Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 15 July 2019

Seven more singers selected in VII Concurso Internacional de Canto Alfredo Kraus during preliminary round at Naples’ Teatro di San Carlo

Seven more singers selected in VII Concurso Internacional de Canto Alfredo Kraus during preliminary round at Naples’ Teatro di San Carlo

• At the three preliminary rounds, 29 singers were selected to compete in the semi-final in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on 23 and 24 September, alongside 27 finalists from other competitions who have direct access
• Another 26 applicants will take part in the preliminary round at Alfredo Kraus Auditorium, on 20 and 21 September

Fundación Internacional Alfredo Kraus and Cabildo de Gran Canaria, organisers of the VII Concurso Internacional de Canto Alfredo Kraus 2019, have announced that the preliminary rounds in Madrid and Italy have ended after the auditions in Naples, where seven more participants were selected to join the 14 successful applicants from Madrid and eight from Florence.

A total of 29 singers selected from the preliminary rounds already held will take part in the semi-final in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, alongside those selected from the 26 applicants during the preliminary round in the same city on 20 and 21 September and the 27 candidates who have direct access after finishing among the finalists in other competitions.

The third preliminary round was held at Teatro di San Carlo, in Naples, on 5 and 6 July. Accompanied by Fabio Maggio, official pianist of the VII CICAK, young singers from Belgium, China, Ireland, Italy, Romania, South Korea, Spain and the United States auditioned for a place.

The tribunal members were Rosa Kraus Ley, Chair of the FIAK and the VII CICAK; Paolo Pinamonti, artistic director of Teatro di San Carlo; Francesco Andolfi, artistic department coordinator at the same theatre; and Mario Pontiggia, artistic director of the FIAK and the VII CICAK.

After listening to all the participants, the tribunal considered seven candidates eligible to enter the semi-final round in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Chiara Notarnicola (soprano), Ilaria Quilico (soprano), Daniel Kim (tenor), Unji Bergvatten (soprano), Young Kug Jin (baritone), Pierpaolo Barone (baritone) and Alexandra Tarniceru (soprano).

The next event of the VII CICAK will be the preliminary round at the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, on 20 and 21 September. The Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, opened by the tenor in 1997, will host the semi-final (23 and 24 September) and final round (28 September) of the seventh competition.

The final round will be held as a public concert, with accompaniment by the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Oliver Díaz, before the prize giving.

Applications for the VII CICAK closed on 20 June, with 105 participants from 31 countries. The applicants comprised 52 sopranos, 15 mezzo-sopranos, 2 countertenors, 15 tenors, 14 baritones, 4 bass-baritones and 3 basses.

The 31 countries of origin of the singers are Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United Sates and Venezuela.

Preliminary round in Florence

The first preliminary round was held in Florence, at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Theatre, on 15 and 16 June. Young singers from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Greece, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and the United States took part. The tribunal, comprising Rosa Kraus Ley, maestro Marzio Conti and Mario Pontiggia, considered eight candidates eligible to go on to the semi-final round in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Nikoleta Kapetanidou (soprano), Ana Machado (soprano), Raoni Hübner (tenor), Christina Campsall (mezzo-soprano), Dongyoung An (baritone), Paulo Paolillo (tenor), Aigaku Kishinami (tenor) and Qi Ling (soprano).

Preliminary round in Madrid

Teatro Nacional de La Zarzuela was the venue for the preliminary round held in Madrid on 17 and 18 June. Young singers from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, France, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, Mexico and Ukraine signed up for the auditions. The members of the tribunal were Rosa Kraus Ley, Chair of the FIAK and the VII CICAK; Daniel Bianco, director of the Teatro Nacional de La Zarzuela; Raúl Asenjo, member of the theatre management team; and Mario Pontiggia, artistic director of the FIAK and the VII CICAK.

After listening to all the participants, the tribunal considered 14 candidates eligible to enter the semi-final round in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: Manuel Fuentes Figueira (bass-baritone); Olga Syniakova (mezzo-soprano); Ethel Trujillo Amezcua (soprano); Yusniel Estrada Viciedo (tenor); Catalina González Guajardo (soprano); Inés Lorans Millán (soprano); Vanessa Cera Bula (soprano); Margarita Rodríguez Martín (soprano); Andrea Jiménez Mateo (soprano); Raquel del Pino Herranz (soprano); María Ayestarán Garralda (soprano); José Manuel González Caro (baritone); Mariana Isaza Taborda (soprano) and Lucas Somoza Osterc (baritone).

Preliminary round in Naples

Preliminary round in Naples