# Opera Wire's Top 10 Rising Stars of 2021



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

https://operawire.com/best-of-2021-operawires-top-10-rising-stars-of-2021/

Would love to get your thoughts on some of operas top prospects! After hearing them do you feel better or worse about the 'state of modern operatic singing'?

Elizabeth Connell






Vasilisa Berzhanskaya






Sara Blanch






Nicholas Brownlee






Will Liverman


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Iván Ayón-Rivas






Victoria Karkacheva






Mané Galoyan






Gihoon Kim






Serena Sáenz


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Bonetan said:


> After hearing them do you feel better or worse about the 'state of modern operatic singing'?


I can't say I listened to all of any of these clips, though I did listen to some of each. In what I did listen to, nothing stood out to me as being in any way different from the status quo. The voices here are a bit fresher than the current crop that is starting to wobble, but they have the same technique and so I don't see any reason to expect the sudden emergence of a Flagstad or a De Luca among them.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

vivalagentenuova said:


> I can't say I listened to all of any of these clips, though I did listen to some of each. In what I did listen to, nothing stood out to me as being in any way different from the status quo. The voices here are a bit fresher than the current crop that is starting to wobble, but they have the same technique and so I don't see any reason to expect the sudden emergence of a Flagstad or a De Luca among them.


I agree with this. I'm always struck by how similar most singers sound nowadays, and this group bears that out. I suspect it's partly a matter of technique and partly a winnowing out, at the student level, of people with truly distinctive voices. Some of them show more vocal prowess than others, and they may have respectable careers, but I can't imagine any of these singers being talked about in future decades or gracing the casts of major recordings, if those are still being made. However, they're young, and one wants to believe in possibilities.

Who or what is OperaWire?


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> I agree with this. I'm always struck by how similar most singers sound nowadays, and this group bears that out. I suspect it's partly a matter of technique and partly a winnowing out, at the student level, of people with truly distinctive voices. Some of them show more vocal prowess than others, and they may have respectable careers, but I can't imagine any of these singers being talked about in future decades or gracing the casts of major recordings, if those are still being made. However, they're young, and one wants to believe in possibilities.
> 
> Who or what is OperaWire?


I wonder if it is the new fashion in teaching and teachers who never listen to the distinctive voices we tend to favor in our ragtag group from all over the world. Rock musical coaches manage to impart Bel Canto ideals to their rockers but allow them to keep their unique sound. It doesn't seem to be working with the opera coaches.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Bonetan said:


> https://operawire.com/best-of-2021-operawires-top-10-rising-stars-of-2021/
> 
> Would love to get your thoughts on some of operas top prospects! After hearing them do you feel better or worse about the 'state of modern operatic singing'?
> 
> Elizabeth Connell


This is not Elizabeth Connell, who died of cancer in 2012. The singer is Claire-Barnett-Jones, who won the 2021 Elizabeth Connell Prize.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

I am grateful that there are capable singers pursuing careers in opera.

OperaWire is an online magazine focusing on opera. Here's how they describe their purpose:



> Opera is not dying, nor does it need to be saved. In fact, if anything, it is undergoing a unique transformation around the world. Our main mission with OperaWire is to shine a spotlight on all the amazing people nurturing and developing the art form today.
> 
> Over the last few years, we have offered the latest news from around the world while also providing readers with greater insight through interviews with prominent artists, reviews and other unique features (quizzes, artist profiles, editorials, essays).


Again, I am grateful for this kind of group who is doing something constructive about preserving opera.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I am a member of Operawire and find it a fine site for opera lovers.
Liverman, Ayon-Rivas and Galoyan stand out for me as I saw them on Operalia and found them fine examples of new talent -- particularly Ayon-Rivas, although they are all likely good prospects.I saw Liverman in _Fire Shut Up in my Bones _and found him extraordinary.
I don't happen to go along with a majority of members here that voices today are not worthy of those of the past. There are many who stand up to the golden age era. IMO. I DO find the area of spinto/dramatic tenors missing -- I mean the Corelli/Vickers/Tucker/Caruso/Lanza (even MDM who I personally do not favor) variety.
Too bad no one has, as yet, recognized the mega-talent of dramatic soprano Meghan Kasanders.
https://operawire.com/welcome-to-opera-wire/


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Apart from Sara Bland (not a typo ) and Iám All-Over-The-Place (not a typo either :devil I liked all of these singers to a certain degree. Gihoon Kim would be the one I would bet on for having the best chance of a top rate career and I suspect that most of the others will disappear into regional opera houses around the world, whilst a few of these will have a decent career and sing at the big houses. Next year will bring a crop of new singers winning these competitions and the same is likely to apply to them.

N.


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## Parsifal98 (Apr 29, 2020)

Woodduck said:


> I agree with this. I'm always struck by how similar most singers sound nowadays, and this group bears that out. I suspect it's partly a matter of technique and partly a winnowing out, at the student level, of people with truly distinctive voices. Some of them show more vocal prowess than others, and they may have respectable careers, but I can't imagine any of these singers being talked about in future decades or gracing the casts of major recordings, if those are still being made. However, they're young, and one wants to believe in possibilities.
> 
> Who or what is OperaWire?


I may be wrong, but I believe the lack of distinctive voices comes mostly from improper coordination of the registers amongst students and new singers (also the older crop which is now slowing leaving the stage). In my view, it is more a matter of technique than a winnowing out of unique voices. We all have our own speaking voice with its unique sound, which comes about when we use our chest voice. When speaking in falsetto, we all sound the same. Therefore I believe improper balance of the registers, meaning a lack of real chest voice with its power and clarity, is the reason why everybody nearly sounds the same. The reason Flagstad sounded like Flagstad and Björling sounded like Björling is because their vocal balance was good and they therefore had chest voice in the mix, from top to bottom.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Parsifal98 said:


> I may be wrong, but I believe the lack of distinctive voices comes mostly from improper coordination of the registers amongst students and new singers (also the older crop which is now slowing leaving the stage). In my view, it is more a matter of technique than a winnowing out of unique voices. *We all have our own speaking voice with its unique sound, which comes about when we use our chest voice. When speaking in falsetto, we all sound the same.* Therefore I believe improper balance of the registers, meaning a lack of real chest voice with its power and clarity, is the reason why everybody nearly sounds the same. The reason Flagstad sounded like Flagstad and Björling sounded like Björling is because their vocal balance was good and they therefore had chest voice in the mix, from top to bottom.


Interesting observation, something I hadn't thought of.


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## JanacekTheGreat (Feb 26, 2021)

Just hope that none of these rising stars will rise to the level of Netrebko, Yusif Eyvazov, and Baritone-Mingo. 

But seriously, I agree with Woodduck. Most of them have "that" type of generic, boring sound.


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## annaw (May 4, 2019)

What I find kind of sad is that there seem to be few proper Wagnerian singers around which is noticeable even in this selection of singers. It seems that Wagner has become some weird side gig for singers who are not fit for that repertoire. Suddenly, everyone who can be heard over the orchestra is fit to sing Wagner while in the 20th century, even young Hotter wasn’t allowed to sing Wotan despite being pretty much born to sing that role with his physique, voice, and acting skills. I also cannot think of a single contemporary singer (and, I admit, maybe that’s due to my own ignorance) who’d have such a massive voice that it would just be kind of awkward in any other repertoire - I think the voices of many famous Wagnerian singers were exactly of that kind (imagine Varnay singing Bellini…).

This is the moment when I think it should be remembered that, conceptually, Wagnerian opera isn’t the same as Italian opera. I think that characteristic timbres are particularly important in Wagnerian singing because somehow you need to cast roles like Mime, Loge, Alberich, etc. I don’t think that even very good singers would be fit for those roles if they didn’t have a particular tone to their voice, like Neidlinger or Stolze had. Same goes for heldentenors and bass-baritones, or shall I say heldenbaritones  - not just every dramatic tenor or baritone is automatically also “heroic”. There’s this kind of question of tone and timbre that is super important in Wagnerian singing.

Sure, some singers who seemingly don’t exactly fit to the needed characteristics, have pulled off Wagnerian roles. I think Windgassen is a good example of this. However, Windgassen was also an extremely intelligent singer and a bit of a vocal miracle in that he managed to sing roles like Siegfried and Tristan despite not having a voice like that of Suthaus. The latter didn’t seem to be capable of uttering a word without it sounding heroic.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

annaw said:


> What I find kind of sad is that there seem to be few proper Wagnerian singers around which is noticeable even in this selection of singers. It seems that Wagner has become some weird side gig for singers who are not fit for that repertoire. Suddenly, everyone who can be heard over the orchestra is fit to sing Wagner while in the 20th century, even young Hotter wasn't allowed to sing Wotan despite being pretty much born to sing that role with his physique, voice, and acting skills. I also cannot think of a single contemporary singer (and, I admit, maybe that's due to my own ignorance) who'd have such a massive voice that it would just be kind of awkward in any other repertoire - I think the voices of many famous Wagnerian singers were exactly of that kind (imagine Varnay singing Bellini…).
> 
> This is the moment when I think it should be remembered that, conceptually, Wagnerian opera isn't the same as Italian opera. I think that characteristic timbres are particularly important in Wagnerian singing because somehow you need to cast roles like Mime, Loge, Alberich, etc. I don't think that even very good singers would be fit for those roles if they didn't have a particular tone to their voice, like Neidlinger or Stolze had. Same goes for heldentenors and bass-baritones, or shall I say heldenbaritones  - not just every dramatic tenor or baritone is automatically also "heroic". There's this kind of question of tone and timbre that is super important in Wagnerian singing.
> 
> Sure, some singers who seemingly don't exactly fit to the needed characteristics, have pulled off Wagnerian roles. I think Windgassen is a good example of this. However, Windgassen was also an extremely intelligent singer and a bit of a vocal miracle in that he managed to sing roles like Siegfried and Tristan despite not having a voice like that of Suthaus. The latter didn't seem to be capable of uttering a word without it sounding heroic.


Heroic voices such as Flagstad's, Traubel's and Nilsson's are certainly rare, and those valkyrie maidens seem to have had no proper successors for some time now. But, as you note, voices of really distinctive timbre, suited to certain important operatic roles, have also become rare. I've noted a certain anonymity in the timbre and vocal production of present-day singers, and I agree with you that the greatest exponents of many Wagner roles have had striking, unmistakable timbres especially suited to those characters. Neidlinger is a great example, as are Hermann Uhde and Gottlob Frick; they were born to play, respectively, Alberich, Klingsor and Hagen, as well as other similarly characterful parts. It's possible for less distinctive voices to sing these roles effectively, though, if the singer has the dramatic instincts to color and inflect the voice, and different voices can bring out different qualities in the characters.

Although the matching of voice to role is especially important when we're talking about Nibelungs and singing dragons, there are plenty of "character parts" in operas by other composers that call for certain vocal qualities that not all singers can produce. I've sometimes wondered what were the sorts of vocal sounds composers heard in their heads when conceiving certain roles. Verdi certainly had some ideas for Lady Macbeth - ideas, many have noted, that rather uncannily anticipated the dark, hollow sound that Callas brought to the part. But if her voice seems ideal, other interpreters of the role such as Shirley Verrett could use their own timbral colors and dramatic instincts to good effect.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> Too bad no one has, as yet, recognized *the mega-talent of dramatic soprano Meghan Kasanders.*
> https://operawire.com/welcome-to-opera-wire/







Mega-talent?


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Heroic voices such as Flagstad's, Traubel's and Nilsson's are certainly rare, and those valkyrie maidens seem to have had no proper successors for some time now. But, as you note, voices of really distinctive timbre, suited to certain important operatic roles, have also become rare. I've noted a certain anonymity in the timbre and vocal production of present-day singers, and I agree with you that the greatest exponents of many Wagner roles have had striking, unmistakable timbres especially suited to those characters. Neidlinger is a great example, as are Hermann Uhde and Gottlob Frick; they were born to play, respectively, Alberich, Klingsor and Hagen, as well as other similarly characterful parts. It's possible for less distinctive voices to sing these roles effectively, though, if the singer has the dramatic instincts to color and inflect the voice, and different voices can bring out different qualities in the characters.
> 
> Although the matching of voice to role is especially important when we're talking about Nibelungs and singing dragons, there are plenty of "character parts" in operas by other composers that call for certain vocal qualities that not all singers can produce. I've sometimes wondered what were the sorts of vocal sounds composers heard in their heads when conceiving certain roles. Verdi certainly had some ideas for Lady Macbeth - ideas, many have noted, that rather uncannily anticipated the dark, hollow sound that Callas brought to the part. But if her voice seems ideal, other interpreters of the role such as Shirley Verrett could use their own timbral colors and dramatic instincts to good effect.


Not to mention Cossotto, Souliotis or even Christa Ludwig, which brings us back to Wagner. The first singer video in this thread features a mezzo in Waltraute's monologue and she's more than capable of singing the music, has a modicum of musical and dramatic instinct and depending on how the voice travels in person in the theatre, is someone I wouldn't be disappointed to see in the role. However, there isn't anything distinctive or interesting about her voice. Were we to vote on it (and perhaps we did in our contests) I would expect Christa Ludwig to win the prize of TC's favourite Waltraute. When Ludwig retired she was succeeded by Waltraud Meier, who I've always thought had a voice of similar character, as dark as it was full of metal. You wouldn't have confused either one with anyone else though. I have had the good fortune to hear a number of good singers as Waltraute and Fricka over the years, but there is no distinctive voiced mezzo to take up Wagner's mezzo roles from the likes of Ludwig and Meier or the number of superb singers who came before them.

N.


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## Parsifal98 (Apr 29, 2020)

The Conte said:


> Not to mention Cossotto, Souliotis or even Christa Ludwig, which brings us back to Wagner. The first singer video in this thread features a mezzo in Waltraute's monologue and she's more than capable of singing the music, has a modicum of musical and dramatic instinct and depending on how the voice travels in person in the theatre, is someone I wouldn't be disappointed to see in the role. However, there isn't anything distinctive or interesting about her voice. Were we to vote on it (and perhaps we did in our contests) I would expect Christa Ludwig to win the prize of TC's favourite Waltraute. When Ludwig retired she was succeeded by Waltraud Meier, who I've always thought had a voice of similar character, as dark as it was full of metal. You wouldn't have confused either one with anyone else though. I have had the good fortune to hear a number of good singers as Waltraute and Fricka over the years, but there is no distinctive voiced mezzo to take up Wagner's mezzo roles from the likes of Ludwig and Meier or the number of superb singers who came before them.
> 
> N.


I would certainly vote for Ludwig! While we all know her for her excellent performances as Waltraute in Solti and Karajan's Rings, she still did the role justice even at the age of 60!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Parsifal98 said:


> I would certainly vote for Ludwig! While we all know her for her excellent performances as Waltraute in Solti and Karajan's Rings, she still did the role justice even at the age of 60!


I've always found this scene, so full of mystery, anxiety and the sense of doom, one of the high points of the entire _Ring._ Wagner's leitmotiv technique, it's ability to move on several levels of meaning and to collapse time and space, is nowhere more brilliantly exploited; we are taken both backward and forward, surveying the whole fateful story, reliving its beginnings and foreseeing its ending, through the eyes of both the characters onstage and the absent Wotan, whose tragic spirit pervades the narrative. The moment where Waltraute describes to Brunnhilde her father sitting on his throne and remembering the daughter he had to give up, with the orchestra recalling the infinitely sad music of his farewell in _Die Walkure,_ always moves me deeply.

This performance is gripping. Thanks for posting it!


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