For a week now, Montreal has been the scene of one of the city’s leading cultural events. A fixture on the Montreal musical scene since 2002, the Montreal International Music Competition (MIMC) is currently in full swing, with its 2025 edition devoted to the voice. A total of 23 singers from seventeen countries have taken to the stage at Salle Bourgie in Montreal over the past seven days. During the various stages of this first event, the competitors had to perform a program made up of pieces from the repertoire of opera arias and the melody genre. The cumulative points from the two stages will be used to identify 10 singers who will go on to the semi-final stage.
During the first few days of the competition, we witnessed colorful performances, full of sensitivity and musicality, as each singer took to the stage with his or her own personality. Not all of them will go on, but none of them will be ashamed of the performances they gave, which all contained interesting elements. Without being exhaustive, here are just a few of the performances we heard that made an impression on us.
First of all, Russian-born soprano Julia Muzychenko-Greenhalgh, who opened the competition, delighted with a performance of the difficult Air des clochettes (“Where does the young Hindu go”) from Léo Delibes’ opera Lakmé. A perilous choice in terms of vocal line. Canadian soprano Sophie Naubert also made a remarkable impression, notably with her strong stage presence and expressive sense, not least in the aria “Take It to Tumblr*” from Kendra Harder’s Book of Faces. The same goes for Fanny Soyer, who presented the different characters of the arias in her first test with nuance and versatility, both through vocal agility and meaningful stage gestures. Her performance of “Formons les plus brillants concerts… Aux langueurs d’Apollon” from Jean-Philippe Rameau’s opera Platée was utterly captivating. English baritone Theodore Platt is also one to watch. Blessed with a powerful, warm timbre and great musicality in his sensitive interpretation of the aria “O Du, Mein Holder Abendstern” from Wagner’s Tannhäuser during his performance of the Aria stage, he also distinguished himself in his round devoted to melody. German baritone Valentin Ruckebier’s character and playing are also worthy of note, particularly in the Machiavellian aria “Vous qui faites l’endormie” from Gounod’s Faust.
Among the South Korean representatives, tenor Junho Hwang, bass-baritone Chanhee Cho and soprano Yewon Han delivered solid performances: Hwang for his interpretation, diction and sensitive musicality in “Salut demeure chaste et pure”, also from Gounod’s Faust, Cho for her committed stage presence, and Han for her perfectly accurate interpretation of the elevated aria “I am the wife of Mao Tse-tung” from John Adams’ opera Nixon in China.
And the semi-finalists are…
At the end of the first round, the international jury selected the ten semi-finalists of the Voix 2025 edition, who will perform on the Maison symphonique stage on June 3 and 4 with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the official orchestra of the MIMC, under the direction of conductor Patrick Summers. The semi-finalists are :
Junho Hwang, Ténor, South Korea
Katerina Burton, Soprano, United-States
Chanhee Cho, Baryton-basse, South Korea
Yewon Han, Soprano, South Korea
Fleuranne Brockway, Mezzo-soprano, Australia
Fanny Soyer, Soprano, France
Ariane Cossette, Soprano, Canada
Jingjing Xu, Mezzo-soprano, China
Theodore Platt, Baryton, UK
Julia Muzychenko-Greenhalgh, Soprano, Russia
In addition to the announcement of the semi-finalists, two special prizes were awarded. Offered in partnership with Dixi Lambert, the Prize for the best interpretation of a contemporary aria, accompanied by a $2,500 purse for excellence in the performance of an aria composed after 1975, was awarded to English baritone Theodore Platt for his interpretation of an excerpt from George Benjamin’s Written On Skin.
Introduced last year at Piano 2024, the Emerging Talent Jury Prize, worth $1,000, was awarded to Australian mezzo-soprano Fleuranne Brockway. The jury, presided over by Canadian soprano Aline Kutan, was made up of vocal students and a pianist, all from the city’s three major music institutions (McGill University’s Schulich School of Music, the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Music).
The final round of the Mélodie Prize was also held. Offered in partnership with the Nawacki Family Foundation, the $10,000 Mélodie Prize is awarded to the artist who has distinguished himself/herself the most in the interpretation of the Mélodie repertoire during the First Round – Mélodie and its final. The five finalists were Russian soprano Julia Muzychenko-Greenhalgh, English baritone Theodore Platt, Colombian baritone Laureano Quant, Australian mezzo-soprano Fleuranne Brockway and French soprano Fanny Soyer. Laureano Quant won the award with a committed interpretation of excerpts from Francis Poulenc’s truculent Chansons gaillardes cycle, and a spirited performance of excerpts from Gerald Finzi’s Let Us Garand Brings cycle. The Colombian baritone was also awarded Salle Bourgie’s prestigious Schubert Prize, which comes with a recital engagement in the new series devoted to Franz Schubert’s complete lieder.
For his part, Ihor Mostovoi (Canada and Ukraine) was awarded the Prix André-Bachand for best interpretation of a Canadian work, presented in partnership with Claudette Hould for his interpretation of Julien Bilodeau’s “Mon souverain” from the opera La beauté du monde, with libretto by Michel-Marc Bouchard.
Now it’s off to the Maison symphonique, where the semi-finalists and the MIMC team will be taking up residence for the next few days. With the level we’ve heard so far, we can’t wait to hear what the semi-finalists have to offer in an orchestral setting.
photo credit : Tam Photography
