Paris Opera Competition

Paris, capital of culture and art in all its forms, hosted for the first time the great lyric competition, “Paris International Opera competition”. The Finals took place on 17th October 2011 at the Theatre of Champs Elysées.

This adventure, which started 18 months before the gala concert, brought together as candidates 350 young artists from the whole world. Over 56 nationalities were represented!

The Artistic Committee of the competition made a first selection of only 20 candidates for the semi-finals. The choice was difficult, since the quality of the candidates was exceptionally high.

The semi-finals took place on the 15th October 2010 in the historic setting of the theatre of the Conservatoire d’art dramatique. It was here that in 1828 Parisians first heard the music of Beethoven: In 1830, Berlioz himself directed the creation of his Symphonie Fantastique. So, the 20 candidates sang in an extraordinary place with perfect acoustics.

By the evening of the 15th, only 8 talented finalists remained, who were then on the programme for the Theatre du Champs-Elysees, another great and prestigious concert hall; in the art-deco style and having its place alongside the auditorium of the Conservatoire d’art dramatique in historic creations, notably the Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring”, which was a scandal at the time.

The Conductor, Philippe Hui, and the Pasdeloup orchestra (which celebrated its 150th anniversary) accompanied the candidates in this final and difficult test.

The Jury, composed of both European Theatre Directors and famous international Opera-singers, such as Gabriel Bacquier, had to be prepared to make difficult choices, as for the semi-finals. The President of the Jury was Michel Frank, Director of the Theatre des Champs-Elysees.

The hall was full, the public attentive and warm, and the performances were magnificent.

Chairman:

Michel Franck, General Director of the Théâtre des Champs Elysées - France

Panel members:

Patrick Marie Aubert, Chorus Master of Opéra National de Paris - France

Gabriel Bacquier, opera singer

Benoit Dratwicki, Artistic Director of the Fondazione Palazzetto Bru Zane

Toni Gradsack, Casting Director at the Zurich Opera - Switzerland

Michael Hocks, Director of the Alte Oper Francfort - Germany

Eva Kleinitz, Until July 2010, Director of the Planning and the Artistic Production at La Monnaie, from 2011-2012 season, Designated Artistic Director of the Opera of Stuttgart- Germany

Fulvio Macciardi, Head of the Artistic Department of Teatro Comunale di Bologna - Italy

Inva Mula, opera singer

Alain Perroux, Artistic Consultant and dramaturgic Consultant for the Festival of Aix en Provence – France

Emilio Sagi, Director of Teatro Arriaga in Bilbao

Sylvie Valayre, opera singer

Pierre Vernes, Founder and President of the Competition

Winners :

First Prize Julia Lezhneva, soprano, Russia

Sombre forêt (Mathilda) Guillaume Tell Rossini

Tanti affetti ...Fra il padre (Elena) La Donna del Lago Rossini

Second Prize Kihwan Sim, bass, Korea

Quand la flamme de l'amour (Ralph) La jolie fille de Perth Bizet