Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus
We are proud to announce that the 3rd edition of the Minsk International Singing Competition will take place at the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus from 7 to 13 December 2016.
Participation in international vocal competitions can become a good launch pad for young singers, provide finalists and winners with considerable financial support, and give an excellent opportunity to every singer to receive engagements which are of immense value in the world of classical art and can be a ticket to the opera Olympus. Many finalists of the Minsk International Competition have already made use of such tickets.
Nadezhda Pavlova, the winner of grand prize of the 2nd Minsk International Singing Competition, won the Belarusian opera admirers’ hearts after her triumphant performances at elimination rounds and the gala concert of world opera stars given as part of the Christmas Opera Forum. Enraptured, the spectators awarded the audience prize to the singer – it was the first time that the audience prize had been awarded at the Minsk Singing Competition. The grand prize was her first fruit of the year 2016, rich in important awards and numerous laudatory appraisals. She became a Golden Mask laureate for the lead female role in the Perm production of Don Giovanni prepared by conductor Teodor Currentzis. Her Olympia in the sensational production of Les contes d'Hoffmann caused a flurry of enthusiastic reviews from music critics and opera connoisseurs. Nadezhda Pavlova was called ‘the main discovery and sensation’ of the Perm production of La traviata staged by Robert Wilson. On 22 November the Belarusian opera admirers will enjoy a performance of the star of the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre again: Nadezhda will sing the lead role in Giuseppe Verdi’s La traviata opposite Mykhailo Malafii, another favourite of the Belarusian audience.
The winner of first and audience prizes, Mykhailo Malafii after his victory in the Minsk International Singing Competition received an invitation from Philippe Mestres, a juror of the competition, to the International Singing Competition in Marmande, France, and was offered an engagement by the management of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus – to perform a lead role in a performance from the theatre’s repertoire. Mykhailo Malafii has appeared on the Belarusian stage twice, as Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera by Giuseppe Verdi and Lensky in Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, and both the performances were met with rapturous applause. This season Mykhailo Malafii has been invited to sing the role of Alfredo in La traviata at Sofia National Opera. A soloist of the opera company of the Solomiya Krushelnytska Opera Theatre, he is engaged in most productions and regularly performs at concerts.
Due to participation in the competition Victor Mendelev, who won second prize at the 2nd edition of the Minsk International Competition, made the acquaintance with international opera agents and received an invitation from Alain Nonat, General and Artistic Director of the Théâtre Lyrichorégra 20 and a juror of the competition, to perform in Canada as a personal engagement. After the Minsk Competition, Victor Mendelev took part in the International Stanisław Moniuszko Vocal Competition in Poland. Besides, the singer won first prize in the category ‘Best Young Specialist of a Cultural Institution’ of the Minsk Competition for Young Specialists. Victor Mendelev won third prize at the 1st Feodor Chaliapin International Singing Competition which took place in the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan. In November 2016, following the invitation of Alain Nonat, the General and Artistic Director of the Théâtre Lyrichorégra 20 and a juror of the competition, Victor Mendelev will participate in the competition and festival which will take place in Canada.
The winner of third prize of the Minsk Competition, Elena Stikhina, continued her competition ‘marathon’ and took part in one of the most prestigious international opera competitions, Operalia, founded and supervised by Plácido Domingo. The singer reached the final and won two special prizes. On 25 July the award ceremony of the 24th edition of the World Opera Competition Operalia took place at the Teatro Degollado, Guadalajara, Mexico. Elena Stikhina, a soloist of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre, was awarded the audience prize and the CulturArte Prize founded by the Puerto Rican non-profit organization CulturArte de Puerto Rico.
