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The Hong Kong International Operatic Singing Competition 2018 (HKIOSC 2018), organised by Musica Viva, is widely considered a milestone in Hong Kong’s history of opera music. It also helped launch the international careers of the award-winners. To celebrate the success of this competition, Musica Viva will stage the one-night only “HKIOSC 2018 Winners’ Concert with Sumi Jo”, featuring the global diva, who was one of the competition’s illustrious jury members, as well as Margrethe Fredheim and Chen Yibao, who won the first prize and third prize in the competition respectively.    

Infusing their unique qualities into much-loved opera repertoires, Grammy award-winner Jo, Fredheim and Chen will be accompanied by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the first orchestra in Asia to receive the prestigious Gramophone Orchestra of the Year Award in 2019. On the rostrum conducting the orchestra will be world-renowned maestro J. David Jackson, who has received such accolades as “first-rate conducting” (Boston Globe) and “impressive command” (Opera News).

Sumi Jo

Originally from South Korea, Jo is a trailblazer in the world of opera: she has been the first Asian-born soprano to have a major career in Europe. “Sumi Jo has amazing breath control, and her ability to sustain very long lines leads her into a slightly ‘dreamy’ manner in which the voice becomes so instrumental that one loses all sense of the words,” said Gramophone. “Jo commanded the stage like the diva she is. She connects with the audience at an emotional level; charming and flirtatious one moment, passionate and sincere the next,” noted Ottawa Citizen.

She was one of the last young musicians personally mentored by maestro Herbert von Karajan. At 24, Jo was featured in the Salzburg Festival by the Austrian maestro. By the late 1980s, she rose to international stardom and became one of the most sought-after sopranos of her generation. Her stratospheric, exceptionally secure lyric coloratura voice made her the soprano of choice for bel canto heroines and acrobatic Mozart and Strauss roles. Jo’s lively portrayals in opera won her many followers, and her career flourished through the 1990s when she was in great demand at the major opera houses of the world. She also reached a broad and admiring audience through her recordings and recitals.

Margrethe Fredheim

First-prize winner of the HKIOSC 2018, Norwegian soprano Fredhiem also won the top honour in the 2020 Lauritz Melchior International Singing competition in Aalborg, Denmark. The competition is dedicated to the life and work of Richard Wagner, paving the way for Fredheim’s contribution as a permanent member of the solo ensemble at Theatre Erfurt, Germany, from 2015 to 2021. Since then, Fredheim has been steadily building her career as a young rising opera singing talent, winning praises from audiences and critics alike. Among her many memorable performances at Theatre Erfurt, her portrayal of Irmengard in Spontini's Agnes von Hohenstaufen received outstanding reviews in both German and international press, including Das Opernglas, OpernWelt, FAZ, Opéra Magazine. 

In addition, Fredheim was awarded many prizes in international vocal competitions, such as the Wilhelm Stenhammar International Singing Competition and the Jāzeps Vītols 4th International Vocal Competition. Fredheim joined the soloist ensemble at Staatstheater Kassel in 2021. Her first premiere was a much complimented Marie in Alban Berg's Wozzeck and her next role debut will be Agathe in Weber’s Der Freischütz.

Chen Yibao

Chinese soprano Chen Yibao won the third prize and audience prize in HKIOSC 2018. She was honoured with the Young Talent Prize of the world-renowned 50th International Vocal Competition ’s-Hertogenbosch (IVC) in the Netherlands in 2014. These awards are among the many other honours received by Chen, a rising international singing sensation.   

Following her graduation from the Central Conservatory of Music in China, Chen received a scholarship at the Santa Cecilia Conservatorio in Rome in 2014. Her debuts at the National Centre for Performing Arts as Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen were highly acclaimed, in addition to her roles as Lauretta in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni in Italy. After obtaining a Master’s degree, Chen performed as a soloist at the China National Opera House, thanks to her extraordinary vocal and acting skills. Chen is a sought after concert singer and frequently sings for the Chinese Ministry of Culture in Lithuania, Macedonia, Hungary, and Switzerland.

Melodic wonders are set to mesmerise the audiences in the Cultural Centre’s Concert Hall when the singing by the three sopranos is enhanced by the award-winning Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of maestro Jackson. The critically acclaimed conductor made his conducting debut in Brussels’ Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie with Don Pasquale and has since won accolades throughout Europe and the United States. Jackson frequently appears at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. His latest engagements with the company included Massenet’s Werther, and Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess.

HKIOSC 2018 Winners’ Concert with Sumi Jo 
Date & Time: 17 June 2023, 8pm 
Venue: Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre 
Ticket Price: $880, $680, $480, $320 
Tickets are available at Urbtix now. 
Artistic Director: Lo Kingman 
Conductor: J. David Jackson 
Performers: 
Sumi Jo, soprano 
Margrethe Fredheim, soprano 
Yibao Chen, soprano

“Live Orchestra: The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra”

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