Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh lights up the singing final of the 78th Geneva Competition

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Geneva. Grand Théâtre. 22-X-2024. 78th Concours de Genève. Chant. Opera airs of Jules Massenet (1842-1912), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868), Piotr Illitch Tchaïkovsky (1840-1893), Erich Korngold (1897-1957), Georg Frideric Händel (1685-1759), Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848). Avec Barbara Skora (mezzo-soprano); Jungrae Noah Kim (baryton) ; Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh (soprano). Orchestras de la Suisse Romande. Musical direction: Alevtina Ioffe.

Under the presidency of soprano Patricia Petibon, in front of a well-filled Grand Théâtre de Genève, the Jury of this 78th Geneva Competition awarded the First Prize of the singing competition to the luminous Swiss soprano Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh who dominated this final with a extraordinary vocal performance.

Although 71 candidates (including 53 women!) had registered to participate in the 2024 Geneva Competition, only three singers managed to advance to the final singing test with orchestra. Previous confrontations in this discipline saw five to six competitors competing for the prize. It is true that then, the finalists only sang one opera aria in the final whereas this year, they had to sing three, including at least one in a language other than the other two arias. As officially only three prizes are awarded, the chips seemed to be made. It remained to be seen which of them would walk away with the trophy. Since the semi-finals – an event comprising two piano recitals, the first with lieder and melodies, and the second with opera arias – we have been able to appreciate some of the forces present without necessarily is easy to draw conclusions from. Very smart who could have said which competitor had a better chance of winning over the other.

At the start of the evening, the Orchester de la Suisse Romande under the baton of Russian conductor Alevtina Ioffe, who is due to take over the reins of musical direction of the Bern Opera from next season, gives a Opening of the Marriage of Figaro of Mozart without interest. The orchestra is surprisingly lackluster and subject to some inaccuracies that are hardly known when it is in the pit of the Grand Théâtre de Genève.

The first competitor to present herself is the Polish mezzo-soprano Barbara Skora (25 years old). Singing Charlotte’s tune “Werther, who would have told me…” of Werther by Jules Massenet, we quickly become uncomfortable with her. The voice without projection and without colors struggles to pass over the orchestra buried in the pit. Visibly, his voice is cracking. Destabilized, the mezzo-soprano loses her text. We then think that after this failed air, the young woman will recover in the air of Sesto “Part, part» taken from Tito’s Clemency by Mozart. Alas, the discomfort persists. Notes in the lower register are inaudible. And it’s not in Rosina’s famous cavatina “A voice a little while ago” of Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini who saves the day. Here again, the mezzo is no longer there. Slowing down the pace to ensure her vocalizations are somewhat assured, she laboriously finishes her thought.. Later, we learned that, being unwell, she had expressed the desire not to appear on stage but that she wanted to perform anyway.

Second competitor to take the stage, Korean baritone Jingrae Noah Kim (30 years old). Already winner of several competitions, we feel he is ready. In Yeletsky’s tune “Ya vas lyublyu” of The Queen of Spades of Tchaikovsky, we appreciate the breadth of his voice even though his singing turns out to be without great color. If the vocal projection is in place, the diction of the Russian idiom sounds strange. Some Russian-speaking spectators we know confirm to us that the Korean baritone places the accents of the words in the wrong places, making the sentences he sings incomprehensible. In his interpretation of Count Almaviva’s aria “You’ve won the case» taken from Marriage of Figaro of Mozart if the Italian diction is excellent, his personification of the character greatly lacks character. The song being quite monotonous, it never lets the spirit of the text of this tune shine through. He ends his passage with the very beautiful tune of Fritz “My Senne main Wähen” of The dead city by Erich Korngold. In this piece, the baritone appears much more at ease than in his two previous arias. With the impression that he has mastered the text, his voice becomes colored. He ends his aria with a pianissimo of great beauty.

After the appearance of these two artists, we are left a little unsatisfied by noting that the level of these singers has nothing in common with those we hear on our stages. Not so much in vocal technique which may have the faults of their youth but in artistic commitment. We are more in the recitation than in the interpretation. We are on the verge of this somewhat disillusioned and regretful reflection when the last competitor enters, the Swiss soprano Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh (28 years old). Grasping Cleopatra’s air with determination “The wood is broken by storms” of Julius Caesar by Händel, a refreshing breeze passes through the audience. The contrast with his two previous friends is obvious. Obviously, we find ourselves transported to a higher level of lyrical expression. The voice is beautiful, the vocalizations more than correct, the vocal opening powerful, everything in this voice is enchanting. The public was not mistaken and applauded his admirable performance wholeheartedly. In the air of Pamina “Oh, I feel it» taken from The Magic Flute by Mozart, we admire the sensitivity without sentimentality with which the soprano interprets this aria. Along the way, it rewards us with highs of great quality emerging like the natural continuity of the air. Nothing is forced, everything is measured in the spirit of the text, in the impeccable singing line. Velvet. Here again, the public exults. The soprano ends her passage with Linda’s perilous recitative and aria “Ah, I was too late…. O light of this soul» extract from Linda in Chamounix by Donizetti. Playing herself on stage, smiling, mischievous, she seems to play with the technical and vocal difficulties of this tune with unusual authority. In the rigorous freedom of her interpretation, Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh brings in her wake, the Orchester de la Suisse Romande which finally leaves its role of accompanist to become an integral part of the music played on stage.

It is therefore in apotheosis that this competition ends, with logically the awarding of the First Prize to this exciting and sparkling personality that is Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh who we can’t wait to hear on our stages. Along the way, she won all the special prizes available for this competition: The Audience Prize, the Young Audience Prize, the Student Prize, the Arts Society Prize, the Concert de Jus Prize, the Yvonne Sigg Foundation Prize , the Etrillard Foundation Prize, the Rose-Marie Huguenin Prize, the OSR Musicians Prize and the Cercle du Grand Théâtre Prize. As for baritone Jungrae Noah Kim, he was satisfied with second prize from the Competition jury while the unfortunate mezzo-soprano Barbara Korda received an encouragement prize.