Soile Isokoski to chair the jury of the IXth Mirjam Helin Competition 1.9.2022 The IXth Mirjam Helin Singing Competition will take place in Helsinki between 3-12 June 2024. The preliminaries will be arranged in the R building of the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki, and the semi-finals and finals in the Helsinki Music Centre (Musiikkitalo). The orchestra for the competition is the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. The competition is open to all singers born 1992 or later. The competition is known for demanding a broad repertoire (Baroque music, Lied, opera) while at the same time allowing great liberty in the choice of music. The programme does not include any obligatory compositions or composers. The semi-finals do, however, include a song by a Finnish composer. There is a Special Prize for the best performance by a non-Finnish singer of a Finnish song. The registration for the competition will begin in the autumn of 2023. ”A broad repertoire is essential for a singer” The chair of the jury will be the opera singer Soile Isokoski. In 2009, she was a member of the jury. According to Isokoski, the primary task of the chair is to promote a sound ethos and open atmosphere among the jury. “In my opinion, every young singer should attend a few competitions. It’s a great way of putting yourself to the test: how you keep your cool and where you stand in the crowd”, she says. “Preparing for the competition is great as such, because a broad repertoire is essential for a singer.” The past juries of the Mirjam Helin competition have consisted of accomplished singers only, which is not a standard practice in competitions. Former Mirjam Helin jurors include such world-class names as Dame Kiri te Kanawa, Nathalie Stutzmann, and Robert Holl, and renowned Finns such as Tom Krause and Jorma Hynninen.
”Our role is to support these young singers” 29.5.2019 Indeed, the chairman of the Jury regards the competitors as fellow singers and colleagues. ”I have the feeling that young singers are hoping for a contact with more experienced singers. I have tried to lower the threshold and to show that our task is to reach for them, not to judge them from above”, says Jorma Silvasti. This time, there was a record number of applications for the Mirjam Helin competition. The competitors chosen represent all four corners of the globe. ”You would think that as the number of applicants grew there would also be greater differences. But it was not so! It is clear that no matter the continent, the interest in singing and the quality of education have been increasing immensely.” The unprecedented number of applicants also reveals the growing international fame of the Mirjam Helin competition, something the chairman of the Jury is very proud of. According to him, the level of the 2019 competiton is very tight and even. ”We don’t have a clear favourite this time. Every finalist is a winner anyway, and every competitor has had his or her own strengths.” The Jury was quite unanimous about the semifinalists, but as always, the list of the finalists was a tricky question. ”It’s all part of a music competition. But now, every finalist has earned their place”, says Silvasti. It has been typical for Mirjam Helin competitions that not only the winners but all of the finalists have been embarking to great careers. Jorma Silvasti wishes that in the future the competition could help its singers even more and in a more comprehensive way, also in between the competitions. ”The competition is personalized in Mirjam Helin – a great human being who gave so much of her own life to others. I hope the competition will continue to support these young singers the way Mirjam did – that is our role.”
Hannu Lintu prepares for the final 28.5.2019 Hannu Lintu did not catch much sleep on the night before Monday. “I had to simultaneously watch Finland in the ice hockey final, follow the European Parliament election and try to open the scores of the arias.” It is special for a conductor to work in a competition. “You are in a service occupation”, Lintu says. “You have to take care of the customer, and at the same time do what you usually do: beware of the balance and support the soloist. There is a cavalcade of different people onstage, and sometimes it can be hard.” On the other hand, prestigious competitions feel like a blessing. “Experience shows that talented competitors will easily become future working partners. I am also delighted about the proper rehearsal time we have, including piano rehearsals – often in a competition, you get a weird look if you ask for that.” Lintu is looking eagerly forward to his time as the Chief Conductor at the National Opera in 2022-2026. “As opera was an important incentive for me to become a conductor, I have been on the lookout for a right opportunity”, Lintu tells. “It is wonderful that the opportunity arose in an opera house that I know and where I have a lot of friends. At the same time, the position gives me a schedule that makes conducting a symphony orchestra abroad possible.” Lintu also thinks that his personality is especially apt for opera. “I have a certain inner need to exaggerate and dramatize things, to overplay the contrasts. On the other hand, broad experience in symphonic repertoire has given a sense of structure and adjusting the sound.” The conductor’s love for opera originated in public libraries. “I am positive that without the astonishing collections of my hometown library I would not have gotten as excited about it as a child”, Lintu says. “As soon as my parents had saved some money, we spent the summers at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, listening to Leif [Segerstam]. During my first years in Sibelius Academy, too, I would sit in the library until closing time. Later on, I interrailed to Salzburg, Bayreuth and Verona. When you heard Abbado conduct Elektra [by Strauss] for example, you went: my God! I think someone once said that opera is like an ideology: it does not always materialize.”
Tackling contemporary and taking one’s opportunities – Eric Jurenas and Palesa Malieloa in interview 22.5.2019 For Eric Jurenas (b. 1989), the greatest challenge in contemporary music lies in making it affective. “It is easier for the public to react to music that they are familiar with”, the countertenor says. “But I do believe you can make any music approachable if you look beyond the difficulties of the material. The piece by Dove (b. 1959) is not atonal, but I have the same approach with all contemporary music. I try to take things from my experience in baroque and classical repertoire and translate that to new music.” This season, Jurenas is performing at the Komische Oper Berlin in Händel’s Poro, and has already reached some other big stages, like Covent Garden, too. Last year, he premiered a chamber music piece by Aribert Reimann’s (b. 1936) with Daniel Barenboim. “For an under-30-year-old, working with legends on top of the industry is exciting”, Jurenas says. “It also makes you more confident in a competition setting.” Jurenas began his studies as a baritone and only used his high register as a party trick or when doing barbershop. But having heard him sing, his teacher suggested trying countertenor. “As a 19-year-old, singing high did not seem like a good opportunity to meet women”, Jurenas says, amusedly. “But it came quickly apparent that musically, as a countertenor, I could do things which were not possible as a baritone.” Staying true to oneself In summer 2016, soprano Palesa Malieloa (b. 1992) sang on the distinguished Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, in the choir of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande. There, she decided to take her opportunity. “I thought while I was there, I should try get someone to hear me. I asked the assistant conductor, if he would like to prepare a piece with me. And we worked with the aria of Massenet, which I sang also here in Helsinki.” After hearing the South African sing, the conductor arranged an audience for the Mozart Residency held by the festival every summer. “I went back to my home country and won a national competition there. I had already forgot about Provence, when they contacted me again next winter”, Malieloa says. “Even though the time for application had passed, they were friendly and wanted me there for the summer. And it was an amazing experience: we studied a kaleidoscope of Mozart ensembles and arias.” Mozart is close to Malieloa, as well. “We have the same birthday, but it is not only that”, she bursts out laughing. “It is a very healthy repertoire for me, and it keeps me grounded.” Now Malieloa is studying in a Master’s programme at Hochschule für Musik Köln. “It is not easy for me to name my favourite repertoire. Nevertheless, in opera, I am interested in roles where you get to be energetic and active, be it more feisty or innocent.” Malieloa mentions Puccini’s Musetta (from La Bohème) as an example. “I do not like to feel vulnerable in a role.” Malieloa does not want to compare herself with fellow competitors in a high-level competition like this but focus on her own expression. “It is about staying true to yourself, your preparation and your own craft.”