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The Janet Price Opera Prize 2019

28 May 2019

Filed Under:

Music
Vocal & Opera Studies

Soprano Freya Holliman is the winner of this year’s Janet Prize Opera Prize.

She competed against fellow Opera MA students, Grace Curtis, Jack Bowtell and Margaret Daly, in the final which took place in the Dora Stoutzker Hall last week.

As well as Welsh soprano Janet Price, the founder of the prize, the judges included David Jackson, Cardiff Singer of the World Artistic Director, and John Cranmer, the College’s Director of Music.

Finalists & Judges: David Jackson, Margaret Daly, Freya, Janet Price, Jack Bowtell, Grace Curtis and John Cranmer

This annual prize is open to students in their first year of study of the MA Opera Performance course.

“I am absolutely thrilled to have received this prestigious Prize, which will really help towards the costs of my final year of study here at College,” said Freya.

“It was wonderful to share the stage with my talented colleagues and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to sing to such an esteemed panel of judges.”

The finalists each performed a 15-minute programme, which included an Italian aria in the bel canto tradition, a Mozart aria and a German Lied or French Art song.

The competition was established by Janet to support the advanced training of young opera singers, and the programme reflects her long-held belief in the Italian bel canto tradition as a fundamental component in the art of operatic performance.

Janet, a Fellow and former vocal tutor at the College, said,

“I was very happy once again with the standard of performance. The four chosen finalists all have lovely voices and provided a most enjoyable lunch-hour concert in the Stoutzker Hall.

Freya displayed an excellent voice, coupled with a secure vocal technique, and sang the whole of her programme with great poise and a genuine understanding of each item.

She held our attention from start to finish and I shall follow her progress with much interest.”

Click here to find out more about the Vocal & Opera course.

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