{"id":39811,"date":"2016-11-04T14:54:05","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T18:54:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=39811"},"modified":"2016-11-04T19:17:29","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T23:17:29","slug":"coc-ensemble-studio-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2016\/11\/04\/coc-ensemble-studio-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"REPORT | Vancouverite Lands First Prize At COC Annual Vocal Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"(l.
(l. to r.) Geoffrey Schellenberg, Simone McIntosh, Myriam Leblanc, Samuel Chan (Photo: Michael Cooper)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

COC Centre Stage 2016\u00a0Ensemble Studio Competition.\u00a0November 3, 2016, at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the joys of being an opera fan is to discover new voices and what better place to find them than in a vocal competition?\u00a0 And in Toronto, we have one right here on our doorstep \u2014 the annual Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio Competition. It started modestly in 2011 and 2012, taking place in a small space that\u2019s known as the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. In 2013, it became \u201cbig time\u201d \u2014 rebranded Centre Stage \u2014 with full orchestra, in the R. Fraser Elliott Hall, the main auditorium. Each year, pre-auditions are held across the country where aspiring young singers sing for the judges. A few are chosen to come to Toronto for the big event. The number varies from year to year, depending on the available voices and the casting needs of the coming season.<\/p>\n

This year, it was seven contestants \u2014 sopranos Andrea Lett, Andrea Nunez, Maria Lacey, and Myriam Leblanc, mezzo Simone McIntosh, and baritones Geoffrey Schellenberg and Samuel Chan. The MC was tenor Ben Heppner. Music Director Johannes Debus led the COC Orchestra. The jury panel is essentially the same from year to year, often with an additional guest panelist. This year the guest was American tenor Neil Shicoff, who had been teaching in the Ensemble Studio. He was joined by Alexander Neef (General Director), Roberto Mauro (Artistic Administrator), Nina Draganic (Director of COC Ensemble), Liz Upchurch (Head of COC Ensemble), and Wendy Nielsen (Head Vocal Consultant).<\/p>\n

\"Ben
Ben Heppner. (Photo: Michael Cooper)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There were two parts to the Competition, a \u201cprivate\u201d session with a very small audience made up of a few COC donors and members of the media, followed by the \u201cpublic\u201d session, opened to anyone who purchased a ticket to the event. Since Centre Stage doubles as a fund-raising event, for a cool $1,500 a plate, you get to dine on the stage of the opera house, and serenaded by members of the current COC Ensemble Studio, all for a good cause!\u00a0 Each candidate sang one aria in each of the two sessions.\u00a0 Below is the complete repertoire list, with (*) indicating selections in the earlier, private session:<\/p>\n

Geoffrey Schellenberg, baritone \/ Valentin\u2019s Aria (Faust)* \/ \u201cLargo al factotum\u201d (Barber)<\/em><\/p>\n

Simone McIntosh, mezzo \/ \u201cVoi che sapete\u201d (Nozze)* \/ \u201cUna voce poco fa\u201d (Barber)*<\/em><\/p>\n

Andrea Lett, soprano \/ \u201cChacun le sait\u201d (La fille)* \/ \u201cAch, ich fuhl\u2019s\u201d (Zauberflote)<\/em><\/p>\n

Andrea Nunez, soprano \/ \u201cDeh vieni, non tardar (Nozze)* \/ \u201cNo, no, I\u2019ll take no less\u201d (Semele)<\/em><\/p>\n

Maria Lacey, soprano \/ Juliette\u2019s Waltz (R&J)* \/ \u201cPrendi, per me sei libero\u201d (L\u2019elisir)<\/em><\/p>\n

Samuel Chan, baritone \/Harlequin\u2019s Arioso (Ariadne)* \/ Count\u2019s Aria (Nozze)<\/em><\/p>\n

Myriam Leblanc, soprano \/ Juliette\u2019s Waltz (R&J)* \/ \u201cRegnava denl silenzio\u201d (Lucia)<\/em><\/p>\n

As Centre Stage audience members, we were encouraged to vote for our favourites in the main session. Like everyone else, I had my favourites.\u00a0 That said, voice preference is a very subjective thing, and we all hear things differently. To be honest, all the candidates possess beautiful voices, backed by solid training and musicality. Any of them would have made a worthy addition to the Ensemble.<\/p>\n

In the private session, Maria Lacey kicked off the proceedings with Juliette\u2019s Waltz, sung with lovely tone and attractive stage presence. Her coloratura was very good, only falling a little short in the quick runs where the notes weren\u2019t ideally distinct. She was followed by Geoffrey Schellenberg, whose lyric baritone, warm and ingratiating albeit with modest volume, was just right for Valentin\u2019s aria. With his easy top, the high notes were nicely done. I would have liked more expression though instead of the stock hand gestures. Mezzo Simone McIntosh\u2019s voice is familiar to me, having heard her in Toronto Summer Music. Her \u201cVoi che sapete\u201d was beautiful, sung with opulent tone and a few added appoggiaturas, never mind her stunningly beautiful gown was a little unusual for Cherubino!<\/p>\n

Andrea Lett offered Marie\u2019s sparkling aria from La fille du regiment<\/em>, showing off her beautiful, accurate, pitch-perfect, focused top, with extra interpolated high notes thrown in for good measure. I also liked Andrea Nunez\u2019s poised rendition of Susanna\u2019s \u201cDeh vieni,\u201d with an interpolated high note in the last phrase, something I\u2019ve never heard done before, as this aria is very much written in the middle. Nunez did it beautifully however. Elsewhere, I would have liked a bit more chiaroscuro, more of a hushed quality to the delivery. Baritone Samuel Chan had a rather odd choice, Harlequin\u2019s little, 2-minute arioso from Ariadne auf Naxos<\/em>. I happen to love Strauss and Ariadne<\/em>, but it\u2019s not a showy piece for competitions. His high baritone bordering on tenor territory was heard to advantage. The private session ended with Myriam Leblanc, singing also Juliette\u2019s Waltz, and very beautifully, with lovely high notes, exemplary runs, altogether a winning performance. If I were to nitpick, I would have liked a more solid trill at the end.<\/p>\n

\"Vancouver's
Vancouver’s Simone McIntosh takes home First Prize (the Chair\u2019s Prize) (Photo: Michael Cooper)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The public session was performed in front of a good-sized, enthusiastic, though not sold-out audience. Schellenberg\u2019s \u201cLargo al factotum\u201d had clarion tone, easy top notes, and vivid acting. He also managed the fast passages with good flexibility. McIntosh offered Rosina\u2019s \u201cUna voce poco fa\u201d with grand flourish and rich tone, albeit the rapid runs were not ideally clean. Andrea Lett sang Pamina\u2019s aria very nicely, although one would have liked a fuller palette of tone colours, particularly the soft high notes, so important to underscore the pathos of Pamina at this point in the opera. As a complete change from the slow and soft \u201cDeh vieni,\u201d Andrea Nunez chose Semele\u2019s aria with its in-your-face, near-impossible coloratura fireworks which she sang well and earning her a huge ovation. \u00a0Maria Lacey sang a lovely Adina\u2019s aria with a nice top register, only challenged when she had to dip into the lowest part of her range, causing some intonation problems.\u00a0 Samuel Chan sang the ever-popular Conte\u2019s aria from Nozze<\/em> well, although his baritenor sounding a bit light-weight in this music. The tempo was also very fast, making the whole performance sounding rushed. Once again, the last singer was Myriam Leblanc who offered a sparkling rendition of Lucia\u2019s aria, beautifully sung, with excellent coloratura and accurate pitch. She received arguably the biggest ovation of the evening.<\/p>\n

\"(Photo:
(Photo: Michael Cooper)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the judges having retired to deliberate, the audience was treated to a guest, American tenor Russell Thomas. He sang Frederico\u2019s Lament with thrilling tone, complete with the optional high note. This was followed by \u201cDein ist mein ganzes Herz\u201d, the first time I\u2019ve heard him sing in German. His is really a great tenor, and the COC is lucky to have him. MC Ben Heppner then introduced General Director Alexander Neef to announce the results. First Prize went to mezzo Simone McIntosh; Second Prize to baritone Samuel Chan; and Third Prize to baritone Geoffrey Schellenberg. Audience Prize to soprano Myriam Leblanc. All deserving winners, and my warmest wishes to all the participants!<\/p>\n

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The COC crown Vancouver’s Simone McIntosh with First Prize at the Canadian Opera Company’s annual Ensemble Studio Competition on November 3, 2016 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":39814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5723,5,39,43,70],"tags":[825,6498,5642,6497],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/11\/16-17-CS-MC-D-9279.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-am7","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39811"}],"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=39811"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39827,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39811\/revisions\/39827"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39811"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=39811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}