Eric Ferring (Tenor)
A graduate of Drake University, The Boston Conservatory and Pittsburgh Opera’s Resident Artist Program, Eric recently finished his second and final year in the ensemble of the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Past performances at Lyric include Lurcanio in Ariodante, Older Brother in Dead Man Walking, and Young Servant in Elektra, whilst covering Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni. This year, Eric has anticipated debuts at North Carolina Opera, New Orleans Opera, Pittsburgh Opera and Santa Fe Opera as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte.
Edward Nelson (Baritone)
In the 2019-2020 season Edward debuts at Vancouver Opera as Figaro in The Barber of Seville and at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis as Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus. Recently, he made an acclaimed European debut at Norwegian National Opera as Pelléas in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, a role he later sang with Ópera de Oviedo and covered at the Glyndebourne Festival. As a graduate of the Adler Fellowship at San Francisco Opera, making over 70 main stage appearances, his roles included Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Bosun in Billy Budd, and Morales in Carmen.
CAPE TOWN RISING STAR SOPRANO WHO NEVER CONSIDERED SINGING AS A CAREER AND BLACKPOOL BUSKER MAKE GLYNDEBOURNE OPERA CUP FINAL
A rising star soprano from Cape Town whose first encounter with opera came when her high school choirmaster suggested she sing a Mozart aria in a school competition is one of six talented singers to reach the final of the 2020 Glyndebourne Opera Cup. Siphokazi Molteno, 27, started singing at the age of six but had no exposure to opera before the teacher insisted she try an aria from La clemenza di Tito.
Among the other finalists is British soprano Alexandra Lowe who busked on the streets of Blackpool to help fund her studies at the Royal Northern College of Music and American tenor Eric Ferring who grew up in a small town in Iowa with little access to opera. South Korean tenor Sungho Kim is the cousin of a famous K-pop singer but fell in love with opera at the age of 16 when he saw a performance of La Bohème, while American baritone Edward Nelson performed jazz, classical piano and musical theatre before committing to opera. Chinese soprano Meigui Zhang is following in her parents’ footprints – both her mother and father were opera singers.
The 2020 Glyndebourne Opera Cup final takes place this Saturday 7 March offering a top prize of £15,000 and the guarantee of a role within five years at one of the top international opera houses represented on the competition’s jury. It will be broadcast live on Sky Arts from 5.30pm, hosted by Chris Addison and Danielle de Niese.
As part of Glyndebourne’s commitment to diversity in the Glyndebourne Opera Cup, Sky Arts offered a bursary for BAME and Financially Disadvantaged contestants, which was claimed by 20% of the singers who reached the semi-finals.
The six finalists are:
Eric Ferring, 27, tenor (USA)
Siphokazi Molteno, 27, mezzo-soprano (South Africa)
Sungho Kim, 29, tenor (South Korea)
Alexandra Lowe, 28, soprano (UK)
Edward Nelson, 31, baritone (USA)
Meigui Zhang, 26, soprano (China)
Stephen Langridge, Glyndebourne’s Artistic Director and chair of The Glyndebourne Opera Cup jury, said: ‘The Glyndebourne Opera Cup seeks to find the most exciting young singers in opera and we have certainly done that. The jury was incredibly impressed with the standard of the semi-final and it was a hard job to select just six singers to go forward to the final. The stage is set for an inspiring final; a showcase for the radiant new generation of international operatic talent.’
The international jury for The Glyndebourne Opera Cup includes top industry professionals such as Joan Matabosch, Artistic Director of Teatro Real in Madrid and Michel Franck, General Director of the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in France, as well as leading singers Sir Thomas Allen and Dame Felicity Lott. The competition’s honorary president is Dame Janet Baker, whose own early career was fostered by Glyndebourne.
The finalists are available for interview. For more information, please contact Kate Harvey, Press Manager, at [email protected] or on 01273 812321.
ENDS
Images of the finalists available here.
Tickets for The Glyndebourne Opera Cup Final available via glyndebourne.com (returns only)
Notes to editors
- The Glyndebourne Opera Cup – the international competition for opera singers is designed to discover and spotlight the best young singers from around the world, offering a top prize of £15,000 and a platform for launching an international opera career.
- Competitors at the 2020 Glyndebourne Opera Cup will perform operatic arias by Mozart, Rossini and a selection of French 19th-century composers accompanied by musicians from the London Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Jordan de Souza.
- The international jury for The Glyndebourne Opera Cup is:
- Stephen Langridge, Artistic Director of Glyndebourne
- Steven Naylor, Director of Artistic Administration, Glyndebourne
- Joan Matabosch, Artistic Director, Teatro Real de Madrid
- Michel Franck, General Director, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées
- Shirley Thomson, Director, Head of Vocal at HarrisonParrott
- Sumi Jo, soprano
- Sir Thomas Allen, baritone
- Dame Felicity Lott, soprano
- Jordan de Souza, conductor and Kapellmeister at Bayerische Oper
- Dame Janet Baker – Live Final only
- Over two hundred contestants from 39 different countries entered the 2020 Glyndebourne Opera Cup.
- Following preliminary heats, 20 singers aged 22-31 were invited to take part in the semi-final, which took place on 4 March at Glyndebourne in front of a live audience.
About Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne is recognised internationally as one of the great opera houses; a reputation that stems from a passion for artistic excellence encapsulated in founder John Christie’s insistence on doing “not the best we can do but the best that can be done anywhere”.
John and his opera singer wife, Audrey Mildmay, founded the Glyndebourne Festival in 1934. In 1968 the Glyndebourne Tour was established to bring opera to new audiences across the country and create opportunities for talented young singers. Today Glyndebourne is a 12 month operation. The Festival runs from May to August with a programme of six operas in a 1,200-seat opera house. The annual Tour takes place from October to December. The inaugural biennial international opera singing competition will culminate with the finals in March 2018 and a widely respected education programme is active year round staging new work and delivering projects to enhance the understanding and enjoyment of opera.
Together the Festival and Tour present 120 performances annually to an audience of 150,000 with many more people experiencing Glyndebourne’s work through its yearly programme of cinema screenings and free online streamings. Glyndebourne has pioneered specialist recordings to share its work with a global audience through these channels and as part of this mission to reach new audiences, also offers reduced-price tickets to under-30s.
Since its founding, Glyndebourne has remained financially independent and, whilst receiving valued Arts Council support for the Tour and education work, the Festival receives no public subsidy. As a registered charity, its work is funded by Box Office income, its Members and supporters.
About Sky Arts
Sky Arts is the UK’s only dedicated channel for the arts. It offers something for everyone, whatever their passion, with entertaining programmes showcasing the best of classical and popular music, theatre, opera, dance and the visual arts, as well as original drama and comedy. Sky Arts is broadcast 24 hours a day and has over 1,000 hours available on catch-up TV, including flagship programmes such as Portrait Artist of The Year, Landscape Artist of the Year and The South Bank Show.
The channel is committed to supporting the arts by investing in the best talent, both on and off screen, as well as through exclusive partnerships with major UK and European cultural institutions, including National Theatre Live, Tate and The British Library.
