Report | CMIM Day 3: Excitement before the Semifinals

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The last session of the CMIM Aria category before the semifinals sees a final push from the remaining competitors! On the evening of May 27, four candidates closed the first round, including singers we had counted among the competition’s favorites.

Chinese mezzo Jingjing Xu received warm applause as she entered the Bourgie Hall stage. In a short pre-recorded presentation video projected on a big screen, Xu, who completed part of her studies at McGill University, showcased the masculine posture she would have the pleasure of adopting in Handel’s “Dopo Notte.” However, once she reached this aria from Ariodante, the singer didn’t particularly dare to do anything extra. It’s a bit like her entire performance: real vocal qualities, brilliant high notes, coloraturas that she uses to convey emotion without succumbing to the spectacle, lines that, even when rehearsed, never quite sound alike, but ultimately, a sober and measured management of her effort. This could be detrimental to the later rounds, when others, like mezzo-soprano Ruby Dibble, demonstrate a determination that could make the walls tremble.

South Korean tenor Junho Hwang was the second to take the stage. As the only other tenor in the competition, along with Ricardo Garcia, Hwang demonstrated an astonishing expressive range and a highly refined sense of the melodic line. All his love of singing was poured into Gounod’s “Salut, demeure chaste et pure,” the final aria on his program. Yes, his voice is beautiful, his high notes are solid, but the most admirable thing is that with him, the music flows like a trickle of honey. Hats off to pianist Carson Becke for being in perfect harmony with the artist’s sensitivity.

In a completely different style, French soprano Fanny Soyer also captivated the audience with her great artistic personality. Her choice of pieces, from Gounod to Rameau to Livingston, allowed us to hear her in very different interpretative styles. Impressively with ease in “Ah! Je veux vivre,” from Roméo et Juliette, the Soyer further exploited her talent for nuance in Rameau. She showcased herself as an outstanding actress, moving from one emotion to another in an instant, but always with a piquant sense of humor. A true delight!

By offering her own version of “I Am the Wife of Mao Tse-tung,” Korean soprano Yewon Han entered into direct competition with her compatriot Jaeeun Shin, who, at the same time the day before, had already tackled the many risks of this coloratura aria. Her voice was perhaps less warm and velvety, but her high notes were firmer and more controlled, without ever giving the impression of overstepping her vocal limits. It’s difficult to separate these two candidates…

New Predictions

After the five Aria category sessions, here is a list of candidates likely to reach the semifinals and the final. Let’s face it, our pre-competition predictions have been undermined!

Here are the competitors to whom I would unhesitatingly give a direct ticket to the final, as they impressed and moved me so much (in alphabetical order):

Chanhee Cho, bass-baritone (South Korea)
Junho Hwang, tenor (South Korea)
Julia Muzychenko-Greenhalgh, soprano (Russia)
Theodore Platt, baritone (England, Russia)
Fanny Soyer, soprano (France)
Isabel Weller, soprano (Germany)

And here are the other four to complete the semifinals. We can’t wait to hear them at their best again in this category:

Ruby Dibble, mezzo-soprano (United States)
Ricardo Garcia, tenor (United States, Nicaragua)
Laureano Quant, baritone (Colombia)
Jaeeun Shin, soprano (South Korea)

Tune in on May 28 at 1:30 p.m. for the start of the Melody competition. Watch for: Katerina Burton, Ruby Dibble, Ricardo Garcia, Theodore Platt, Valentin Ruckebier, Isabel Weller, and Jingjing Xu.