Late Thursday evening, May 31, Zarin Mehta, president of the jury, announced the names of the 12 singers advancing to the aria semifinal of the 2018 Montreal International Music Competition.
They are, in alphabetical order:
- Mario Bahg, tenor (27, South Korea)
- John Brancy, baritone (29, United States)
- Rihab Chaieb, mezzo-soprano (31, Canada/Tunisia)
- Kidon Choi, baritone (32, South Korea)
- Emily D'Angelo, mezzo-soprano (23, Canada/Italy)
- Mikhail Golovushkin, bass (35, Russia)
- Andrew Haji, tenor (32, Canada)
- Dilyara Idrisova, soprano (29, Russia)
- Konstantin Lee, tenor (29, South Korea)
- Mihail Mihaylov, tenor (30, Bulgaria)
- Petr Nekoranec, tenor (26, Czech Republic)
- Jongsoo Yang, bass (28, South Korea)
The 12 aria semifinalists were chosen from a field of 24 singers following a first round of 15-minute recitals that took place at Bourgie Hall in downtown Montreal. The semifinalists will each perform a 14- to 18-minute program with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra to vie for a spot in the finals.
Related: Art song semifinalists announced at the 2018 Montreal International Music Competition
The singers at the 2018 Montreal International Music Competition are competing for $270,000 in prizes, including a first prize of $80,000 in both the art song category and the aria category.
The jury comprises Edith Bers (United States), Ben Heppner (Canada), Soile Isokoski (Finland), Warren Jones (United States), François Le Roux (France), Felicity Lott (United Kingdom), Richard Rodzinski (United States), Joseph Rouleau (Canada), Kiri Te Kanawa (New Zealand) and Zarin Mehta (jury president).
All performances at the 2018 Montreal International Music Competition are webcast and the performances are archived on the competition's YouTube page. Join CBC Music's phantom jury for lively online discussion about the competition on Twitter via #CMIM2018.
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