World Sopranos Announced For Cardiff Singer Competition 2015

Competitors have been announced for the 2015 Cardiff Singer of the World. The list of sopranos inlcudes Nadine Koutcher (Russia), Aviva Fortunata (Canada), Anaïs Constans (France), Kelebogile Besong (South Africa), Regula Mühlemann (Switzerland), Lauren Michelle (USA), and Céline Forrest (Wales). Watch videos featuring all of these women after the jump. Learn more about all the singers in the competition by clicking here. Sopranos Soile Isokoski and Kiri Te Kanawa will be on the jury for the competition, the full list is here. Cardiff Singer of the World will take place June 14-21, 2015.

Watch Jamie Barton's Winning Performances At CSOTW

Watch one more performance after the jump.

Opera Star Power Comes Out For Cardiff SOTW Master Classes

The class of 2013: Singers from around the globe ready to compete for a main prize of £15,000 (Photo: Facebook).

Cardiff Singer of the World Competition began this past weekend, but the real event may take place this Saturday. Check out the scheduled opera stars that will be giving master class:

Saturday 22 June
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
Dora Stoutzker Hall – with competition non-finalists
11am, Håkan Hagegård, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
3pm, Elena Obraztsova, Neil Shicoff

Richard Burton Theatre – with vocal studies students from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
12.30pm, Christoph Prégardien
4pm, Dame Felicity Palmer
Each session lasts more than one hour and times are likely to overlap.
[Source]

Check out more of the television and radio broadcast schedule by clicking here. And watch a preview of the BBC special celebrating 30 years of the competition after the jump.

Valentina Naforniţă Wins Cardiff Singer of the World Prize

Valentina Naforniţă accepts her grand prize. Watch her performances in the video clips below:

Some exceptional stand-out performances came in the competition for the Song Prize. The first is American soprano Leah Crocetto who manages marvelously to sing Liszt back-to-back with Gershwin. The second is Ukranian baritone Andrei Bondarenko who went on to win first place. Both are outstanding. Two additional singers in the concert rounds also stood out. One especially worth listening to is Russian mezzo-soprano Olesya Petrova. The other is the wonderful coloratura soprano Hye Jung Lee.

Leah Crocetto Will Represent USA at Cardiff Singer of the World

"Tu che di gel sei cinta" Turandot (Puccini)

Leah Crocetto has been chosen as one of 20 singers to compete in the 2011 Cardiff Singer of the World competition to be held in Wales this June. She will represent the USA in hopes of winning the grand prize of £15,000 or even the £5,000 prize for lieder. The complete list of participants is after the jump.

The soprano was born 1980 in Adrian, Michigan. She has three younger sisters and as part of a big extended Italian family she says she has been listening to Luciano Pavarotti sing since she was in the womb. At 4 years old she would walk around the house singing "Non ti scordar di me" and "Nessun dorma" along with the record. Her father introduced her to all genres of music including Bob Dylan, the Rat Pack and even Earth, Wind & Fire. Her mother plays the piano, organ and clarinet. Both parents sang in choir and her father was even in a rock-n-roll band. She has one sister in politics that she says has a great voice. She saw her first operas when she was in fifth grade, Carmen and Tosca.

"Pace non trovo"

Tre sonetti del Petrarca (Liszt)

Growing up she attended private schools that were bible-based and after graduating high school she attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago where she studied with Arnold Rawls. She only stayed at the school for a year and a half, but continued to study with her teacher. At 20 she took part in the Utah Festival Opera program for young artists. By 25 she moved to New York where she starting singing jazz and cabaret, including Sam's Club on 46th Street. To make ends meet she waited tables at the Olive Garden in Times Square. After her father became ill, she moved back to Michigan to care for him and got a degree in acting at Sienna Heights University. Her father passed away in 2009.