ENGLISH 2017
THE WINNERS OF THE 55° INTERNATIONAL VERDIAN VOICES COMPETITION CITTÀ DI BUSSETO
On Saturday 17 June, at the conclusion of the finalists Concert directed by Fabrizio Cassi, conductor of the Orchestra dell’Opera Italiana, the winners of the 55° International Verdian Voices Competition – Città di Busseto, were announced. The competition has been promoted by the Comune di Busseto and presided over by Mayor Giancarlo Contini, who was appointed chairman by Teatro Regio di Parma for the 3-year period 2017-2019.
The panel of judges, led by the General Director of Teatro Regio di Parma: Anna Maria Meo, together with
Alejandro Abrante (Intendant of the Ópera de Tenerife), Valérie Chevalier (General Director of the Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier Occitanie), Fulvio Macciardi (General Director of Teatro Comunale of Bologna), Joan Matabosch (Artistic Director of Teatro Real of Madrid), Eytan Pessen (Pianist and vocal coach, Director of the Semperoper of Dresda and Artistic Director of Teatro Massimo of Palermo), Cristiano Sandri (Artistic Programming Manager of Teatro Regio of Parma), Yang Yan (Distinguished Professor of the Conservatory of NanHai, China, Director of the Singing Department of the Conservatory of Xing Hai, Canton), announced the winners of the two sections the competition has been divided into this year.
The winners of the “Interpreters of the opera La traviata” section, who will now take part in the stage production at Teatro Giuseppe Verdi of Busseto during Festival Verdi 2017 are: sopranos Junghye Lee (26 years old, South Korea) and Julia Muzychenko (22 years old, Russia) for the role of Violetta Valéry, and to whom they assigned a €4,000 prize; mezzo-sopranos Marta Leung (30 years old, Italy) and Carlotta Vichi (29 years old, Italy) for the role of Flora Bervoix; sopranos Forooz Razavi (22 years old, Iran) and Luisa Tambaro (28 years old, Italy) for the role of Annina; and bass Gerard Farreras Gonzàles (26 years old, Spain) for the role of Dottor Grenvil, to whom they assigned a €3,000 prize.
The “Giovani Voci Verdiane” prize of €3,000, which was donated by the Lions Club Busseto “Giuseppe Verdi” and which saw Lions representative Andrea Chinaglia added to the panel of judges, was jointly given to tenors Azer Zada (26 years old, Azerbaijan) and Long Zhang (25 years old, China, winner of the Chinese section of the competition), and to soprano Forooz Razavi. The panel of judges have also given the latter the opportunity to participate in the First Specialist Course in Verdian Repertoire at the Verdian Academy of the Teatro Regio of Parma.
At the end of the evening hosted by Ilaria Notari, the President of the Competition, Giancarlo Contini, and Anna Maria Meo, General Director of Teatro Regio of Parma, announced the date of the next edition of the Competition that will take place in Busseto from 12 to 17 June 2018.
Look at the Photos of the Winners
THE FINALISTS 55° INTERNATIONAL VERDIAN VOICES COMPETITION CITTÀ DI BUSSETO
The 55° International Verdian Voices Competition Città di Busseto has seen 16 finalists pass through the selection process. They now find themselves in leading roles in the concert directed by Fabrizio Cassi, conductor of the Orchestra dell’Opera Italiana, at 9.00pm, 17 June, in the courtyard of Palazzo delle Scuderie of Villa Pallavicino in Busseto. At the conclusion of the performance, the winners of the two sections will be announced. This will bring to a close the competition that has been organised, and promoted by the Comune of Busseto and presided over by Mayor Giancarlo Contini, who was appointed chairman by Teatro Regio di Parma for the 3-year period 2017-2019.
Lead by the General Director of Teatro Regio di Parma: Anna Maria Meo, the panel of judges composed of Alejandro Abrante (Intendant of the Ópera de Tenerife), Valérie Chevalier (General Director of the Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier Occitanie), Fulvio Macciardi (General Director of Teatro Comunale of Bologna), Joan Matabosch (Artistic Director of Teatro Real of Madrid), Eytan Pessen (Pianist and vocal coach, Director of the Semperoper of Dresda and Artistic Director of Teatro Massimo of Palermo), Cristiano Sandri (Artistic Programming Manager of Teatro Regio of Parma), Qing Xu (General Secretary of NanHai Festival, Development Director and “Distinguished professor” of the Conservatorio of NanHai, China), have selected sopranos: Jingyao Huang (30 years old, China), Maria Luisa Lattante (30 years old, Italy), Jooyeon Lee (29 years old, South Korea), Junghye Lee (26 years old, South Korea), Julia Muzychenko (22 years old, Russia), Forooz Razavi (22 years old, Iran), Luisa Tambaro (28 years old, Italy); the mezzo-sopranos Marta Leung (30 years old, Italy), Carlotta Vichi (29 years old, Italy); the tenors Dongwon Kang (26 years old, South Korea), Sunwoong Park (32 years old, South Korea), Azer Rza-Zada (26 years old, Azerbaijan), Long Zhang (25 years old, China); baritones Liangchen He (25 years old, China), Jinho Seo (32 years old, South Korea); bass Gerard Farreras Gonzàles (26 years old, Spain). A member of the Lions Club Busseto ‘Giuseppe Verdi’ will be added to the judging panel for the announcement of the winner of the section ‘Giovani Voci Verdiane’.
From these finalists, selected from the 66 singers admitted to the elimination phase following a pre-selection from more than 120 applicants, the winner of the new section “Giovani Voci Verdiane” and the interpreters of La traviata, performed at Teatro Giuseppe Verdi di Busseto during Festival Verdi 2017, will be chosen.
Furthermore, all prize-winning contestants will be protagonists in a Gala Concert accompanied on piano by Simone Savina., Sunday 18 June 2017, at 9.00 pm at Giuseppe Verdi’s birthplace at Roncole,
Look at the Photos of the Finalists
55° INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION VOCI VERDIANE CITTÀ DI BUSSETO
The Comune di Busseto announces the latest edition of the Competition, to be directed by the Teatro Regio di Parma from 2017 to 2019. Winners will take roles in the programmed opera during Festival Verdi and the ‘Young Voci Verdiane’ section will be inaugurated.
Entries via email to be received no later than 20 May
Busseto, 13 to 18 June 2017
The Comune di Busseto announces the 55° International Competition Voci Verdiane Città di Busseto , produced under the High Patronage of the President of the Republic, in honour and memory of Maestro Carlo Bergonzi, and open to all young singers aged 18 to 3 2, that will take place in Busseto 13 – 18 June 2017. Entries via email by 6 May 2017.
The Teatro Regio di Parma will assume the direction of the Competition from 2017 – 2019 , in virtue of the agree ment signed with the Comune di Buseto, and will i ntr oduce some important new aspects. S t arting from this edition, the Competition is aimed at forming the cast of the programmed opera a t the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi di Busseto during Festival Verdi and will furthermore introduce a new section dedicated to the “ Giovan i Voci Verdian e ” (Young Verdian Voices) . The Judging Panel, made up of seven internationally renowned members, will select the interpreters of the 2017 version of La traviata , assigning prizes of € 4,000 for the roles of Violetta Valéry, Alfredo Germont and Giorgio Germont , and € 3,000 for the roles of Flora Bervoix, Annina, Gastone, Barone Douphol, Marchese d‟Obigny, Dottor Grenvil. The finalists of the 55° International Competition Voci Verdiane Città di Busseto will be possibly able, up to a maximum of two partecipants, to access the First specialist course in the repertoire of Verdi at the Accademia Verdiana, providing they fulfil the necessary requisites. The winner of the “Young Voci Verdiane ” section will be presented with a prize of euro 3,000 by the Lions Club Busseto “Giuseppe Verdi”. The finalists of the “Young Voci Verdiane ” section will be involved in activities connected to Festival Verdi.
“It‟s a very long tradition, a note that has been held for 55 years – declares Giancarlo Contini, Mayor of Busseto and President of the Competition. The Voci Ver dian e Competition has continuously brought the bel canto of talented, young voices to Busseto. Truly bel canto because for many years the c ompetition was led by a Verdian voice, perhaps the most prestigious: which is why it is, and always will be, dedicated to the memory of Carlo Bergonzi, the Verdian tenor of the century. Since its inauguration, through the will of the Mayor of Busseto , Gianfranco Stefanini , and the tenor Alessandro Ziliani, the Voci Verdiane Competition has always had an international dimension and has evolved through the years arriving at the most recent editions entrust ed to the artistic direction of Christina Ferrari and the leadership of the great Leo Nucci. Beginning today and for the next three years, the competiti on takes a further step forward through its close collaboration with the Teatro Regio di Parma and Festival Verdi. Not only will the production created , using the best young singers in the competition , be performed at Festival Verdi in October, but, following this important occasion, the „winners‟ production will be performed on other stages in both Italy and abroad. All thanks to the extraordinary ability of the Teatro Regio and its director Anna Maria Meo to develop prestigious working partnerships and to promote the uniqueness of our land and cultural propositions around the world , showing that the added value of the upcoming „new‟ edition of the competition will be twice as international”. 3 “Starting from 2017 – declares the General Director of the Teatro Regio di Parma Anna Maria Meo, Director of the Competition – the organisation of the International Competition Voci Verdiane will be curated by the Teatro Regio di Parma in partnership with the Comune di Busseto, the latter maintain ing location and title. This partnership reinforces the connection between the Competition and Festival Verdi, and represents an important d evelopment that makes the structural relationship with the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi and the Comun e di Busseto even more evident; that being the will to best develop the potential of a Festival that radiates across a territory that goes beyond the confines of Parma and naturally embraces the lands of Verdi. D iscover ing and valuing the next generations of Verdian interpreters is one of the o bjectives of Festival Verdi which finds its natural breeding ground right in the heart of the Maestro‟s city. A place where it can cultivate talent, offer the chance of visi bility, training and employment. This is truly the foundation on which the partnership with the International Competition Voci Verdiane is based, thanks also going to our relationships with the most prestigious singing schools and academies abroad, and we are certain it will become a point of reference for young singers from all over the world”. The winners of the Competition will be announced on Saturday 17 June 2017 at the end of the finalist s ‟ concert, accompanied by the Orchestra dell‟Opera Italiana directed by Fabrizio Cassi, programmed at 9pm in the Cortile di Villa Pallavicino in Busseto. All prize winners will be protagonists in a Verdian recital on Sunday 18 June 2017, at 9pm, in the space opposite the birthplace of the Maestro in Ro n cole Verdi. A pplications to participate mus t be sent exclusively by email to: vociverdiane@teatroregioparma.it and received no later than 6 May 2017. The complete rules and entry form are available online.
For further information : Segreteria del 55° Concorso Internazionale di Voci Verdiane, Tel. 0521 203955 – vociverdiane@teatroregioparma.it . www.teatroregioparma.it – www.vociverdiane.com
The 55° International Competition Voci Verdiane Città di Busseto is produced with the support of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activ i ties and Tourism, Regione Emilia – Romagna, Provincia di Parma, Fondazione Cariparma.
The image of the 55° International Competition Voci Verdiane Città di Busseto is a feature of the Monument to Verdi created at Roncole Verdi in 1964 by local Busseto artist Mario Pelizzoni.
