I did not spend last night at a major singing competition, but evidently much of Australia did.
In Melbourne, it was the finals of the Herald Sun Aria. Placed first was the excellent soprano Natalie Aroyan, whose performances I've enjoyed on several occasions and who seems to be sweeping quite a few awards these days. Runner-up was soprano Anna Whitehead, while tenor Irving Dekterev received the Encouragement Award. [See Herald Sun article here.]
Meanwhile, in Sydney, I also (and less forgiveably) missed the finals of the Mathy Award. The winning singer was baritone Sitiveni Talei. As usual, the other three finalists all received a variety of prizes and scholarships. Special congratulations to my own favourite among the semi-finalists, Sky Ingram, who was awarded five prizes, including a year's fees at the Guildhall. [See competition website for a full prize list.]
Congratulation to all the winners. And it's not over yet! The competitions keep coming. On Sunday, it's the finals of Opera Foundation Australia's German Opera Scholarship — this one, I shan't be missing.
Ah yes, I wondered if you'd been there last night! A great night of singing, but the winner a clear standout for me this time - even more so than before. There was just something electric in the air while he was performing. A special magic that nobody else quite mustered.
Posted by: LadyBlogger | Thursday, October 30, 2008 at 12:22 AM
How wonderful - I am so thrilled that Natalie won the Herald Sun Aria. The bio forgot to mention she recently won the New York Prize. She's such a warm and intelligent singer. I am sorry but I seemed to have missed the magic & electricity last night. My favourite had to be Sky who looked so divine & full marks to her for such a decorative web site.
Posted by: travelling mezzo | Thursday, October 30, 2008 at 02:17 AM