The annual Handel Singing Competition, which forms part of London Handel Festival, is unique in that the participants sing only Handel in all the rounds. It was set up in 2002 and many of its prizewinners (Lucy Crowe, Iestyn Davies, Tim Mead among the early ones) have gone on to become leading singers in Handel and other Baroque repertoire. Interestingly, whereas in the early years, the competition tended to attract mainly early music singers, as it has become more established, it seems to be attracting more mainstream opera singers with fuller voices. That has been my impression in the last few competitions.
Five singers were chosen for the final from the 100+ original applicants: three sopranos, a mezzo-soprano and a baritone. It was a particularly international line-up this year, one singer each from Slovakia, Russia, USA, Spain and the United Kingdom. Each finalist chooses his/her own programme from Handel’s works (18 minutes maximum) and their choice of programming can often be a factor for the jury, led by Ian Partridge. Personally, I listened out for the quality of voice, technique, interpretation, fluency in Baroque style (including ornamentation) and variety of programming.
The first prize was awarded to the Spanish (Catalan) baritone Josep-Ramon Olivé who would also have been my choice of the winner, as well as for the majority of the public since he also received the Audience Prize. He had a warm and resonant voice, good overall musicianship, expressiveness and clarity of text. He showed intelligence in mixing arias from familiar and unfamiliar Handel operas, as well as an air in English from the Dettingen Te Deum. I also liked that he sang the Tamerlano aria with the recitative, displaying his understanding of Baroque operatic style. Perhaps he got a little over-enthusiastic at times and the high notes suffered, but he captured the emotional sentiment of each aria well, and in particular he showed delicacy and style in “Se il mar promette calma” from Lotario, which was for me the most memorable aria of the whole evening.
Russian mezzo-soprano Maria Ostroukhova received second prize. From a wealth of Handelian arias for mezzos, she avoided the obvious showstoppers and opted wisely for two constrasting solos, Iside’s aria “Nel passar da un laccio all’altro” from Giove in Argo, and Giulio Cesare’s charming and light-hearted aria “Se in fiorito” which has a delightful violin obligato solo imitating a twittering bird (playfully performed by Adrian Butterfield). Hers is a dark-toned and rich voice with beautiful control, although perhaps not enough agility for “Se in fiorito”. She was certainly confident in the first aria, exploring the range of sentiments and displaying her top notes in the cadenza. She is an eloquent singer, and I think her voice will eventually lead her beyond Handel.