Dara Savinova wins first prize & Helikon-opera prize at the II José Carreras Grand Prix in Moscow
Mezzo-soprano Dara Savinova has shown tremendous promise to the jury and worldwide audience of the José Carreras Grand Prix, the International Vocal Competition of The Elena Obraztsova Foundation.
In the finals on Monday, April 26th at the Zaryadye Concert Hall in Moscow she performed Rosina’s Cavatina Una voce poco fa from Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia and the Seguidilla from Bizet’s Carmen, Près des ramparts de Seville, with the Orchestra of Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre led by Timur Zangiev.
We were delighted to learn that that the jury has chosen to award Dara Savinova the First Prize in the category of mezzo-soprano.
In addition, she received a Special Prize from Dmitry Bertman, general and artistic director of the Helikon-Opera: an invitation to make her debut at his theatre.
Dara Savinova with Natalia Ignatenko, General Director of the Elena Obraztsova Foundation. © Natalia Ignatenko
A former member of the International Opera Studio at Opernhaus Zürich and of the Salzburger Festspiele's Young Artist Project, Estonian mezzo-soprano Dara Savinova has rapidly raised her international profile in recent seasons. She is praised for her brilliant mezzo-coloraturas, enchanting stage presence and meticulous diction.
Her recent successes include her role debut as Angelina (La Cenerentola) at Royal Swedish Opera, Ozias (Juditha Triumphans) at the Théâtre du Champs-Elysées and Eudossa (Irene, Hasse) at the Theater an der Wien, both in concert. She intrigues audiences in the title role of Carmen, one of her signature roles since Jean-Christophe Spinosi invited her for her debut on a tour in France, Spain and Russia.
Dara Savinova receives her prize from soprano Barbara Frittoli and baritone Sergei Leiferkus. © Natalia Ignatenko
The International Vocal Competition of the Elena Obraztsova Foundation is held within the framework of the international project "Voices of Heritage". The foundation was initiated in 2011 by the world famous Russian mezzo-soprano Elena Obraztsova, associated with the Bolshoi Theatre and a People’s Artist of the USSR. The first edition of the José Carreras Grand Prix took place in 2018 and is held bi-annually.
Despite the pandemic, the competition received 287 applications from 30 countries. As a safety measure, the competition was postponed, and the first round of auditions was done through video recordings. 83 participants from 18 countries were admitted to the second round in Moscow.
In the second round, Dara performed Ramiro’s aria Va pure ad altri in braccio from Mozart’s La finta giardiniera, Olga’s aria Ah, Tanya, Tanya from Tchaikovsky’s opera Onegin, Das Mädchen kehrt von ihrem Liebsten heim from Sibelius Fünf Lieder Op. 37 and Den' li tsarit from Tchaikovsky’s Seven Romances, Op. 47.
The jury of the competition included world-famous singers and opera managers: Makvala Kasrashvili, Barbara Frittoli, Sergei Leiferkus, Rafaella Murdolo, Dmitry Bertman, Christina Schepelman, Dmitry Vdovin, Alessandro Ariosi and Lorenzo Bavai. They selected three singers of each voice type for the finals at the Zaryadye Concert Hall.
The finals were broadcast live via Medici TV and on YouTube, reaching a global audience, and are available for playback.
Introduction video of Dara Savinova
© Elena Obraztsova Foundation
Read Dara Savinova’s full biography on her profile page.