Baritone wins the Queen Elisabeth competition

Baritone wins the Queen Elisabeth competition

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norman lebrecht

May 13, 2018

The vocal contest – less prestigious than violin or piano – was won last night by the German baritone Samuel Hasselhorn, 28.

Second was the French mezzo Eva Zaïcik, third the Chinese baritone Ao Li.

Comments

  • RAZZ MATAZZ says:

    “Less prestigious than violin or piano”. Debatable, but the Queen Elisabeth Vocal Competition has only existed since 1988, whereas the violin and piano competitions began in 1937 and 1938 respectively.

    • Olassus says:

      All is relative. As Nigel Farage has explained, the host nation is not really a nation, so Queen Elisabeth herself could not have bestowed much prestige.

      • CJ says:

        If Nigel Farage is your reference in life, I am very sorry for you.

        I don’t see the point in being insulting like him and in despising the efforts made by a small country to promote classical music by organising such an interesting international competition.

      • RAZZ MATAZZ says:

        I wonder how Nigel, that well-known mélomane, feels about plucky little Wales. Is the Cardiff Singer of the World competition at risk of being mocked?

  • Tamino says:

    Haha, NL *always* attributes in the headline the nation to anyone doing anything. But if a German wins something, then it is just a baritone. And it’s talked down as less prestigious. Oy veh, has someone ever been worse at concealing his (not so) hidden agenda?

    • Henning Viljoen says:

      I also wonder why less prestigious …..give reasons for this unsubstantiated statement!!

  • CJ says:

    It is a very prestigious and successful competition and there were outstanding candidates, notably Eva Zaïcik, Ao Li, Rocio Pérez, Heloïse Mas and Marianne Croux.

    Queen Mathilde is the main patron, she is very interested in “classical” music and was very much involved in the competition.

    In 2017, for the first time, there was a cello contest.

  • Evelyn Simon says:

    Samuel Hasselhorn is one of the best of today’s young lieder singers. So happy to see him recognized.

  • Tina says:

    Strange heading. “less prestigious than violin or piano” . ?? Take a good look at the prestigious jury. Dominique Meyer, Serge Dorny, Dame Ann Murray, Jose Van Dam, Helmut Deutsch, ….just to name a few. http://cmireb.be/cgi?lg=en&pag=1979&tab=108&rec=4396&frm=0&par=aybabtu

    I am sure they would not appreciate that statement.

    The voice competition is an amazing support for young singers and really boosts their career. The competition also provides the opportunity for a singer to show their abilities in Opera, Song, and Oratorio genres. That takes a true, multifaceted artist. So I would argue that it is indeed a very prestigious competition…even if it is younger than the violin and piano version.

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