United States Various – George and Nora London Foundation Competition Finals: Soloists, Michael Fennelly (piano). The Morgan Museum & Library, New York, 16.2.2024. (RP)
Wagner – ‘Dich teure Halle’ (Tannhäuser) / Adia Evans (soprano)
Gounod – ‘Ah! lève-toi soleil’ (Roméo et Juliette) / Bergsvein Toverud (tenor)
Gounod – ‘O ma lyre immortelle’ (Sapho) / Cierra Byrd (mezzo-soprano)
Giordano – ‘Nemico della patria’ (Andrea Chénier) / Benjamin Dickerson (baritone)
Britten – ‘Embroidery Aria’ (Peter Grimes) / Renée Richardson (soprano)
Wagner – ‘Amfortas! Die Wunde!’ (Parsifal) / Samuel White (tenor)
R. Strauss – ‘Sein wir wieder gut’ (Ariadne auf Naxos) / Erin Wagner (mezzo-soprano)
Puccini – ‘Si corre dal notaio’ (Gianni Schicchi) / Darren Drone (baritone)
Handel – ‘Iris, hence away’ (Semele) / Emily Treigle (mezzo-soprano)
Mozart – ‘Ach, ich fühl’s’ (Die Zauberflöte) / Emily Rocha (soprano)
Verdi – ‘Tu che le vanità’ (Don Carlo) / Katerina Burton (soprano)
Rachmaninoff – ‘Aleko’s Aria’ (Aleko) / Ben Strong (bass-baritone)
The final round of the George and Nora London Foundation Competition for young American and Canadian opera singers was held at The Morgan Library & Museum on 16 February. Soprano Katerina Burton, mezzo-sopranos Emily Treigle and Erin Wagner, tenor Samuel White and baritones Benjamin Dickerson and Darren Drone each received $12,000 awards.
This year’s judges were soprano Harolyn Blackwell, mezzo-soprano Susan Quittmeyer, tenor Dimitri Pittas and John Hauser, the Foundation’s President. The London Competition has a remarkable legacy of promoting young artists who have gone on to major international careers, including Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming, Christine Goerke, James Morris, Eric Owens, Matthew Polenzani and Sondra Radvanovsky.
Twelve singers were chosen to perform in the finals after three days of semi-final rounds held earlier in the week. Each sang a single aria after which the judges deliberated prior to announcing the winners. This year’s finalists were exceptional in all regards, with any one of them worthy of a top prize. They were also singers who, for the most part, had voices of notable clarity and size.
It was a high-energy experience, with all the vocalists performing at the top of their form. Pianist Michael Fennelly, who accompanied them, contributed to the adrenalin-charged performances with playing that summoned the excitement and colors of an orchestra.
Soprano Katerina Burton, who recently appeared as Alice Ford to Sir Bryn Terfel’s Falstaff at the Aspen Music Festival, triumphed with another Verdi aria, ‘Tu che le vanità’ from Don Carlo. Burton’s gleaming high notes were particularly impressive.
Two very different mezzo-sopranos, Emily Treigle and Erin Wagner, garnered top prizes. Treigle, who is the granddaughter of the great American bass-baritone Norman Treigle, gave an electrifying reading of ‘Iris, hence away’ from Handel’s Semele. Her exuberance was as impressive as her fleet coloratura.
Wagner, a winner of the prestigious Young Concert Artists Competition and Naumburg Foundation Awards, sang the ‘Composer’s Aria’ from Ariadne auf Naxos. Her warm, shimmering voice soared in Richard Strauss’s paean to music as the holiest of arts.
The combination of dashing good looks and an impressive tenor voice with a true heroic thrust made Samuel White an audience favorite. The fact that he chose ‘Amfortas! Die Wunde’ from Parsifal fueled hopes that one was hearing a rising star who might someday assay the great dramatic tenor roles.
Humor and wit were in short display in the choice of arias, but Darin Drone filled the void with Gianni Schicchi’s aria. The baritone was definitely a winner with his vivid depiction of the wily man’s schemes to defraud one and all. He is a singer who demands attention with both his powerful baritone and his total physical engagement with the drama.
Matthew Epstein, a renowned figure in the world of opera, added a uniquely personal touch to this year’s competition with vivid anecdotes of Lois Kirschenbaum, who died in 2021 at the age of 88. Peppering his remarks with names such as Renata Tebaldi and Luciano Pavarotti, Epstein told tales of one of New York’s ‘super fans’ of the arts. The London Foundation was one of the beneficiaries of her will which bequeathed approximately $1.7 million to arts organizations.
Benjamin Dickerson was the first recipient of a George London Award in memory of Kirschenbaum. The baritone, who is currently studying at Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts, won with an impassioned performance of ‘Nemico della patria’ from Giordano’s Andrea Chénier. The dramatic aria showcased both the power of his voice and the evenness of his superb instrument throughout its range.
A total of $84,000 was given in awards, with the remaining six contestants each given George London Encouragement Awards of $2,000 each. On another day, any of them may well have been among the six top-prize winners, especially soprano Adia Evans, tenor Bergsvein Toverud and bass-baritone Ben Strong.
Evans opened the competition with a rousing ‘Dich teure Halle’ from Tannhäuser. Toverud, who will be joining the Paris Opera as an artist in residence, revealed a lyric tenor of impressive size and beauty in ‘Ah! lève-toi soleil’ from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.
Strong, who has been garnering awards for his singing since he was in his teens, impressed in Aleko’s cavatina from Rachmaninoff’s first completed opera of the same name. The seldom-heard aria afforded the chance to experience his total connection with the drama, appealing sense of the musical line and his warm, rich, wonderful lower range.
Rick Perdian
The event is available to watch on YouTube here