London Competition finale showcases big voices in a small hall
The venerable, annual George and Nora London Foundation Competition for young American and Canadian opera singers came around for the 54th time Friday afternoon in Merkin Concert Hall, with a final round showcasing the considerable talents of ten contestants.
After each of them had performed one aria, the jury deliberated and selected six singers—sopranos Tiffany Choe, Adia Evans, and Anna Thompson; baritones Trevor Haumschilt-Rocha and Korin Thomas-Smith; and bass-baritone Nicholas Newton—to receive the George London Award of $12,000 each.
Each of the remaining contestants—soprano Jennifer Robinson, mezzo-sopranos Grace Ryan and Maiya Williams, and tenor Matthew Sink—received an “encouragement award” of $2,000 and an invitation to enter future London competitions.
One singer who had accepted that invitation was Thomas-Smith, 29, who, “encouraged” by the jury’s response to his scary turn as Mozart’s Count Almaviva in last year’s competition, joined this year’s 180 applicants and sang his way through the early rounds to Friday’s final. This time, his easy physical presence, brisk patter, and funny excursions into the basso range enlivened a performance of “Come un ape ne giorni d’Aprile” from La Cenerentola that earned him a London Award at last.
Opening the program with “Dis-moi que je suis belle” from Thaïs, Thompson, 27, seemed not to project as well in softer passages as in forte. Later, hearing the same discrepancy in other singers, one began to wonder if the relatively cramped quarters of Merkin Hall were affecting the performances. Singers seemed to instinctively adjust their voices for an audience only a few feet away, until they remembered they were auditioning for big houses like the Met, and suddenly let fly with blistering high notes.
In any case, Thompson’s fluid French diction, golden tone, economy of gesture and secure high notes carried the day and put her in the winner’s circle.
With pianist John Arida evoking Richard Strauss’s percussion-tinged chamber orchestra, Evans, 32, proved herself a true Straussian soprano in “Es gibt ein Reich” from Ariadne auf Naxos. Her caramel-toned voice rose in waves from a strong bottom to a gleaming top. With clear diction, she avoided overacting and let the rhapsodic music tell the story.
Arida, who had unobtrusively but effectively supported the singers throughout the program, had his moment in the spotlight at the very end of the concert, capping Newton’s dramatic performance of the Cavatina from Rachmaninoff’s Aleko with a piano postlude of Rachmaninoffian grandeur. The cheers for the pianist, however, didn’t dim the memory of the bass-baritone’s passionate Russian diction, imposing presence, and tone in his middle range that seemed to make the whole room vibrate sympathetically.
While the Foundation confers its awards without ranking the singers, no such constraint applies to critics, so one can say that the day’s standouts were baritone Haumschilt-Rocha, 26, and soprano Choe, 29, singing (respectively) “Mein Sehnen, mein Wahnen” from Die tote Stadt and “Senza mamma” from Suor Angelica. In each case, the very first notes made one aware of exceptional vocal production and a character deeply inhabited.
Haumschilt-Rocha’s woody (but far from wooden) tone balanced fullness and focus and projected almost tangibly into the hall in all dynamics, including an exquisite diminuendo at the end of the aria. His phrasing and facial expression conveyed every flicker of the character Fritz’s emotions as the clown Pierrot.
Choe’s tone was clear, creamy and spacious in all dynamics without a hint of forcing. The nun’s grief was palpable in her malleable phrases and physical presence. She also seemed to inspire exceptionally sensitive phrasing from her attentive accompanist Arida.
There was much to admire in the day’s other performances as well. Tenor Sink, 29, sang “Mein lieber Schwan” from Lohingrin with heft, carrying power and a strong top. Soprano Robinson’s (23) coloratura in “Care compagne” from La Sonnambula was agile and pitch-accurate, if a little raspy in tone.
Mezzos Ryan, 25, and Williams, 26, showed arresting stage presence in their renderings of (respectively) “Sgombra è la sacra selva” from Norma and “Margaret’s Lullaby” from Danielpour’s Margaret Garner. Ryan made minimal gestures say a lot, and her clear tone projected especially well in its lower register. Williams’s tone had a touch of sandpaper in it, and she throttled back to an almost lieder delivery in softer passages, but her sensitivity to the character’s emotions carried the performance.
All the performances and the announcement of awards may be viewed by searching “London Foundation Competition” on youtube.com
The George & Nora London Foundation presents soprano Shelén Hughes Camacho, baritone Joseph Parrish and pianist Amir Farid in a recital 7:30 p.m., April 30, in Merkin Concert Hall. kaufmanmusiccenter.org
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