With elegant gowns flowing through the reception hall, I found myself tantalized with thoughts of what Cinderella must have felt like at her ball—equal parts of awe and feeling out of place. As a newbie to the Opera domain, I followed standard Vancouver protocol and arrived adorned in casual slacks and a flowy blouse—a step up from the cycling gear I initially thought I’d be wearing out of necessity (you know how it is). Apparently, the beach-going/always-ready-for-a-hike look is, in fact, left at home sometimes. Or is left it at the beach? Either way, the operatic community’s commitment to elegance and grace created an ambience that was magical, and I was intoxicated by it. After serving my inner hedonist with succulent strawberries cloaked in velvety chocolate and taking in a number of glamorous garments, I progressed into the theater. Sitting a mere 12 rows from the stage, I awaited my next treat.
Soon after I sat down a group of 8 young opera singers from across the country took turns showing off their skills in hopes of being named VOX’s first place winner. Aside from the incredible talent that stood before me, I was surprised by how well a wide range of emotions was expressed between each singer. Although they were telling a story that I wasn’t familiar with, in a language I didn’t understand, the emotion still came through. Whether it was crippling sorrow, being maddened by love or a light and fluffy sense of humor, I understood it all. And that is where the power of this art form lies. Without understanding context or words, you can still be connected with a performance through humanity’s universal understanding of emotion.
All of the people who worked so hard to put this festival together already know the power that opera has. Fortunately, they also know how to curate a modern experience while harnessing that power. In step with popular competition-based reality TV shows like American Idol or The X Factor, this singing competition came with its own set of local experts. But that’s not all, the audience participated as well. In addition to naming three judge-worthy winners, the audience was able to electronically vote for their #1 favourite singer of the evening. After hearing each performance and submitting my vote, I couldn’t wait to hear the results…
Music Director Emeritus Jonathan Darlington climbed to the podium where he would introduce the winners with a casualness that was surely cultivated through a long and joyful career in the field. Darlington started by seamlessly identifying a variety of techniques that were skillfully employed by all contestants, thus helping newbie audience members like myself appreciate their talents even more. Taking third place, was Elizabeth Harris (my choice for second place!) who undoubtedly will go far in her career. Next he called Ana Toumine for second place—a soprano singer based in Quebec, and my personal favourite of the night. Then, with a round of thunderous applause, Darlington called Sarah Bissonnette to the stage to claim first place and the Audience Choice Award! Clearly, we were all on the same page. This young mezzo singer hails from Quebec and is an Emerging Artist with the Calgary Opera. Her delightful performance contained humour, scales that ran up and down your spine and a crystal clear sound—it was absolutely memorable and positively deserving of these honours.
In hindsight, I suppose I’m not entirely a newbie to the Opera scene. As a youth, I listened to Katherine Jenkins and a few “best of” albums. But I had never had the pleasure of hearing someone perform live. The VOX 2nd Annual Singing Competition was the perfect place for me to begin delving deeper. It offered the opportunity to hear a variety of singers perform in different styles and connect with the emotion of each piece in a very real, tangible way. Moreover, I can’t think of a better way to kick off an incredible festival that I’m anxiously waiting to explore again next year. If you’re semi-interested, completely obsessed or ignorant beyond belief when it comes to this incredible form of art, I encourage you to sample a bit of everything at next year’s singing competition in May 2020.
– Katherine Moore