• The singers selected in the three Preliminary Rounds, held in Madrid, Florence and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, are now taking part in the Semi-final Round, at Auditorio Alfredo Kraus

The X Concurso Internacional de Canto Alfredo Kraus (X CICAK), organised by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria and the Fundación Internacional Alfredo Kraus, has completed the Preliminary Rounds at Auditorio Alfredo Kraus de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria with the selection of 11 young singers.

The last of the three Preliminary Rounds took place on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 September, after the rounds held in Madrid and Florence, ahead of the Semi-final Round now under way in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. All the rounds in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria are held in the Sala de Cámara at the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, one of the collaborating institutions of the competition since 2017.

At the Preliminary Round in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the tribunal members were Rosa Kraus Ley (Chair of the FIAK and the CICAK), Tilman Kuttenkeuler (Director of the Fundación Auditorio/Teatro), and Mario Pontiggia (Artistic Director of the FIAK and the CICAK). Maestro Juan Francisco Parra, official pianist of the X CICAK, prepared and accompanied the auditions.

After all the candidates had taken part, the tribunal considered the following 11 singers eligible to go on to the Semi-Final Round in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Tania Lorenzo (soprano, Spain), Julio Nomdedeu (bass, Spain), Javiera Zepeda-Richter (mezzosoprano, Chile), Miriam Silva (soprano, Spain), JinHong Moon (baritone, South Korea), Belén Quirós (soprano, Spain), Erin Rosales (mezzosoprano, United States), Violeta Sesto (soprano, Spain), Jennibel Hernández (soprano, Spain), Jan Wouters (countertenor, Belgium) and María Candelaria Hernández (soprano, Spain).

Thirty-one singers applied for the preliminary round in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (17 sopranos, 6 mezzosopranos, 1 countertenor, 3 tenors, 2 baritones and 2 basses), from 12 countries: Argentina, Belgium, Cuba, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, South Korea, Spain and the United States.

The final stage of the X CICAK will also be held at the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, where the tribunal for the Preliminary Rounds will be joined by a jury made up of directors of European theatres, which will judge the Semi-final Round, followed by the Final Round on Saturday 27 September, at a gala show with an audience, where the singers will be accompanied by the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by maestro Óliver Díaz. At this year’s singing competition, the Jury of the X CICAK will be chaired by Gran Canarian soprano Yolanda Auyanet.