VIII. Leyla Gencer Voice Competition
06 - 11 September 2015
Luciana Serra
Soprano
President of Jury
David Gowland
Jette Parker Young Artists
Programme Artistic Director
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden,
London
Yekta Kara
Chief Director
Turkish State Opera and Ballet
Izabela Klosinska
Casting Director
Opera Narodowa
Antonio Pirolli
Conductor
Alain Surrans
Director
Opéra de Rennes
Gianni Tangucci
Artistic Director
Opera di Firenze Accademia del
Maggio
FINALE
11 September 2015
Süreyya Opera Hall, Istanbul
Borusan
Istanbul Philarmonic Orchestra
Antonio Pirolli, conductor
First Prize
Marigona Qerkezi, soprano
Albania
Second Prize
Jonathan Winell, tenor
USA
Third Prize
Hubert Zapiori baritone
Poland
&
Deirdre Judith Angenent, soprano
The Netherlands
SPECIAL AWARDS
Accademia Teatro alla Scala
Deirdre Judith Angenent, soprano
The Netherlands
Polish National Opera Award
Ayşe Şenoğul, soprano
Turkey
Royal Opera Award
Hubert Zapiori baritone
Poland
Audience Prize
Ayşe Şenoğul, soprano
Excerpts from the competition
Competition
Ayşegül Şengül soprano (Turkey)
Donizetti Regnava nel silenzio Lucia di Lammermoor
Deirdre Judith Angenent soprano (The Netherlands)
Mozart Non piu fiori La Clemenza di Tito
Dongho Kim bass-baritone (South Korea)
Bizet Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre Carmen
Giovanni Remoe baritone (Italy)
Rossini Miei rampolli femminini La Cenerentola
Huber Zapior baritone (Poland)
Mozart Hai gia vinta la causa! Vedro mentr'io sospiro Le nozze di Figaro
Marigona Oerkezi soprano (Albania)
Verdi E strano ... Ah! Fors’é lui ... Sempre libera La Traviata
NATURA MAGAZINE
2015 September
YEDİGÜN NEWSPAPER
2015.09.03
BACHTRACK
2015.09.12
During the last
decade of her distinguished international career as a noted bel
canto soprano and treasured teacher, Turkish soprano Leyla Gencer
(1928-2008) made a very savvy career move: she established a singing
competition in her name. But far beyond the implied publicity continuum, the
Leyla Gencer Voice Competition, which concluded its eighth edition in Istanbul
yesterday, is proving to be an unusually nurturing and valuable platform for
young singers. This year’s seven-member jury, led by Italian soprano Luciana
Serra, included several members (including Serra herself) who had personally
worked with Gencer, and they espouse her loftiest proprietary ideals for
helping young singers succeed.
Gencer (pronounced
‘gen-djair’), who was known as “La diva turca” to denote her lengthy operatic
presence at La Scala and subsequently at the Accademia Teatro alla Scala for
over 30 years, founded the competition in 1995 in Istanbul. Before her death in
2008, she personally supervised the first four competitions, and served as
President of the Board of Trustees for the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and
Art (IKSV) which now organizes the competition along with the Accademia. All
the editions to date have sported a list of singers that have gone on to
achieve credible careers.
Preliminary
auditions were held in Warsaw, London, Milan, Berlin, Paris and Istanbul and
yielded 100 applicants from around the world. Seven were selected for the
finals and were accompanied by the Istanbul Borusan Philharmonic conducted by
Antonio Pirolli as they competed for prizes in the Süreyya Opera House in the
Kadiköy area of Istanbul.
During that week,
Jury President Serra presided with David Gowland (Artistic Director of the
Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at London’s Royal Opera House, Covent
Garden), Yekta Kara (Chief Director of the Turkish State Opera and Ballet),
Izabela Klosinska (Casting Director of Polish State Opera, Warsaw), Alain
Surrans (Director of Opéra de Rennes), Gianni Tangucci (Artistic Director of
Opera di Firenze Accademia del Maggio) and conductor Pirolli.
The finalists vied
for three cash prizes totalling 23,500 € and three scholarship prizes (from the
Accademia Teatro alla Scala, the Polish National Opera, and Covent Garden’s
Young Artist Programme) and an audience prize.
Capturing the
First Prize was 22-year-old Albanian soprano Marigona Qerkezi, who displayed a
kaleidoscopic voice of voluptuous richness and a seamless wide range. Her
rendition of “E strano...Ah! Fors’é lui...Sempre libera” from Verdi’s La traviata proved
her to be the judges’ ideal: a young singer with vast potential and a resumé
that needed a welcome boost from the opera Establishment. To that end, she was
also granted a Special Award for three months of study at the Accademia Teatro
alla Scala.
American tenor
Jonathan Winell won the Second Prize for his affecting version of “Che gelida
manina” from Puccini’s La bohème. What made his rendition notable was his
genteel avoidance of the commonly tolerated tenorissimo histrionics. The end
result was a convergence of dramatic sincerity and vocal brilliance. Winell has
already participated in Berlin’s Staatsoper studio and has recently secured a
fest contract at Ravensburg Opera House (Germany) for the upcoming season.
The Third Prize
was shared by Dutch soprano Deirdre Judith Angenent and Polish baritone Hubert
Zapiór. Angenent, who won the 2014 ‘s Hertogenbosch prize, and Zapiór, who is
still a student in Warsaw, both exhibited exceptionally mature-sounding voices
and the ability to interpret complex characters with deft control, tonal lustre
and musical sophistication. Zapiyór also received the Young Artist Special
Award from the Royal Opera House to study for one month in London to prepare
for an audition with ROH’s Music Director, Antonio Pappano.
The other
competitors were Italian baritone Giovanni Romeo, Korean bass-baritone Dongho
Kim, and Turkish soprano Ayse Senogul who was awarded the Audience Prize and
the Polish National Opera Award to perform a role with that organization.
Covent Garden’s
Gowland explained the modus operandi of the Gencer jury, as reflected in his
own program at ROH: “We speak to all the singers and gave them feedback. It’s
imperative that they know the impression they give. It’s all constructive, and
not to criticise. We care, and we want them to do well.” That was admirably
achieved at the finals, when the singing was at a consistently high level
throughout.
Referring to some
other competitions, Gowland says “There, you’re just a number. It’s so
impersonal. I get bored with people not caring. I want to have a conversation
with the singer about ‘Who are You?’ and ‘Where are you going’?”
Young singers
would do well to apply to the next Gencer Competition in 2018.
https://bachtrack.com/review-leyla-gencer-competition-istanbul-september-2015
OPERA MAGAZINE
2015 November
