Operalia reveals its 12 Finalists.
Six candidates for the Spanish lyric-dramatic genre Zarzuela prizes, were also announced.
Operalia 2016 is hosted by the Ministry of Culture of Mexico, the Cultural Secretary of the State of Jalisco, the sovereign State of Jalisco and the legendary Teatro Degollado in the city of Guadalajara, which this year celebrates its 150th anniversary.
Final Concert will be held on July 24th 2016, 6 pm, at the Teatro Degollado accompanied by the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Maestro Plácido Domingo.
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico; July 22nd, 2016.- Operalia, the international Opera competition founded by Plácido Domingo in 1993, has revealed the 12 finalists that will perform on Sunday July the 24th, for an enthusiastic Mexican audience and a distinguished group of Opera experts from around the world. Another 6 finalists were announced for the Pepita Embil and Plácido Domingo Ferrer Zarzuela Prizes.
Finalists
Canada
Aviva Fortunata, soprano
France
Elsa Dreisig, soprano
Italy / United States
Marina Costa-Jackson, soprano
Kosovo
Rame Lahaj, tenor
Russia
Elena Stikhina, soprano
Bogdan Volkov, tenor
South Korea
Keonwoo Kim, tenor
Sehoon Moon, tenor
Ucrania
Olga Kulchynska, soprano
USA
J’nai Bridges, mezzo-soprano
Nicholas Brownlee, bass-baritone
Brenton Ryan, tenor
Finalists for Zarzuela Prizes
France
Elsa Dreisig, soprano
Italy / USA
Marina Costa-Jackson, soprano
Mexico
Juan Carlos Heredia, baritone
South Korea
Keonwoo Kim, tenor
Sehoon Moon, tenor
USA
Nicholas Brownlee, bass-baritone
Earlier this week, the 40 contestants drawn from 16 countries took part in three days of preliminary rounds, where they sang for the competition’s international jury.
The Finals Concert will be held at the Teatro Degollado on Sunday, July 24th, accompanied by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Jalisco conducted by Maestro Plácido Domingo himself.
Participating or even winning a prize in this competition is only the beginning of every singer’s relationship with Plácido Domingo’s Operalia. Since the jury is comprised for the most part of international Opera house’s General and/or Casting directors, Operalia’s distinguished jurors often invite and engage some of the singers to perform in the upcoming productions scheduled in their theaters. Plácido Domingo is not only actively involved during the competition, but he commits to each and every single contestant by engaging them for his own companies and projects, or recommending them for other engagements around the world.
This year, prizes are awarded to first, second and third place for both male and female; two Birgit Nilsson (male and female) for the Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss repertoire; two prizes for the Spanish lyric-dramatic genre Zarzuela, created in honor of Plácido Domingo’s parents, Pepita Embil and Plácido Domingo Ferrer; and the Culturarte prize. The audience also votes for their male and female favorites who receive a Rolex wrist watch from the event’s main sponsor and from Plácido Domingo, who has been a Rolex Testimonee for more than 30 years.
Operalia will be streamed live on Medici.TV, Canal 7 and Canal 22 in Mexico. The Gala Concert will start at 6pm, followed by the ceremony where Plácido Domingo will present the Awards.
Please visit our website for more information at http://www.operaliacompetition.org
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Media Contact
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Carla Gavito, carla@inkpr.com.mx
Miguel Alcántara, miguel@inkpr.com.mx
Jury members, Operalia 2016
Marta Domingo
Stage Director
F. Paul Driscoll
Editor in Chief, Opera News
Anthony Freud
General Director, Lyric Opera of Chicago, USA
Jonathan Friend
Artistic Administrator, The Metropolitan Opera, New York, USA
Jean-Louis Grinda
General Director, Opéra de Monte Carlo, Monaco
General Director, Chorégies d’Orange, France
Peter Katona
Casting Director, Royal Opera House, London, United Kingdom
Joan Matabosch
Artistic Director, Teatro Real, Madrid, Spain
Marco Parisotto
Music Director, Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco, Mexico
Music Director, Ontario Philharmonic, Canada
Andrés Rodriguez
Artistic Consultant
Ilias Tzempetonidis
Casting Director, Opéra National de Paris, France