The 19th Edition of Operalia ended Sunday, 24thJuly - OPERALIA 2011 – Winners

Foto: Operalia, René Barbera, Olga Busuioc, Pretty Yende

The enthusiasm of the Russian public, the exceptional level of all the singers, the commitment of the judges, together with the value of the prizes, made this edition very special, indeed unique in the global scenario. In the beautiful hall of the Stanislavsky Theatre in Moscow, Pretty Yende and René Barbera, amongst all the others, whose names will be inscribed in the history of the competition (Javier Arrey, Khachatur Badalyan, Olga Busuioc, Haeran Hong, Jaesig Lee, Adam Palka, Jongmin Park, Sergey Polyakov, Olga Pudova, Fernando Javier Rado, Konstantin Shushakov), have been welcomed and acclaimed by a great and enthusiastic audience, in a sold out theatre. A part from the jury members, many others general managers, artistic directors and international celebrities, from the classical music environment, attended the evening, such us the famous Russian conductor Valery Gergiev.

These were the results:

• Two First Prizes* US$30,000, Pretty Yende and René Barbera

• Two Second Prizes* US$20,000, Olga Busuioc and Konstantin Shushakov

• Two Third Prizes* US$10,000, Olga Pudova and Jaesig Lee

• Two Birgit Nilsson Prizes (Wagner-Strauss repertoire)* US$15,000, Jongmin Park
• The Pepita Embil Domingo Zarzuela Prize US$10,000, ex equo Pretty Yende and Olga Busuioc

• The Don Plácido Domingo, Sr., Zarzuela Prize US$10,000, René Barbera

• Two Audience Prizes* Watches offered by Rolex, Pretty Yende and René Barbera

• The Culturarte Prize US$10,000, Javier Arrey

Never before, in the history of Operalia, a singer has been awarded three prizes, including the first prize, as it happened for the two main winners of this edition: Pretty Yende and René Barbera. The audience and the judges agreed, by confirming each other’s vote, and the two Audience Prizes have been, as usual, two splendid watches offered by the main sponsor Rolex. Pretty Yende sang O mie fedeli... Ah, la pena in lor piombò from Beatrice di Tenda by Vincenzo Bellini and René Barbera Ah mes amis… Pour mon âme, from La Fille du Régiment by Gaetano Donizetti. Although there were no Europeans or Mexicans represented, Pretty Yende was competing representing Italy: she is in fact finishing her studies at the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala and she lives in Milan; René Barbera is a US citizen and has Mexican origins. Their success could be seen as a victory of two important traditions and schools in the world: Italy and Mexico, who gave birth to many important musicians and opera singers (such as for instance Rolando Villazón who won Operalia in 1999), as well as Olga Pudova and Konstantin Shushakov, both Russians, and Jaesig Lee and Jongmin Park both from South Korea. The Gala Concert, conducted by Plácido Domingo himself, with the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre Orchestra, was broadcasted live on the TV Russian channel KULTURA and by streaming on Medici TV. Once more Operalia has confirmed to be ‘THE’ world opera competition for young singers.

LIST OF THE FINALISTS

Surname First Name Voice Age Country

ARREY Javier baritone 29 Chile

BADALYAN Khachatur tenor 29 Russia

BARBERA René tenor 27 USA

BUSUIOC Olga soprano 24 Moldova

HONG Haeran soprano 29 South Korea

LEE Jaesig tenor 30 South Korea

PALKA Adam bass 27 Poland

PARK Jongmin bass 24 South Korea

POLYAKOV Sergey tenor 27 Russia

PUDOVA Olga soprano 29 Russia

RADO Fernando Javier bass 25 Argentina

SHUSHAKOV Konstantin baritone 27 Russia

YENDE Pretty soprano 26 South Africa

PROGRAM PERFORMED

OPERALIA 2011 - THE FINAL ROUND - July 24, 2011

Khachatur Badalyan, tenor, Russia

Massenet Werther Pourquoi me réveiller

Adam Palka, bass, Poland

Verdi Ernani Infelice! E tuo credevi

Haeran Hong, soprano, South Korea

Bellini La Sonnambula Care compagne...Sovra il sen la man mi posa

Sergey Polyakov, tenor, Russia

Halévy La Juive Rachel, quand du Seigneur

Javier Arrey, baritone, Chile

Rossini Il Barbiere di Seviglia Largo al factotum

Olga Busuioc, soprano, Moldova

Puccini Suor Angelica Senza mamma

Fernando Javier Radó, bass, Argentina

Mozart Don Giovanni Madamina

Jaesig Lee, tenor, South Korea

Puccini La Bohème Che gelida manina

Pretty Yende, soprano, South Africa

Bellini Beatrice di Tenda O mie fedeli... Ah, la pena in lor piombò

Jongmin Park, bass, South Korea

Ponchielli La Gioconda Ombre di mia prosapia

Konstantin Shushakov, baritone, Russia

Tchaikovsky Pikovaya Dama Vy tak pechalny…Ya vas liubliu

Olga Pudova, soprano, Russia

Mozart Die Zauberflöte Der Hölle Rache

René Barbera, tenor, USA

Donizetti La Fille du Régiment Ah mes amis… Pour mon âme

Zarzuela Finalists

Javier Arrey, baritone, Chile

Moreno Torroba Luisa Fernanda Luche la fe por el triunfo

Olga Busuioc, soprano, Moldova

Moreno Torroba La marchenera Tres horas antes del día

René Barbera, tenor, USA

Sorozábal La tabernera del puerto No puede ser

Pretty Yende, soprano, South Africa

Nieto y Giménez El barbero de Sevilla Me llaman la primorosa

Operalia Hymn, All singers

Placido Domingo Jr.

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