1982 THE WINNERS

Elzbieta Szmytka

“Polish soprano Elżbieta Szmytka’s tonal security and expressive means in a difficult Lutosławski song and her souplesse in Rusalka’s aria guaranteed her place in the finals.” (Brabants Dagblad, September 4, 1982)

Elżbieta Szmytka graduated from the Academy of Music in Kraków, where she studied voice under Helena Łazarska. Following her IVC victory she was engaged by the Dutch National Opera, where she debuted on April 8, 1983, as Blöndchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail. In the Netherlands, where she performed frequently once she learned Dutch, she was known for her Gilda (1983 and 1988). She eventually settled in Brussels following her 1984 debut at De Munt. Her career highlights include appearances in Vienna, Geneva, Berlin, Salzburg, Aix-en-Provence, Glyndebourne and Los Angeles. Mozart features prominently in her repertoire, with Susanna, the Queen of the Night, Pamina, Despina, Donna Anna and Konstanze. Among her Verdi roles are Tebaldo ( Don Carlo), Oscar (Un ballo in maschera), Nanetta (Falstaff) and Violetta (La traviata). She has also sung the soprano leads in DerFreischütz, L’elisir d’amore, Ariadne auf Naxos, Der Rosenkavalier, Alcina, L’incoronazione di Poppea,Medea (the Cherubini in 2007 and the Mayr in 2009), Leonore and Die Fledermaus, as well as the Milliner in Nino Rota’s Il capello di paglia di Firenze and Roxana in Karol Szymanovsky’s Król Roger. On January 25, 2006, at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, she created the role of Virginia in Michael Jarrell’s Galilée. Szmytka is also a renowned recital artist, having sung the Mozart Requiem, Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder and Szymanovsky’s Stabat Mater as well as his song cycles. She performed under such conductors as John Pritchard, Sylvain Cambreling, Georg Solti, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, John Eliot Gardiner, Simon Rattle, Claudio Abbado, Neville Marriner and Andrew Davis. Szmytka made many recordings for radio and television, among them Król Roger under the baton of Simon Rattle for EMI.

Ildkó Komlósi

“Ildikó Komlósi secured her Second Prize mostly with her clear and beautiful mezzo voice, although she needs to reach deeper levels of interpretation.” (Brabants Dagblad, September 6, 1982)

Hungarian mezzo-soprano Ildikó Komlósi (b. 1959, Békésszentandrás) came to the IVC at a young age. Her Second Prize proved an early recognition of her considerable talents. Her victory in the 1986 Pavarotti International Voice Competition resulted in her Verdi Requiem debut opposite Pavarotti himself, conducted by Lorin Maazel. This catapulted her into a career that brought her to Oper Frankfurt (1989), the Vienna State Opera (1989), Milan’s Teatro Lirico (where she sang the title role in the world premiere of Azio Corghi’s Blimunda), Chile’s Teatro Municipal (1993, in Lucrezia Borgia and Anna Bolena), Strasbourg (1998, as Joan of Arc in Tchaikovsky’s The Maid of Orleans), the Metropolitan Opera (1999, in Massenet’s Werther), Carnegie Hall, Mexico’s Palacio de Bellas Artes (1993), the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples (2001, in Don Carlo), Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Arena di Verona, Covent Garden and De Munt in Brussels (2002, as Amneris). Among the conductors she worked with are Colin Davis, Iván Fischer, Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta and Antonio Pappano. Her main roles were Donna Elvira, Judith (Bluebeard’s Castle), Carmen, Preziosilla (La forza del destino), Ariadne, Santuzza, Amneris, Jocasta, the Principessa di Bouillon ( Adriana Lecouvreur), Salome, Kundry, Ježibaba (Rusalka), the Nurse (Die Frau ohne Schatten) and Cassandre (Les Troyens ). She also sang the mezzo parts in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, the Verdi and Dvořák Requiems, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde and Beethoven’s Missa solemnis. Komlósi recorded for Decca, BMG, Dynamic and other labels. She certainly laid to rest the Brabants Dagblad critic’s concerns about needing more depth in her interpretations.

Anna Caleb

“At the concluding Gala Concert the winners wholly justified their prizes, except… mezzo-soprano Anna Caleb, whose performance was prevented by a bomb alarm aimed against a gathering of politicians elsewhere in the Casino Theatre - a combination that would best be avoided in the future.” (Karin Maria Kwant, Mens en Melodie, October 1982)

“The bomb threat prevented Caleb from repeating her achievement of singing Rosina’s cavatina from Il barbiere di Siviglia with three different ornamentations and each interpretation radically opposed to the previous ones. Shame on this bomber for not having waited with his threat for just a few minutes more!” (Henry de Rouville, “Au fond ils ont besoins d’être aimés,” September 1982)

1981 THE WINNERS

Howard H­askin

“The tenor Howard Haskin made a deep impression with ‘In Dreams I’ve Built Myself’ from Peter Grimes and then with Don José’s aria from Carmen. During the semifinals he entertained his audience with a particularly funny rendition of ‘Het strijkje’ by Straesser.” (Karin Maria Kwant, Mens en Melodie, September 1981)

“Haskin has potential, judging from his arias from Bach and La bohème, the latter rendered with full romanticism.” (Chris de Jong-Stolle, Brabants Dagblad, September 7, 1981)

“Howard Haskin first attracted attention throughout Europe in 1981 by garnering First Prize in two Paris singing competitions, as well as First Prize in the ’s-Hertogenbosch singing competition. The latter prize was a distinction that had not been bestowed on a tenor in 15 years.” (Howard Haskin on his website, 2014)

The rise in the 1960s and ’70s of IVC-winning African American opera singers, beginning with Thomas Carey, Louis Hagen Williams, Moises Parker, James Wagner and La Verne Williams, culminated in the 1981 victory of Howard Haskin. His triumph was instrumental in starting a magnificent career that includes over fifty operatic roles – among them a legendary Otello in Nice in 1995, as one of the first black tenors ever to have sung Verdi’s role in a major opera house. He had a luscious tenor voice that was able to rise above the orchestra. He did groundbreaking work in Schnittke’s Life with an Idiot at the Dutch Opera, conducted by Rostropovich, and appeared as the Jailer/Grand Inquisitor in Dallapiccola’s Il prigioniero (the Sony CD won a Grammy nomination). Standout roles include Bacchus (Ariadne auf Naxos), Don José, Cavaradossi, Jason (Cherubini’s Médée), the title role in Oedipus Rex, Paris (Tippett’s King Priam), Samson and Sportin’ Life (Porgy and Bess).

Haskin also enjoys a distinguished career as a concert singer. On 401ivca.com you can find a unique interview with Haskin, Dawson, Meeuwsen, and several jurors, including Manus Willemsen, done live at the 1981 IVC.

Jan Opalach

“Jan Opalach was introduced as a lieder singer, and a marvelous one he proved in songs by Wolf, Ravel and Poulenc. The surprise was that his performance in oratorio was equally marvelous.” (Karin Maria Kwant, Mens en Melodie, September 1981)

The 1981 IVC Jury was jubilant over the exceptional level of that year’s contestants, an assessment confirmed in a multitude of significant careers. See our Archives website for Anne-Marie Dur, winner of the new Gré Brouwenstijn Dutch Opera Talent Prize and renowned in Brussels and Amsterdam, where she recorded a historically important recital of 19^th-century Dutch opera arias; Lucia Meeuwsen, who had a fine career in Germany and at the Dutch National Opera; Barseg Tumanyan, who sang from Amsterdam to Los Angeles; Shihomi Inoue-Heller and Jean Nirouët, both of whom had fine careers; Wolfgang Holzmair, one of the most famous baritones of his generation; andEgidius Pluymen, who might catch your attention on a hilarious 2003Rigoletto DVD from Opera Spanga. Finalist Elżbieta Szmytka will be discussed in 1982. Here we profile American bass-baritone Jan Opalach. This staple of the New York City Opera since 1980 performed there in such roles as Papageno, Figaro (Mozart), Leporello, Bartolo (Rossini), the Forester in The Cunning Little Vixen, Sancho Panza in Don Quichotte, Capellio in I Capuleti e i Montecchi and King Fisher in The Midsummer Marriage. He was cast in the world premiere of Philip Glass’s The Voyage at the Metropolitan Opera. Outside the United States he appeared with Canadian Opera Company, the English National Opera, the Netherlands Opera (as Taddeo in Dario Fo’s production of L’italiana in Algeri), the Scottish Opera, the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City and Drottningholm. Conductors with whom he worked ranged from Daniel Barenboim to Lorin Maazel and Simon Rattle. Opalach recorded for Argo, Bridge, CRI, Decca, Delos, EMI, Koch International, L’Oiseau-Lyre, Nonesuch, Telarc and Vox Unique.

Anne Dawson

 “The young 20-year-old soprano Anne Dawson proved a phenomenon. A personality with a high-profile sound, without mannerisms, and with a versatility that is rarely encountered among singers of her age. The jury dubbed her ‘a complete artist.’” (Roland de Beer, De Volkskrant, September 7, 1981) “Stupendous; we should thank providence for the chance to hear her. Timbre, technique, musicality, interpretation and sense of style were immaculate.” (Chris de Jong-Stolle, Brabants Dagblad, September 7, 1981)