Winners

on 31 August, 2014

2006 THE WINNERS

FIRST PRIZE/PRIZE OF THE CITY OF DEN BOSCH
Joshua Ellicott Tenor UK
SECOND PRIZE
Kinga Dobay Mezzo-soprano GE
THIRD PRIZE
Robin Tritschler Tenor IRL
OPERA ZUID ENGAGEMENT PRIZE
Joshua Ellicott Tenor UK
MARGIE WEIDEMANN SONG ENCOURAGEMENT PRIZE
Robin Tritschler Tenor IRL
ARLEEN AUGÉR BEST ALL-ROUND INTERPRETER PRIZE
Joshua Ellicott Tenor UK
HEIJMANS PUBLIC PRIZE
Kinga Dobay Soprano GE
BRABANTS DAGBLAD PRESS PRIZE
Celine Byrne Soprano IRL
CAROLINE KAART DUTCH TALENT PRIZE
Hanneke de Wit Soprano NL
HEIJMANS DUTCH SONG ENCOURAGEMENT PRIZE
Joshua Ellicott Tenor UK
Marrit Winger Soprano GE
PROVINCE OF NORTH BRABANT PRIZE
Robin Tritschler Tenor IRL
YOUNG JURORS AWARD
Robin Tritschler Tenor IRL
LAUREATES
Olesya Golovneva Soprano RU
Hye Won Nam Soprano KOR

 

Joshua Ellicott

 

  • 2006 BIO Joshua Ellicott2
  • 2006 BIO Joshua Ellicott 2

“Tenor Joshua Ellicott sang heartrendingly way in the semifinals; he touched many in the auditorium with his singing of Schubert’s ‘Mondnacht.’” (Marjolein Sengers, Brabants Dagblad, September 19, 2006)

“The logical winner. He sang with ease in arias from Così fan tutte and The Rake’s Progress and was amazing in Schubert’s ‘Nacht und Träume.’ His exuberant rendition of Raaff’s song was nothing short of a revelation.” (Peter van der Lint, Trouw, September 26, 2006)

Lyric tenor Joshua Ellicott (b. March 1, 1977, Manchester) completed his vocal studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Seeing former winners and his idols – Thomas Hampson, Nelly Miricioiù and Sarah Connolly – made him proud and shy at the same time. His performances range from early music to contemporary repertoire and from recitals and concerts through opera and oratorio. Recent performances include Händel arias with the English Concert and Harry Bicket, the Steerman and the Shepherd in Tristan und Isolde with Esa-Pekka Salonen, tours of Händel’s Messiah and various Matthäus-Passions (with the King’s Consort, the Rotterdam Philharmonic and a staged version with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment), Mozart’s Requiem in Japan, Händel’s LAllegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato in The Netherlands, Theodora under Kenneth Montgomery, Birtwistle’s The Last Supper with the London Sinfonietta, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasia at the Last Night of the Proms, and Howells’s Stabat Mater with the Brabant Orchestra. In opera he has worked regularly with Opera North. Roles there included Jaquino in Fidelio, Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Sergei in Shostakovich’s Paradise Moscow. He has appeared as Mozart’s Pedrillo (English Touring Opera) and as the madman in Wozzeck (Brussels) and has sung with Scottish Opera. In 2013 he made his Covent Garden debut as Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro under John Eliot Gardiner.

Kinga Dobay

KINGADOBAY“Kinga Dobay easily won the hearts of the audience with an involving if not perfect rendition of Rossini’s ‘Non più mesta’ from Il barbiere di Siviglia.’” (Peter van der Lint, Trouw, September 29, 2006)

“Her Ariodante sounds like a string of carefully strung pearls, combining sensual dancing with a creative gift; she even glows in restrained, poetic moments.” (Roland Mayer, Augsburger Allgemeine, 2012)

German-Hungarian mezzo-soprano Kinga Dobay (b. July 27, 1975, Târgu Mureş, Transylvania) first started violin studies, then changed to singing musicals before turning to opera at the Leipzig Academy of Music. From 2000 to 2002 her comic talent and versatility led to over 400 musical performances at the Friedrichstadt Palast Berlin. In musical/operetta she appeared in West Side Story, Man of La Mancha, Lola Blau and Im weißen Rößl. She made her operatic debut in 2003 as Carmen, under Yakov Kreizberg. In the 2004–5 season she sang Carmen in Japan. Still in 2005 this master student of Julia Hamari, Teresa Berganza and Grace Bumbry won the Zarzuela Prize at Plácido Domingo’s Operalia in Madrid. She completed her studies at the Conservatory of Maastricht with Mya Besselink in 2006, cum laude. Following, she won her important IVC Second Prize, and the Audience Award. Among her roles we mention Orsola in Wolf-Ferrari’s Il campiello (Tokyo); La voix humaine (Prague); Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos (Dublin); Rosina (Alden Biesen Festival); the title role in Enrico di Borgogna (Vadstena); Donna Elvira (Eutiner Festival); Ariodante, Suzuki, Zia Principessa, and Mère Marie in Dialogues des Carmélites (all in Ulm); Fenena, and Maddalena in Rigoletto (Münster); Hänsel (Dresden). Further engagements at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Teatro Real Madrid, State Theatre Karlsruhe, Opera and Gewandhaus Leipzig, Opera Bonn, and Konzerthaus Berlin. Her activities in opera, concert and musical are widely documented through MDR, ORB and SWR broadcasts.

Robin Tritschler

2006 QUOTE Robin Tritschler“Robin Tritschler was the most special singer of the evening. His contributions breathed the atmosphere of a long-lost vocal culture that had no place for cheap effects and vulgar thrills. A singer to fall in love with at first sight!” (Peter van der Lint, Trouw, September 29, 2006)

Winners

on 31 August, 2014

1983 THE WINNERS

GRAND PRIZE OF THE CITY OF DEN BOSCH
Judith Malafronte Mezzo-soprano USA
SOPRANO PRIZE
1st prize Not awarded Soprano  PO
2nd prize Mila Krustnikova Soprano  BGR
2nd prize Alison Pearce Soprano  UK
2nd prize Nellie van der Sijde Soprano  NL
MEZZO/ALTO PRIZE
1st prize Judith Malafronte Mezzo-soprano USA
2nd prize Elizabeth Campbell Mezzo-soprano AUS
TENOR PRIZE
Not awarded
BARITONE/BASS PRIZE
1st prize Not awarded    
2nd prize Harald Bjørkøy Baritone NOR
2nd prize John Hancorn Baritone UK
COUNTERTENOR PRIZE
No candidates
HONORARY DIPLOMA (THIRD PRIZE)
Tamás Csurja Bass-baritone HUN
Suzanne Rodas Soprano USA
TOONKUNST ENCOURAGEMENT PRIZE
Andrea Poddighe Baritone ITA/NL
FRIENDS OF SONG PRIZE
Jorine Samson Baritone NL
BUMA FOUNDATION PRIZE
1st prize Not awarded  
2nd prize Chieko Okazaki Mezzo-soprano JPN
JANINE MICHEAU FRENCH REPERTOIRE PRIZE
Marga Melerna Mezzo-soprano NL
GRÉ BROUWENSTIJN DUTCH OPERA TALENT PRIZE
Not awarded
ELLY AMELING SONG PRIZE
Elizabeth Campbell Mezzo-soprano AUS
ERNA SPOORENBERG PRIZE
Judith Malafronte Mezzo-soprano USA
TROS BROADCASTING PRIZE
John Hancorn, Judith Malafronte

 

Judi th Malafronte

Judith Malafronte“The ‘Day of the Mezzos’ became a veritable triumph for the overwhelming American mezzo Judith Malafronte, whose reputation is already established. Malafronte, age 32, has a bell-like voice and fabulous technique, especially in coloratura. The only one to receive a curtain call during the finals, she triumphed even before the jury had a chance to honor her.” (Ferd op de Coul, “Sensationeel optreden Malafronte,” September 1973)

American mezzo-soprano Judith Malafronte (b. August 20, 1951, New Haven, Connecticut) told critic Ferd op de Coul that she had to overcome some fears in order to return to Den Bosch, where in 1982 she had lost in the semifinals. Said Malafronte:

“A little voice inside my head kept bugging me to try again. So many things happened that year, so many people gave all sorts of advice, and I got confused. … I am glad I got the chance to show the people here what I have been doing for the past year. … I learned my trade from Giulietta Simionato, an amazing, indestructible and energetic living legend who taught me to approach each role in any given language individually. … More theoretical and technical things I studied with Nadia Boulanger. I prefer tragic roles to comic opera because in my heart I am a serious person and then, well, comic roles are much more difficult because timing is crucial for the effect. … The IVC was not my Dutch debut: in Utrecht, some years back, I performed in the world premiere of a Steve Reich composition.”

Malafronte had an impressive career in opera, oratorio, and recital. Her operatic roles include major mezzo parts in Serse, Scarlatti’sL’Aldimiro, Dido and Aeneas (singing both Dido and the Sorceress), Tamerlano, L’incoronazione di Poppea and Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria. She recorded for BMG, DHM, EMI, and Koch in a wide range of repertoire, from the 12th-century chant of Hildegard von Bingen to Richard Strauss, as well as Handel operas, Bach cantatas, medieval music and 17th-century Spanish music.

Eliz‹abeth Campbell

Elizabeth Campbell“Malafronte may be the star of this IVC, yet one should not overlook the excellent competition from considerable talents such as Elizabeth Campbell whose rendition of a song cycle by De Falla was a first-class achievement.” (Ferd op de Coul, “Vier Prijzen,” September 1983)

“The Australian Elizabeth Campbell made a tremendous impact with some Schoenberg songs, rendered with great dramatic power, rich coloring and an enormous compass.” (Ferd op de Coul, “Slotconcert Imponerend,” September 1983)

Australian mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Campbell graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and completed her studies in London and Europe. Apart from winning Second Prize and the Elly Ameling Song Prize in Den Bosch, she represented Australia in the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. She made her operatic debut as Carmen with West Australia Opera. Her operatic repertoire includes leading roles in Così fan tutte, Evgeni Onegin,Carmen, Serse, Giulio Cesare, Alcina, La clemenza di Tito,Boris Godunov, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Les Troyens, Les contes d’Hoffmann, Werther, Hänsel und Gretel,La forza del destino, Il trovatore, Madama Butterfly, Lulu, Peter Grimes, Die Fledermaus,L’incoronazione di Poppea, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Capriccio, Rigoletto, Andrea Chénier, The Turn of the Screw and Dead Man Walking, as well as the world premieres of Richard Mills’s Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1996), Batavia (2001) and The Love of the Nightingale (2002) and Moya Henderson’s Lindy (2002). Campbell is one of Australia’s leading concert artists and recitalists. Additionally, she has performed at Covent Garden, toured the United States with the Sydney Symphony and given recitals at Wigmore Hall and in The Hague and Antwerp. Currently she is shifting her repertoire to more mature roles. Her recordings include Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Elgar’s Sea Pictures, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Messiah, Giulio Cesare, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll and South Australia’s Ring cycle.

Nellie van der Sijde

NellievanderSijde“The Brabant Orchestra under Jan Stulen accompanied Brabant-born Nellie van der Sijde with Mozartian charm in ‘Porgi amor’ from Le nozze di Figaro , and she sang it to perfection. Her light, agile voice and her musical understanding are magnificent not only in arias but also in lieder, as could be heard in Wolf and, even better, in Schubert’s ‘Gretchen am Spinnrade,’ very accurately accompanied from the piano by Frans van Ruth.” (Ferd op de Coul, Brabants Dagblad, September 8, 1983)