XIII Concurso San Miguel 2022

March, 2022. Ópera de San Miguel is proud to announce the results of the San Miguel XIII Contest, held on March 5, 2022 at the Ángela Peralta Theater in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato.

 

The ten finalists (and two alternates who attended as special guests) participated in an intensive week of master classes, conferences, professional advice, coachings and vocal training.

 

The winner of the Maestro John Bills first prize —sponsored by Shari Alexander—, of $100,000 pesos, was soprano Fernanda Allande. She sang Susannah's 'The Trees on the Mountains' by Carlisle Floyd and Gounod’s 'Amour, ranime mon courage' from Roméo et Juliette.

 

The Amistad Canada second prize, endowed with $75,000 pesos, went to soprano Valeria Vázquez, who performed 'Vissi d'arte' from Tosca and 'Un bel dì vedremo' from Madama Butterfly, both operas by Puccini.

 

The Rosewood San Miguel third prize, endowed with $50,000 pesos, was won by tenor Alejandro Luévanos for his interpretation of 'Quando le sere al placido' from Verdi's Luisa Miller and 'Recondita armonia' from Puccini's Tosca.

 

The special John Bills Met Opera Chorus Memorial Award —sponsored by Cori Ellison and a group of John's colleagues and friends— was shared by sopranos Cecilia Eguiarte and Tania Solís: $25,000 pesos each.

 

After a semifinal round in which all the singers of the Contest participated on Friday, March 4, the three finalists chosen for the Best Performance of a Mexican Opera Aria by Daniel Catán —sponsored by Andrea Puente with a gift from David Duthu— obtained the prizes: the first prize, endowed with $20 thousand pesos, went to Valeria Vázquez for her performance of 'No solo soy mi nombre’ from Florencia en el Amazonas; the second prize, endowed with $15,000 pesos, went to Priscilla Portales, who sang 'Morenica me llaman’ from Il postino; and the third prize, endowed with $10,000 pesos, went to Alejandro Luévanos, who sang the aria 'Desnuda', also from Il postino.

 

The Pro Opera Audience Award of $15,000 pesos —represented by Adriana Alatriste and Ana Guerra— was won by the soprano Valeria Vázquez.

 

The sopranos Jacinta Barbachano, Zyanya Cruz, Priscilla Portales and Diana Rojas received the Angels of Ópera de San Miguel incentive scholarships: $10,000 pesos each.

 

These and other finalists also received various prizes in kind: opportunities to audition for contracts in Europe, Canada and the United States, to sing concerts, participate in summer opera workshops and national competitions, as well as master classes with voice teachers and musical directors, among others.

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Scholarships and prizes in kind

 

The Oliver Deehan Memorial Prize —sponsored by Barbara Hayes Deehan to finance The Germany Project— was awarded to soprano Fernanda Allande and tenor Jorge Echeagaray. It is a tripartite program between the Meiningen Theater in Germany, Les Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques de Montreal and Opera de San Miguel for an intensive week of master classes, auditions, coachings and a concert at the Hofkapelle de Meiningen in May of 2023.

 

Soprano Fernanda Allande also received the opportunity to audition for a "fest" contract for two seasons (2022-23 and 2023-24) at the Staatstheater in Meiningen, at the invitation of the intendant, Jens Neundorff von Enzberg.

 

Soprano Cecilia Eguiarte was also invited to spend a week in Meiningen to receive master classes and sing a concert in the summer of 2023. Transportation, accommodation, food and fees are included.

 

Tenor Efraín Corralejo was the winner of the scholarship for the Highlands Opera Studio —funded by a group of Canadian donors— in Haliburton, Ontario, in July and August. The scholarship, which includes transportation (sponsored by Joy Levine), lodging, meals, registration and participation in the opera programs, is worth the equivalent of $85,000 pesos.

 

Les Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques de Montreal —represented by the artistic director Alain Nonat— offered the tenor Alejandro Luévanos a trip to Montreal from October 12 to 15, 2022 to participate in concerts and auditions with more than a dozen opera directors from 10 countries. Includes accommodation, food and fees. OSM is in charge of transportation.

 

The Steans Music Institute —represented by artistic director Kevin Murphy— offered a three-week scholarship at the Ravinia Center in the state of Illinois for its 2023 summer festival to soprano Jacinta Barbachano. The award includes transportation, room and board, and a stipend.

 

The Berkshire Opera Festival in Massachusetts—represented by artistic director Brian Garman—invited baritone Fernando Cisneros to play the role of Schaunard in a production of Puccini's La bohème in August 2023. Includes transportation, lodging, food and fees.

 

Artistic agent José Velasco offers audition opportunities at some of Europe's leading opera studios to sopranos Fernanda Allande and Valeria Vázquez, as well as tenor Alejandro Luévanos.

 

The master teacher of Concurso 2022, soprano Alejandra Sandoval, offered three scholarships for two weeks of vocal training in Atlanta, Georgia, to sopranos Zyanya Cruz, Cecilia Eguiarte and Tania Solís.

 

The Morelli Contest Prize —represented by the artistic director Francisco Méndez Padilla—, which consisted of a direct pass to the semifinal round of the 2022 edition, goes to Tania Solís.

 

The soprano Fernanda Allande, winner of the First Prize of the Contest, will receive three work sessions with maestro Iván López Reynoso —courtesy of the musical director of the Ópera de Bellas Artes— on how to build an operatic character.

 

Finally, the winners of the first three prizes received a 100% discount and the remaining seven finalists a 50% discount on their subscription to Operabase —represented by Laura Font—, the largest online opera database in the world.

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Itzeli Jáuregui, San Miguel Opera Award at the Carlo Morelli Competition 2022

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July, 2022. We are proud to announce that the 28-year-old mezzo-soprano Itzeli Jáuregui Valenzuela, originally from Guadalajara, Jalisco, was the winner of the San Miguel Opera Award at the 39th Carlo Morelli National Singing Contest, which took place at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City on July 14, 2022.

Izteli sang the cavatina and cabaletta 'Se Romeo t'uccise... ¡La tremenda' from I Capuleti e I Montecchi by Vincenzo Bellini; and Charlotte's "letter scene": 'Werther! Qui m'aurait dit la place', from Werther by Jules Massenet.

 

With this award, Izteli has achieved direct entry to the final of the 14th Concurso San Miguel, which will take place in March 2023.

 

At the Morelli, Itzeli also won the 1st Prize, the Fine Arts Opera Award, and shared the French Opera Award with the tenor Alejandro Luévanos (winner of the 3rd Prize of the San Miguel Competition in 2022).

 

The winner of this year's 2nd prize at the Morelli competition was the 29-year-old Chihuahuan tenor Carlos Alberto Velázquez Acuña (invitado especial in Concursos 2013 and 2015), and the 3rd prize at the Morelli went to the bass Raúl Morales Velazco, from Veracruz.

 

Congratulations to all the winners!

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