jacques offenbach grand prix 2022
Festival Gegen den Strom celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2021 with the beginning of a new project, the Jaques Offenbach Grand Prix, an international competition for opera singers. Initially only held online due to Corona, the Jacques Offenbach Grand Prix changes to a live event held in Bad Ems, a World Heritage since 2021, where the acclaimed composer lived for eight years at the height of his creativity and premiered a large number of his works in the famous Marble Hall (Marmorsaal). The Jaques Offenbach Society is also based in Bad Ems. After a very successful first year, international singers of all ages and nationalities are expected. The prize consists of money prizes and possible engagements within the annual program of the Festival Gegen den Strom and also contacts to other international opera houses and opera companies.
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Winners
jacques offenbach grand prix 2021
The winners of the Jacques Offenbach Grand Prix 2021, which due to Corona pandemic restrictions was held entirely online, are Julia Muzychenko, soprano (1st prize), Angel Vargas, tenor (2nd prize) and Annie Fassea, soprano (3rd prize). The winners of the Jacques Offenbach Grand Prix 2021 will be included in the program of the Festival Gegen den Strom and they are scheduled to perform in a concert. More info will be announced soon on the website of the festival.
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BIOGRAPHIES
JULIA MUZYCHENKO
Russian soprano Julia Muzychenko was born in 1994 in St. Petersburg and, despite her young age, has already debuted as Brigitta in Tchaikovsky's "Iolanta" (2017, Theatre of the St. Petersburg State Conservatory) and as Frasquita in Bizet's "Carmen" (2015, Hermitage Theatre); Julia also appeared as Cinderella in the modern composition of "Cinderella" by V. Tarnopolsky (2015, Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg). In Summer 2016, Ms. Muzychenko sang in the "Russian Music Seasons" concerts under the baton of A. Kantorov. Julia is the recipient of many awards, including the 1st prize in Concorso Internazionale Voci Verdiane 2017 in Busseto, 1. Prize in the International 2nd Singing Competition Ópera de Tenerife 2017, Sergey Rachmaninov International Vocal Competition (1st Prize, 2016), the 5th B. Shtokolov International Vocal Competition (1st Prize, 2016), the Crescendo International Music Competition at Carnegie Hall in New York (1st Prize, 2013). Her repertoire includes roles, such as Violetta in "La traviata", Musetta in "La bohème", Liu in "Turandot", Marfa in "The Tsar’s Bride", Swan Princess in "The tale of Tzar Saltan", Lauretta in "Gianni Schicchi", Susanna in "Le Nozze di Figaro", Euridice in "Orfeo ed Euridice", Gilda in "Rigoletto", Adina in "L’elisir d’amore", Amina in "La Sonnambula", Giulietta in "I Capuleti e i Montecchi", Oscar in "Un ballo in maschera", Zerlina in "Don Giovanni", Elvira in "I Puritani", Lucia in "Lucia Di Lammermoor", Ludmila in "Ruslan i Ludmila". Recent highlights: Norina in Don Pasquale at Opéra National de Montpellier 2019 & Violetta in La Traviata at Ópera de Tenerife. In 2019/2020, she can be seen a.o. as Olympia in Les contes d'Hoffmann and as Esmeralda in Die verkaufte Braut at Semperoper Dresden, and as Nannetta in Falstaff at Opéra National de Montpellier.
ANGEL VARGAS
Puerto-Rican tenor Ángel Vargas graduated with a master’s degree from Rice University. He recently placed as a finalist in the Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition winning the Ana María Martínez Encouragement Award, and obtained the second place in the Zarzuela, Voz y Olé Competition in Latin America, Vargas also completed his second season with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as a Gerdine Young Artist. In his first two seasons with the company, Ángel sang in the world première of Huang Ruo’s An American Soldier and has covered roles such as the Duca di Mantua in their production of Rigoletto. For the 2019-2020 season, Vargas performed with The Dallas Opera participating in collaboration with Opera For Peace in their Linda Hart Institute’s final gala. As a fellowship recipient at the Aspen Music Festival, he sang Spalazani in Les contes d’Hoffmann and covered the title role. Ángel was a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (Puerto Rico District) and a finalist at the Gulf Coast Regionals. Ángel is now a member of the Mascarade Opera Studio in Florence for the academic year 2020/21.
ANNA- SOFIA FASSEA
Greek-Scottish soprano Annie Fassea is the 3rd prize winner of the Jacques Offenbach Grand Prix 2021. This year she will be performing "Thermopylae" by Dimitri Minakakis with the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (or ERT) National Symphony Orchestra in July 2021 and William Antoniou's musical "A midwinter day's dream" for the Greek National Opera in October 2021. In 2019 Annie made her debut at the Greek National Opera, performing the role of Barbarina (Le Nozze di Figaro), and was awarded the Fulbright Foundation Artist’s Scholarship to study with Metropolitan Opera bass Dimitri Kavrakos, in New York. She has performed the roles of Nora (Riders to the Sea), Virginia (Raven Revisited, by Kostis Kritsotakis), Papagena (Die Zauberflöte) amongst others. She has also sung the part of Olympia (Les Contes d'Hoffmann) in concert. Annie has appeared at the Grand Prospect Hall in New York, the Athens Concert Hall, the GNO alternative stage at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, the Athens National Garden and has performed with the GNO Orchestra, ERT - Contemporary Music Orchestra and Athens Municipality of Athens Orchestra. She often collaborates with contemporary composers. During the 2017-2018 season she was a member of “The Youth Opera” at the GNO after having finished her studies at the Athenaeum Concervatory with Christina Giannakopoulou.
Russian soprano Julia Muzychenko was born in 1994 in St. Petersburg and, despite her young age, has already debuted as Brigitta in Tchaikovsky's "Iolanta" (2017, Theatre of the St. Petersburg State Conservatory) and as Frasquita in Bizet's "Carmen" (2015, Hermitage Theatre); Julia also appeared as Cinderella in the modern composition of "Cinderella" by V. Tarnopolsky (2015, Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg). In Summer 2016, Ms. Muzychenko sang in the "Russian Music Seasons" concerts under the baton of A. Kantorov. Julia is the recipient of many awards, including the 1st prize in Concorso Internazionale Voci Verdiane 2017 in Busseto, 1. Prize in the International 2nd Singing Competition Ópera de Tenerife 2017, Sergey Rachmaninov International Vocal Competition (1st Prize, 2016), the 5th B. Shtokolov International Vocal Competition (1st Prize, 2016), the Crescendo International Music Competition at Carnegie Hall in New York (1st Prize, 2013). Her repertoire includes roles, such as Violetta in "La traviata", Musetta in "La bohème", Liu in "Turandot", Marfa in "The Tsar’s Bride", Swan Princess in "The tale of Tzar Saltan", Lauretta in "Gianni Schicchi", Susanna in "Le Nozze di Figaro", Euridice in "Orfeo ed Euridice", Gilda in "Rigoletto", Adina in "L’elisir d’amore", Amina in "La Sonnambula", Giulietta in "I Capuleti e i Montecchi", Oscar in "Un ballo in maschera", Zerlina in "Don Giovanni", Elvira in "I Puritani", Lucia in "Lucia Di Lammermoor", Ludmila in "Ruslan i Ludmila". Recent highlights: Norina in Don Pasquale at Opéra National de Montpellier 2019 & Violetta in La Traviata at Ópera de Tenerife. In 2019/2020, she can be seen a.o. as Olympia in Les contes d'Hoffmann and as Esmeralda in Die verkaufte Braut at Semperoper Dresden, and as Nannetta in Falstaff at Opéra National de Montpellier.
ANGEL VARGAS
Puerto-Rican tenor Ángel Vargas graduated with a master’s degree from Rice University. He recently placed as a finalist in the Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition winning the Ana María Martínez Encouragement Award, and obtained the second place in the Zarzuela, Voz y Olé Competition in Latin America, Vargas also completed his second season with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as a Gerdine Young Artist. In his first two seasons with the company, Ángel sang in the world première of Huang Ruo’s An American Soldier and has covered roles such as the Duca di Mantua in their production of Rigoletto. For the 2019-2020 season, Vargas performed with The Dallas Opera participating in collaboration with Opera For Peace in their Linda Hart Institute’s final gala. As a fellowship recipient at the Aspen Music Festival, he sang Spalazani in Les contes d’Hoffmann and covered the title role. Ángel was a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (Puerto Rico District) and a finalist at the Gulf Coast Regionals. Ángel is now a member of the Mascarade Opera Studio in Florence for the academic year 2020/21.
ANNA- SOFIA FASSEA
Greek-Scottish soprano Annie Fassea is the 3rd prize winner of the Jacques Offenbach Grand Prix 2021. This year she will be performing "Thermopylae" by Dimitri Minakakis with the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (or ERT) National Symphony Orchestra in July 2021 and William Antoniou's musical "A midwinter day's dream" for the Greek National Opera in October 2021. In 2019 Annie made her debut at the Greek National Opera, performing the role of Barbarina (Le Nozze di Figaro), and was awarded the Fulbright Foundation Artist’s Scholarship to study with Metropolitan Opera bass Dimitri Kavrakos, in New York. She has performed the roles of Nora (Riders to the Sea), Virginia (Raven Revisited, by Kostis Kritsotakis), Papagena (Die Zauberflöte) amongst others. She has also sung the part of Olympia (Les Contes d'Hoffmann) in concert. Annie has appeared at the Grand Prospect Hall in New York, the Athens Concert Hall, the GNO alternative stage at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, the Athens National Garden and has performed with the GNO Orchestra, ERT - Contemporary Music Orchestra and Athens Municipality of Athens Orchestra. She often collaborates with contemporary composers. During the 2017-2018 season she was a member of “The Youth Opera” at the GNO after having finished her studies at the Athenaeum Concervatory with Christina Giannakopoulou.
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