Two Ukrainians among top prize winners at Placido Domingo's Operalia competition (09/26/04)

Two Ukrainians among top prize winners at Placido Domingo's Operalia competition

by Ika Koznarska Casanova

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - Soprano Nataliya Kovalova and baritone Vitaliy Bilyy, both from Ukraine, were among the top winners at the 12th annual World Opera Competition - Operalia 2004, held in Los Angeles the week of August 23-28. Founded by Plácido Domingo in 1992, Operalia has become one of the leading international contests for opera singers who are in the early stages of their career.

From an initial field of 43 selected contestants from 20 different countries who competed in three elimination stages over the course of the week, Ms. Kovalova emerged as the winner of both the second prize and the "People's Choice" award, and baritone Vitaliy Bilyy as fourth-prize winner, at the competition.

The final round of the competition, held on August 28 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, featured a public performance by 10 finalists, each singing an opera aria of their choice to the accompaniment of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, with Mr. Domingo, conducting.

Ms. Kovalova's program choice for "The Final Concert" portion of the competition was the aria "E strano ... Ah, fors'e lui ... Sempre libera" from Verdi's "La Traviata." For his part, Mr. Bilyy sang the aria "Pietà, rispetto, amore" from Verdi's "Macbeth."

Following the "The Final Concert," Ms. Kovalova, who reportedly brought the house down with her performance, was named "People's Choice" winner on the basis of votes by Dorothy Chandler Pavilion audience members.

Among other top winners at the competition were tenor Dmitry Korchak, winner of both the fourth prize and the Zarzuela prize, and bass Mikhail Petrenko, fourth-prize winner - both of Russia.

Winners of this year's Operalia competition were selected by a jury comprising an international panel of artists and general directors of operas, among them: Jeanne-Pierre Brossman, Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris; Marta Domingo, opera director; Thierry Fouquet, Opéra National de Bordeaux; Jonathan Friend, Metropolitan Opera; Sabine Hodi, Wiener Staatsoper; Peter Katona, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Jean-Loius Pichon, Grand Théâtre l'Esplanade, St. Etienne; Andres P. Rodriguez, Teatro Municipal, Santiago; Emilio Sagi, Teatro Real, Madrid; and Helge Schmidt, Palacio de las Artes, Valencia.

Mr. Domingo, who is artistic director of two American opera companies - the Los Angeles Opera and the Washington National Opera, is present throughout the competition and supervises the proceedings, but does not vote in the competition.

A gala concert with Mr. Domingo and the winners is to take place at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion later on in the season.

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Born in Ukraine, Ms. Kovalova, 28, studied at musical academies in Lviv, Wroclaw (Poland) and in Dresden. In 2000 she made her debut performances in Wroclaw as Nanetta in "Falstaff," Mimi in "La Bohème" and Pamina in "Die Zauberflöte."

Since 2001 she has been an ensemble member at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, and she has performed in the opera houses of Linz, Wiesbaden, Frankfurt, Karlsruhe, Lille and Luxembourg.

In 2003 Ms. Kovalova debuted as Donna Elvira in "Don Giovanni" at La Monnaie in Brussels.

Mr. Bilyy, 29, was a soloist with the Odesa Opera Theater in 2000-2001. Since 2001 he has been a soloist with Moscow's Novaya Opera Theater, where his roles include Germont in "La Traviata," Count di Luna in "Il Trovatore" and the title role in "Eugene Onegin."

Mr. Bilyy's engagements for 2004 include Enrico in "Lucia di Lammermoor" at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Zurga in "Les pêcheurs de perles" with the Kazan Opera Theater in Tatarstan, and Vungun in "Lisunsin" with the Korea Opera Theater in Seoul.

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