YOUNG STARS OF WORLD OPERA

A unique concert in the festival program, Young Stars of World Opera presents audiences with the opportunity to hear both gold medal vocalists from the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition, Yulia Matochkina and Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar, as well as the sensational Korean soprano Sunhae Im. Yulia Matochkina, a soloist of the Academy of Young Opera Singers at the Mariinsky Theatre, is well known to the St Petersburg public for her performances in numerous roles in some of the most famous operas in the repertoire, including Carmen, Dulcinée in Don Quichotte, Didon in Les Troyens, Olga in Eugene Onegin, and others. She starred as Dalila in the premiere of the new production of Samson et Dalila for the opening of the 2016 Stars of the White Nights Festival. The captivating charm of her voice will be on full display in Dalila’s aria, one of the highlights of her programme in this concert.

Matochkina will also be performing romances by Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky, as well as the Princess de Bouillon’s aria from Adrienne Lecouvreur by Francesco Cilea, which was the final piece she sang at the International Tchaikovsky Competition that prompted the jury to award her the gold medal.

Grand Prix winner and soloist of the Buryatian State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar, has just launched what promises to be a colorful international career. During this concert, he will perform Handel's Dignare from Dettingen Te Deum, as well as romances by Grieg, Rachmaninoff, and Tchaikovsky. The audience will be able to witness not only the singular beauty of his voice, but also his dramatic talent, and his pure Russian prose, which he developed in great part under the guidance of his accompanist and coach, Darima Linkhovoin.

Korean soprano Sunhae Im is recognized as a leading interpreter of baroque and classical repertoire. Her artistic triumphs include performances with maestros who are experts in historical European performance, including Philippe Herreweghe, William Christie, and René Jacobs. She is also well known for her performances of Mahler, which include the solo parts in his fourth and second symphonies in addition to other solo works. At the Festival, she will be singin a few numbers from Mahler's song cycle from Des Knaben Wunderhorn, as well as songs of 20^th century Spanish composers including Rodrigo, Turina, and Guridi.

Two pianists will be accompanying the singers: Sergei Redkin, and Tae-Hyung Kim. A student of renowned St Petersburg Conservatory professor Alexander Sandler, Redkin is a prize-winner of many international competitions, including the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition, where he won the bronze medal. Last season, he performed chamber, solo, and orchestral concerts at the Mariinsky Theatre. Tae-Hyung Kim, who will be joining Sunhae Im on stage, is a prize-winner of the 2013 Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition among many others, and has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Russian National Philharmonic, and the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.