While our artistic ensembles are on numerous tours, a Opera ensemble is preparing to perform at the prestigious Finnish Savonlinna Opera Festival, which, as the director said, Marin Blažević , is the greatest success of Croatian opera in the last few decades, is offering an opportunity and support to those who are just starting their careers on the opera stage in the Rijeka HNK building – it is taking place The Fourth International Competition of Young Opera Singers “Zinka Milanov” .
The company PK-Palfinger Kran doo has been a long-time sponsor of the events of the Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc. The company has recognized the projects of the Summer Classics and the International Competition of Young Opera Singers as an excellent opportunity for young artists to reach the audience. It is especially gratifying to see that the “Rijeka” event was a “springboard” for talents from all over the world. The competition was launched in 2015 with the main mission of supporting young singers, both from Croatia and those far beyond. This year, more than a hundred singers from European and Asian countries and the USA applied, of which 65 performed in the first round and 23 in the semi-finals. The best ones will present themselves at final gala concert with Rijeka Symphony Orchestra and under the direction of the maestro Simon Krečič in Thursday, July 14th after which the winners will be announced and prizes awarded. In addition to the three monetary prizes from the expert jury and the audience award, this year, for the first time, special prizes will be awarded in collaboration with three opera houses in the region, namely performances by one or more selected singers in opera or concert productions by the Croatian National Theatre Opera in Zagreb, the Slovenian National Theatre Opera in Ljubljana, the Slovenian National Theatre Opera in Maribor and, of course, the Ivan pl. Zajc Opera of the Rijeka Croatian National Theatre
Prima donna, soprano and professor at the Academy of Music Vlatka Oršanić, artistic director of the “Zinka Milanov” Competition, introduced the members of the jury, which, in addition to her, consists of distinguished representatives of the opera world: the famous prima donna Dunja Vejzovic who joined the jury after another famous prima donna Cheryl Studer had to withdraw due to illness, then soprano and current director of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb Iva Hraste Sočo, founder of the Ammann-Horak Agency in Zurich Mariano Horak, artistic director of the Opera Theatre Chemnitz Patrick Wurzel; music director of the Opera Studio of the Bavarian State Opera (Bayerische Staastoper) Tobias Truniger; casting consultant for numerous German opera houses Christian Carlstedt; director and witness of the Metropolitan Opera era in which Zinka Milanov sang, Fabrizio Melano, and director of the Rijeka Croatian National Theatre Marin Blažević and Valentin Egel , chief conductor of the Rijeka Symphony Orchestra.
During their meeting with journalists, they all emphasized the importance of this Rijeka competition for young opera hopefuls, which has previously featured several of those who have gone on to achieve international careers, such as Mojce Bitenc from Slovenia, praised the excellent organization and announced a very exciting final on Thursday because they recognized several exceptional talents during the first round.
“This competition is important for young singers for several reasons,” said Dunja Vejzović, explaining: “In addition to being able to evaluate themselves against others, which raises adrenaline and further motivates them, they also have the rare opportunity to be heard by such a respectable international jury.”
Iva Hraste Sočo called the competition a winning combination for both singers and theaters, and emphasized that this cooperation between the Rijeka and Zagreb HNKs is a kind of upgrade of the K-HNK Consortium, within which the Rijeka Symphony Orchestra and the awarded contestants will perform at the upcoming Opera Festival, next June in Zagreb.
Honor and pleasure, as well as congratulations to the organizers for such an international event, a unique cultural project whose numerous participants will certainly spread the word about Rijeka and Kvarner and return again, were also expressed by representatives of the sponsors, co-financiers and patrons of the three cash prizes: Nataša Rakovac Rustja, director of the company PK-Palfinger Kran doo; Irena Peršić Živadinov, director of the Kvarner Tourist Board and Marko Mikašinović, head of product development at the Rijeka Tourist Board.