When I attended the finals of L.A. Opera’s 2004 Operalia Competition, Quinn Kelsey’s performance gave me the shivers. The Hawaiian baritone exhibited a glorious voice whose depth, range, technical virtuosity and passion should have won him top honors. Inexplicably, in what should go down as one of the great judging oversights in competition history, he didn’t get a prize, but that didn’t stop Kelsey from launching an enviable career as a leading member of the Chicago Lyric Opera and an international concert singer who made his Carnegie Hall debut last season as part of the Marilyn Horne Foundation’s gala concert. This week, we’re fortunate to have Kelsey in town, performing songs and arias by Beethoven, Bellini, Faure, Massenet, Tchaikovsky and others as part of the Cerritos Center’s Jose Iturbi Gold Medal Series. Go! Cerritos Center, 12700 Center Court Dr., Cerritos; Wed., April 26, 7:30 p.m.; $20, $10 students, seniors & teachers. (562) 467-8818 or www.cerritoscenter.com.

—Mary Beth Crain

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