Hitting the right notes
Two Chinese students will join 10 others from around the world for a three-week course at a music college specializing in Italian bel canto singing.
Shang Chunlai did not expect he would win the final ticket to the summer course of the Georg Solti Academy in Italy next year. The 26-year-old baritone was stunned for a few seconds after his name was announced following his performance at the National Center for the Performing Arts.
Then he received congratulations and hugs from his peers seated beside him.
This is the third year that the Georg Solti Academy, the renowned music college specializing in teaching Italian bel canto singing, has held auditions for students to join its specialized training program.
More than 50 applicants submitted their videos of the three Italian arias to the organizers, and 21 got a chance to audition in Beijing last week.
Eight passed the audition and received a week of training by Jonathan Papp, the co-founder and artistic director of the Georg Solti Academy; Italian soprano Barbara Frittoli and language coach Stefano Baldasseroni.
Finally, Shang and baritone Zhao Denghui from the Conservatory of Milan won the opportunity to study in Italy.
Speaking after his name was announced, Shang, who hails from northeast China’s Jilin province says: “To me, the NCPA is a dream, let alone Italy.”
Describing the coaching after the audition, Shang, who studies opera singing at Northeast Normal University, says: “The three coaches are devoted and passionate. They have professionalism, are very disciplined and pay great attention to detail.”
He said one of his audition pieces was the aria Per me
giunto e il di supremo from Verdi’s opera Don Carlo. And when Frittoli coached him she was so into the music and the scene that she cried.
Tenor Gao Yuan, who was also among the eight finalists, shared Shang’s views saying: “Frittoli pays great attention to detail and emotion. I thought I was doing well with the expressions, but she said I was not emoting enough.”
Soprano Liang Liaofan from the China Conservatory of Music says she made great progress with the language. Because she does not speak Italian, and as she cannot understand the libretto, just trying to remember the pronunciation affects her singing.
Tenor Zhou Xun, 22, from central China’s Henan province, who did not make the final selection was still thrilled with being a part of the event.
Speaking about the program, he says: “It was a great experience to receive one week of intense training in Beijing. I know some of the applicants had applied for the project in previous years. So, I will come back next year.”
Incidentally, Zhao, 27, who got the coaches nod this time had failed to gain approval in 2016.
Speaking about how fortunate he feels to be chosen, he says: “I studied in Italy for six years and have performing experience, but even in Italy, it’s difficult to meet such famous coaches.
“In the past, the academy has been a good platform for young musicians at a very critical moment in their development.”
As for the coaches, they were all impressed by the young singers’ natural voices, but offered some constructive criticism.
For Frittoli, she says: “The Chinese singers all have wonderful voices, but many of them choose the wrong repertoire.
“They don’t know their voices. They don’t know how to use them. People have different voices. So, some can sing one way, but others cannot.”
She suggests that singers don’t try to sing everything at a young age.
“It (the voice) is like a new car. You have to take care of it, instead of driving too fast,” she explains.
Papp, who was trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London and is a member of the vocal faculty of the Opera School there, says he is particularly excited to find so many young singers. “They don’t have bad habits, so, I could teach them fundamental techniques and prepare them for long and healthy careers.”
For language coach Baldasseroni, knowing more Italian is the key.
Speaking about his experience, he says: “In the audition, someone would suddenly stop and pause in a really strange place. If they understood the language, they would never do that.
“So, I tried to help them learn how to use the language.”
The George Solti Academy, set up in memory of the great Hungarian conductor, was founded in 2004 by Papp and Candice Wood. Every year, it offers a three-week summer course to 12 students — chosen after global auditions — in the Tuscan seaside town Castiglione della Pescaia where, for over 40 years, Solti spent his summers.
The program came to China in 2016, and the initiative sponsored by Rolex, was hosted at the National Center for the Performing Arts.
Then, two Chinese singers also won the opportunity and now two more will go to the academy.
Academy co-founder Papp says: “I like music colleges. There is no politics, the faculty is from different backgrounds and with different experiences, but they have the same vision.
“We listen to the voice and we know what we can do with it.”
As for Frittoli, the best moment is when she finds that a young student gets what she says and the voice comes out in the right way.