Final of the COMPETIZIONE DELL’OPERA
On 9 September 2007 the final of the Italian singing contest “Competizione dell’Opera”, which is exclusively sponsored by A. Lange & Söhne, has taken place in the Semper Opera in Dresden. The first prize, endowed with 10.000,- Euro, was given to the Korean singer Sangmin Lee. The 30 years old baritone stood up to the Russian soprano singer Anna Pegova and his fellow countryman Sung-Kon Kim (32) with his aria from Guiseppe Verdis “Falstaff”. The second prize was endowed with 6,000 and the third one with 5,000 Euro. The second prize was presented by Lange CEO Fabian Krone to the 27 years old Anna Pegova who also received the audience award (3,000 Euro). Four singers from South Corea have been among the ten finalists. Hans-Joachim Frey, founder of the competition, appraised this as an indication for the good education in this country.
This year, 420 young singers had participated. They had the chance to present their talents in 18 cities worldwide, among them Aires, Chicago, London and Moscow. For the first time, the jury also looked for nice voices in the Asian cities Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo. About 100 talents have been invited to the semi-final in Dresden of which – besides the three winners – also a German, two Suisse and singers from Armenia and the Ukraine made it into the final. The international singing competition that focuses on Italian operas was born in 1996 and is taking place in Dresden since 2001. The international jury is unparalleled, comprising representatives from the most important European opera houses and festivals, artists’ managers, famous singers, directors and representatives from the media and from music academies. The young talented singers are thus given the chance to present themselves to a unique network which offers them every opportunity to launch an international career.