{"id":25518,"date":"2015-02-10T17:12:04","date_gmt":"2015-02-10T22:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=25518"},"modified":"2019-02-13T10:04:48","modified_gmt":"2019-02-13T15:04:48","slug":"just-in-2015-christina-and-louis-quilico-vocal-competition-crown-three-winners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2015\/02\/10\/just-in-2015-christina-and-louis-quilico-vocal-competition-crown-three-winners\/","title":{"rendered":"JUST IN | 2015 Christina and Louis Quilico Vocal Competition Crowns Three Winners"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo:
L-R: Christina Petrowska Quilico, ontario arts foundation executive director Alan Walker, with winners Karine Boucher, Gordon Bintner, Charlotte Burrage and COC GM Alexander Neef. Photo: Chris Hutcheson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2015 Christina and Louis Quilico Awards, February 9 at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre<\/h3>\n

For diehard voice fans, there\u2019s nothing like a vocal competition. You get to hear (and see) young artists strutting their stuff, striving for fame and glory, not to mention prize money. The Christina and Louis Quilico Awards is a competition with a twist \u2013 it\u2019s only open to current Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio members. The 2014-15 COC Ensemble Roster is a particularly strong one with some wonderful singers, so this promised to be good. The event took place last evening at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Sadly, illness prevented tenor Andrew Haji from competing, and fellow tenor Owen McCausland was out in Victoria singing Arturo in Pacific Opera Victoria\u2019s production of Lucia di Lammermoor<\/em>. But the rest of the Ensemble was out in full force and it proved to be a highly enjoyable evening.<\/p>\n

As competitions go, the format of the Quilico Awards is very simple. Each candidate submits three selections, of which two would be performed. One would be the singer\u2019s choice and jury panel chooses one from the remaining two selections. This year, the jury panel was headed by COC General Director Alexander Neef. The guest panelists are Stuart Hamilton and John Hess. After brief opening remarks by Alexander Neef and Ontario Arts Foundation Executive Director Alan Walker, the competition proceeded in earnest:<\/p>\n

Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure<\/strong> (tenor)
\n\u201cVainement, ma bien aim\u00e9e\u201d Le roi d\u2019Ys<\/em> (Lalo)
\n\u201cEcco ridente\u201d Il barbiere di Siviglia<\/em> (Rossini)
\nJennifer Szeto, piano<\/p>\n

Fortier-Lazure\u2019s voice is the stereotypical tenore di grazia<\/em>, a compact sized instrument with a sweet, soft-grained and warm timbre. He has a particularly mellifluous head voice that has served him well. I\u2019ve heard him sing the Lalo aria on several occasions, and it shows off his voice beautifully. He sang it well once again. Perhaps it was nerves resulted from having to go first, he struggled in the Almaviva\u2019s aria with the high notes, and his runs were not ideally clean. I think for Jean-Philippe, the voice is good in the French repertoire naturally but also potentially good in bel canto<\/em> with further work and the building up of his vocal stamina.<\/p>\n

Clarence Frazer<\/strong> (baritone)
\n\u201cLargo al factotum\u201d Il barbiere di Siviglia<\/em> (Rossini)
\n\u201cMein Sehnen, mein W\u00e4hnen\u201d Die tote Stadt<\/em> (Korngold)
\nJennifer Szeto, piano<\/p>\n

Frazer sang very well in the competition, the best I\u2019ve heard him. His Largo al factotum was sung with impressively robust tone. He also acted with plenty of swagger. Fritz\u2019s aria requires absolutely firm legato and accuracy of pitch. This is a piece I\u2019ve heard him sing before, and he has improved each time. I find his voice \u2013 and in particular his vibrato \u2013 to be better in the upper range, not as heavy and pronounced as in the middle and lower registers. He has made huge progress in the time he\u2019s been with the Ensemble, and undoubtedly a singer to watch.<\/p>\n

Aviva Fortunata<\/strong> (soprano)
\n\u201cCome in quest\u2019ora bruna\u201d Simon Boccanegra<\/em> (Verdi)
\n\u201cNon mi dir\u201d Don Giovanni<\/em> (Mozart)
\nJennifer Szeto, piano<\/p>\n

Fortunata is blessed with a gorgeous voice of richness and amplitude, with excellent squillo<\/em>. She can make a big, well-focused sound, as evidenced in her current gig as Helmwige in Die Walkure<\/em> – the high B\u2019s and C\u2019s hold no terror for her. Both Amelia\u2019s and Anna\u2019s arias were lovely, with good sense of pitch and rich tone. However, perhaps the Wagner gig has put the voice into a somewhat different zone \u2013 I find it a bit too much forte. The Boccanegra should be softer, with more use of piano<\/em>, including a diminuendo<\/em> high B at the end before the descending vocal line. Still it was nicely done. Her coloratura in Non mi dir was exceptional for such a big voice. Also I should say her hairdo and gown were both stunning. Aviva Fortunata has great potential given her exceptional voice, particularly suitable in the Italian and bel canto<\/em> repertoire. She is definitely a singer with a great future.<\/p>\n

Iain MacNeil<\/strong> (bass-baritone)
\n\u201cAprite un po\u2019quegl\u2019occhi\u201d Le nozze di Figaro<\/em> (Mozart)
\n\u201cO du mein holder Abenstern\u201d Tannhauser <\/em>(Wagner)
\nMichael Shannon, piano<\/p>\n

New to the Ensemble this year, Iain MacNeil has an attractive bass-baritone that\u2019s warm and ingratiating, plus a very good stage presence. He sang the Figaro aria very nicely although I would have liked a bit more steadiness to his tone. He also sang the Wolfram aria well, but he wasn\u2019t helped by the slow tempo, which taxed his ability to sustain the legato line and the pitch accuracy in the inherent chromaticism of the piece.<\/p>\n

Charlotte Burrage<\/strong> (mezzo)
\nSara\u2019s aria Roberto Devereux<\/em> (Donizetti)
\nComposer\u2019s Aria Ariadne auf Naxos<\/em> (Strauss)
\nMichael Shannon, piano<\/p>\n

Charlotte Burrage has a beautifully focused high mezzo, with excellent sense of pitch and a lively vibrato that is suitable in both Italian as well as German repertoires. The Roberto Devereux <\/em>aria was very well sung, with lovely tone and nice legato, a few minor errant pitches notwithstanding. The Composer\u2019s Aria really showed off her brilliant high register, with all the notes attacked square on and proper note values observed. To my ears, her slightly metallic timbre is particularly good in Strauss and the German things. If I were to quibble, I find the soloist and the piano not always together in the Strauss, perhaps due to insufficient rehearsal? It would have been preferable for the tempo to pick up near the end \u2013 it\u2019s a paean to music, an aria of ecstasy! Still, a job well done.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
pianist, Michael Shannon; soprano Karine Boucher Photo: Chris Hutcheson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Karine Boucher<\/strong> (soprano)
\nMarietta\u2019s Lied Die tote Stadt<\/em> (Korngold)
\n\u201cSombre for\u00eat\u201d Guillaume Tell<\/em> (Rossini)
\nMichael Shannon, piano<\/p>\n

Boucher has an appealingly warm and substantial soprano coupled with a knockout stage presence. I\u2019ve heard her sing Marietta\u2019s Lied several times before, and her voice has just the right weight and timbre for this music. She sang it beautifully once again, although I would have preferred a bit more dynamic variation. The same can be said with Mathilde\u2019s aria, lovely, but this piece needs a high pianissimo. Boucher is a very gifted and musical singer, and I liked everything she does, the only thing missing is a greater dynamic range and a high piano. I seem to remember she had a lovely shimmering upper voice when I first heard her. The colour of her sound seems to have darkened a bit in the last two years. She is an ideal Contessa, and she would be a good Mathilde as well with further study.<\/p>\n

Gordon Bintner<\/strong> (bass-baritone)
\n\u201cVedro mentr\u2019io sospiro\u201d Le nozze di Figaro<\/em> (Mozart)
\n\u201cO du mein holder Abendstern\u201d Tannhauser<\/em> (Wagner)
\nMichael Shannon, piano<\/p>\n

To my ears, Gordon Bintner is the \u201ccomplete singer\u201d \u2013 warm and generous bass-baritone without a cutting edge, firm technique, remarkable musicality, abundant theatrical flair and princely stage presence. His solid technique means he seems to be always \u201con\u201d. Interesting that he sang the Count\u2019s aria here, which is usually sung by a lyric baritone, not a bass-baritone. I find the tessitura a bit high for him and this aria doesn\u2019t really show off his gorgeous tone. The final high note didn\u2019t have the usual bloom associated with this singer. That said, Bintner is certainly capable of a fine Count. Like MacNeil, the Wolfram aria was taken at too plodding a tempo, which made it harder for the singer to sustain the legato, with occasional unsteadiness creeping in. But overall, it was a fine piece of singing.<\/p>\n

With the performances coming to an end, the jury members were sequestered for a remarkably short 15 minutes of deliberation. They returned to announce the winners \u2013 Karine Boucher won the $5,000 First Prize, Gordon Bintner $3,000 Second Prize, and Charlotte Burrage $2,000 Third Prize. The level of singing was very high and there could easily be a couple more singers deserving of an award, but it is what it is! Congratulations to the winners \u2013 they sang beautifully and were fully deserving of the accolades.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
L-R: Iain MacNeil, Aviva Fortunata, Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure, Karine Boucher, Clarence Frazer, Charlotte Burrage, Gordon Bintner, Jennifer Szeto, Michael Shannon. Photo: Chris Hutcheson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Joseph So<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For diehard voice fans, there\u2019s nothing like a vocal competition. You get to hear (and see) young artists strutting their stuff, striving for fame and glory, not to mention prize money. The Christina and Louis Quilico Awards is a competition with a twist \u2013 it\u2019s only open to current Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio members. The 2014-15 COC Ensemble Roster is a particularly strong one with some wonderful singers, so this promised to be good. The event took place last evening at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Sadly, illness prevented tenor Andrew Haji from competing, and fellow tenor Owen McCausland was out in Victoria singing Arturo in Pacific Opera Victoria\u2019s production of Lucia di Lammermoor. But the rest of the Ensemble was out in full force and it proved to be a highly enjoyable evening…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":25523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[118,5,43],"tags":[5298,729,1457,5299],"yst_prominent_words":[26776,26770,26779,26748,26670,26780,26778,26777,26771,20848,26772,26781,12420,26774,16339,26773,26782,26775,26769,11114],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/02\/2015-02-09-COC-Quilico-145.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-6DA","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25518"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25518"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25518\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58705,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25518\/revisions\/58705"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25518"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=25518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}