Rising Opera Stars in Jurmala, Latvia

Voice competitions offer an opportunity to discover young talent and follow trends in the opera industry. So it was a privilege to join the media jury for the final round of the International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition, held in the resort town of Jūrmala, Latvia on June 9. Only nine artists had been selected from a pool of 52 who made it to semi-finals, and the line-up is always globally distributed: South Korea had the strongest representation with 20 participants, followed by the Ukraine with 15 (China was also strongly represented with ten and the U.S.A. with nine singers).

The Belvedere is an originally Viennese institution that has been traveling to different locations since 2013. Jūrmala has become a regular station, hosting the competition for the third time this year. Notable past winners include the young Wagnerian Lise Davidsen, coloratura soprano Pretty Yende and rising star mezzo Aigul Akhmetshina. Although common knowledge has traditionally held that the biggest challenge is finding good tenors and baritones, recent editions have seen a shift toward male singers.

The top prize winners: Matthew Cairns, Jungrae Noah Kim, Daniel O'Hearn (from left)
© Dzintari Concert Hall - Pauls Zvirbulis

Big voices appear to be in demand. Most of this year’s finalists have stage experience at leading houses, from New York’s Metropolitan Opera to the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, and yet the delivery of standard arias from operas by Bizet, Verdi, Mozart, Puccini and Gounod at times lacked attention to style and diction, coming across as stilted or routine. In addition, the Jūrmala festival orchestra under Mārtiņš Ozoliņš accompanied with an often strident tone that led to strained high notes (especially jarring given the small dimensions of the Dzintari Concert Hall).

The media jury’s prize was awarded to Matthew Cairns, a 30-year Canadian tenor who stood out for his mastery of dynamics, rich tone and ardent expression. He delivered the aria “La fleur que tu m’avais jetée” from Bizet’s Carmen with a tender yet ringing timbre, producing an immaculate messa di voice (a gradual build from pianissimo to forte) at the end of the aria. He also brought to the music an ardent expressivity that was nevertheless not pathetic for the tortured character of Don José, also winning third prize from the main jury.

Second place went to another tenor, the 28-year-old American native Daniel O'Hearn. He brought a voluminous but unforced tone to “Che gelida manina,” from Puccini’s La Bohème, communicating with the audience yet not chewing the scenery. His skillful legato, spatious phrasing, easy high notes and fast vibrato are well-suited to Italian repertoire. I look forward to hearing more from this singer.

In first place came the South Korean bass-baritone Jungrae Noah Kim, 29. In the aria “Oh Carlo, ascolta” from Verdi’s Don Carlo, he impressed with his generous voice and its range of overtones. He also brought an unfortunate dose of melodrama to the dying character of Rodrigo which was more understated when he sang the aria a second time after having been named the competition’s winner (excerpt below).

Of the theater engagements and coaching sessions that were also bestowed by the main jury, several were awarded to semi-finalists (full list below). The youngest singer who entered the final round, 18-year-old Latvian soprano Etīna Saulīte, was offered voice lessons with Rosemary Joshua, head of Dutch National Opera Amsterdam’s studio, as well as a performing opportunity at Dzintari Concert Hall and the Jane Carty Memorial Prize for a singer of 25 years or younger of great potential. Having yet to gain stage experience, Saulīte indeed fulfilled this critera in “Si, mi chiamano Mimi” from Puccini’s La Bohème with her rich, pretty tone and innocent presence, although she still has to develop the breath support and sense of style to make this aria convincing.

The audience prize went to Thando Zwane, a 32-year-old bass-baritone from Swaziland whose dramatic intensity was indeed striking in “Alzati, là tuo figlio” from Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera. He would profit from coachings that allow him to create more subtle dynamic shadings, however. Zwane’s tone was consistently stentorian, without a single portamento or use of messa di voice. That said, he was granted an engagement to sing at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden in Germany.

The nine finalists © Dzintari Concert Hall - Pauls Zvirbulis

The Belvedere admirably provides a range of awards that reflect the needs of young singers in addition to the standard top three cash prizes. This year’s finals don’t seem to have accommodated the glut of talent that made the trip to Jūrmala, however: A total of 121 singers competed for the semi-finals, and of the 52 who remained hoping to participate in the finals, a high number went home empty-handed considering that there are no direct opportunities to receive feedback from jury members should they not make the cut. Perhaps this is something to take into account for future iterations? Next year, the event takes place at the Bern State Theater in Switzerland.

Further engagements and awards:

Royal Opera House: Janice van Rooy, soprano, Namibia (semi-finalist)

Metropolitan Opera - Lindemann Young Artist Development Program & Laffont Competition for an audition: Michael Mensah, Bass, Ghana (semi-finalist)

Dzintari Concert Hall: Adrian Janus, baritone/bass, Poland (semi-finalist)

Bern State Theater: Nicole Chirka, mezzo-soprano/alto, Ukraine (semi-finalist)

Deutsche Oper Berlin: Teona Todua, soprano, Ukraine and Volodymyr Morozov, bass, Ukraine (semi-finalist)

Theater Bonn: Andrew Hyunjung Kim, Tenor, South Korea (semi-finalist)

Hans Gabor Prize: Jing Yi Yu, soprano, China (semi-finalist)

Text: Rebecca Schmid