Finalists of the 59th IVC Opera & Oratorio Competition announced

The finalists of the 59th International Vocal Competition were announced this evening. The internationally renowned jury, led by opera director Sir David Pountney, selected eight young talents for the Grand Finale at Theater aan de Parade. The prize winners will be announced following that concert this coming Saturday 10 October. The Grand Finale will feature accompaniment by PhilZuid, conducted by Grammy Award winner Karen Kamensek.

The Main Rounds took place from Friday, October 2, through Monday, October 5, with forty young opera singers participating. From this group, the nine-member jury selected the ten finalists:

Aaron-Casey Gould, tenor (USA);

Evan Gray, bass-baritone (Switzerland);

Yuriy Hadzetskyy, baritone (Ukraine);

Jack Lee, tenor (United Kingdom);

Chao Líu, baritone (China);

Thomas McGowan, baritone (United Kingdom);

Viktoriia Shamanska, soprano (Ukraine);

Lea Shaw, mezzo-soprano ( USA)

Most candidates not participating in the final will attend masterclasses given by the renowned jury members from Wednesday 7 October to Friday 9 October. These sessions are open to the audience. The masterclasses are fascinating, as candidates often make tremendous progress with just a few pointers-progress that could enable them to become finalists in the future.

Andrew Watts-countertenor and General and Artistic Director of the IVC-will conduct masterclasses for local singers during the "A Songfest Masterclass" (October 6) and for winners of the Princess Christina Competition (October 10).

The jury consists of Sir David Pountney (opera director), Susan Bullock (soprano), Paul McNamara (tenor), Peter Rose (bass), Natascha Ursuliak (Opernhaus Zürich), Susanne Schmidt (Opera Ballet Vlaanderen), Dieter Kaegi (Theater Orchester Biel Solothurn), Tobias Hasan (Staatsoper Unter den Linden), and Damià Carbonell Nicolau (De Nationale Opera).