Master of Arts degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Antioch University. She currently combines her performance experience with the platform of total mental well-being in a private practice geared towards the specific needs of performing artists but also those in the LGBTQ community and beyond. Ms. Clayton was a finalist in the Metropolitan National Council Auditions in 1995(and has now become an adjudicator for the MONC competition), a Sullivan Award Winner, and an alumna of the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program and the Houston Opera Studio. She is a native Arkansan but resides primarily in Santa Fe, New Mexico and secondarily in New York City.
Paul Hopper is LA Opera’s Senior Director, Artistic Planning. His duties in Los Angeles include overseeing all casting for the company and serving as the artistic and strategic head of the company’s Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program. For the five seasons before, he was the Associate Artistic Administrator at The Metropolitan Opera where he worked on the casting of over 200 performances annually, including the Grammy award winning productions of Porgy and Bess, Akhnaten, Fire Shut up in My Bones, and Champion. Previously, he was the Assistant Artistic Director at Houston Grand Opera where he assisted in long term artistic planning and casting, managed special artistic initiatives, and guided a variety of audiences in learning more about opera, including numerous events in support of the company’s first Ring Cycle. As principal dramaturg for the company he worked closely with composers and librettists in the commissioning and development of new works. He regularly serves on the juries for international vocal competitions, including the Metropolitan Opera’s Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, the Queen Sonja International Music Competition, the International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition, International Stanisław Moniuszko Vocal Competition, and the Tenor Viñas Competition. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the University of Houston, Paul is also Artistic Advisor for the Lakes Area Music Festival. He previously held positions at the Santa Fe Opera and ADA Artist Management.
During a performing career of over thirty-five years, Bass-baritone Mark Schnaible impressed audiences with his attention to musically- and dramatically-detailed interpretations of both the operatic and concert repertoires. A native of Moville, Iowa, he has enjoyed professional triumphs in Europe, the Middle East, and across the United States. He currently serves on the voice faculties of the Curtis Institute of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music, Metropolitan Opera–Lindemann, Washington National Opera–Cafritz, and maintains a private studio in New York City. The students from his voice studio have been chosen for numerous young artist programs and have distinguished themselves as winners of numerous competitions. His professional students currently sing at The Metropolitan Opera, Berlin Staatsoper, Berlin Deutsche Oper, Berlin Komische Oper, The Royal Opera House Covent Garden, English National Opera, Dresden Staatsoper, Barcelona Liceu, Israeli Opera as well as numerous regional houses in the United States and Europe. Additionally, they are Grammy winners, and have recorded for Chandos, Cezanne, Harmonia Mundi and Deutsche Grammaphon. Read more at markschnaible.com, msmnyc.edu/faculty/mark-schnaible, and curtis.edu/person/mark-schnaible/
