Ukrainian Counter-Tenor Wins Third Concert in BBC Cardiff Singer of the World

Chairman of the panel of international judges John Fisher made the
announcement at the end of the third of the five concerts in St David’s
Hall, Cardiff.

Mr Fisher, chief executive and artistic director of Welsh National Opera,
presented the 30 year old counter tenor with a Welsh crystal trophy to make his
achievement.

Yuriy is the only counter-tenor taking part in this year’s
competition. He studied piano and choral conducting before concentrating on
singing.

In 2004 he graduated from the vocal department of the AV Nezhdanova Odessa
State Musical Academy, Ukraine. He continued his vocal studies there as a
postgraduate.

In 2001 he won the Voice of Ukraine national competition in Kiev and the
International Slavic Festival in Paris. He won a special award for best
counter-tenor at the Francisco ViÒas International Singing Contest in Barcelona
in 2003.

In 2004 he won the Grand Prix at the AB Solovyanenko International
Competition, Donetsk, Ukraine; the Rimsky-Korsakov International Competition
for Young Opera Singers in St Petersburg; and was a finalist and award winner
at the Gmyrya International Competition in Kiev.

He was a finalist and award winner at the Dresden International Opera
Competition in 2007. Yuriy has given solo concerts in countries including
England, Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Germany, Spain, France and Israel. In June
and November this year, tours are planned in Israel and America with a solo
baroque masterpieces programme.

In his spare time, Yuriy enjoys sports, cooking, reading and computer
programming.

The other singers were Tomislav Lučić, aged 31, bass, from
Croatia; Izabela Matuła, aged 29, soprano, Poland; Csaba Szegedi, aged
27, baritone, Hungary and Claire Meghnagi, aged 31, soprano, from Israel.

Yuriy-Mynenko2.gif

The highlights from the third concert round can be seen on BBC FOUR this
evening (Wednesday, June 10) from 7.30pm. The BBC Cardiff Singer of the World
2009 final will be on BBC TWO and BBC Radio 3 from 5.30pm on Sunday, June
14.

Full concert programme below.

The 25 singers are competing for the title BBC Cardiff Singer of the World
and receive a £15,000 prize, which is provided by the City and County of
Cardiff. The Competition is organised by BBC Wales.

Although winner of his concert Yuriy is not guaranteed a place in next
Sunday’s final as the judges wait until they have heard all 25 singers
before selecting their top five. It is possible two singers may go through from
one concert round and the winner of a concert round not be selected for the
final five. Indeed this happened in 2007 when fellow Japanese soprano Mari
Moriya won her concert round but did not reach the final.

The 25 singers who represent nations as far afield as Chile and Russia,
Australia and Italy have been selected from more than 600 singers from around
the world who took part in auditions in 44 locations in more than 30 countries
for the biennial competition.

This year all singers taking part will also be eligible to benefit from a
new bursary to help towards the development of their musical careers. A
follower of BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, Annie Sankey, has left the
competition a bequest and a new bursary in her name to support singers who take
part in the competition has been established. Menna Richards, Director BBC
Cymru Wales said, “The bursaries will help support the studies of
competitors, including helping with travel and the purchase of musical
scores”.

Twenty of the singers are also taking part in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the
World Song Prize which has its own final at St David’s Hall on Friday,
June 12.

Both competitions are receiving extensive coverage by the BBC across the
networks including BBC Cymru Wales, Radio 3, BBC Two and BBC Four and
online.

Concert three programme:

Tomislav Lučić — Croatia
A te l’estremo addio … Il lacerato spirito (Simon Boccanegra)
— Verdi
Madamina, il catalogo Ë questo (Don Giovanni) — Mozart
Susanin’s aria (A Life for the Tsar) — Glinka

Izabela Matuła — Poland
Ach, ich f¸hl’s (Die Zauberflˆte) — Mozart
Bel raggio lusinghier (Semiramide) — Rossini
Celui dont la parole efface toutes peines — Il est doux, il est bon
(HÈrodiade) – Massenet

Csaba Szegedi — Hungary
Largo al factotum (Il barbiere di Siviglia) — Rossini
Perfidi — Pieta, rispetto amore (Macbeth) — Verdi
Deh, vieni alla finestra (Don Giovanni) — Mozart
O Carlo, ascolta … Io morrÚ (Don Carlo) – Verdi

Yuriy Mynenko — Ukraine
J’ai perdu mon Eurydice (OrphÈe et Eurydice) — Gluck
Va tacito e nascosto (Giulio Cesare) — Handel
Parto, parto (La clemenza di Tito) — Mozart

Claire Meghnagi — Israel
Giunse alfin il momento … Deh vieni, non tardar (Le nozze di Figaro)
— Mozart
Che pi˘ giova celarlo … M’lai resa infelice (Deidamia) —
Handel
Ich wollt’ ein Str‰usslein binden (Brentano Lieder) — R
Strauss
Non monsieur mon mari (Les mamelles de TirÈsias) — Poulenc


image=http://www.operatoday.com/Yuriy-Mynenko.gif
image_description=Yuriy Mynenko [Photo courtesy of BBC Cardiff Singer of the World]
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product_title=Ukrainian Counter-Tenor Wins Third Concert in BBC Cardiff Singer of the World
product_by=Above: Yuriy Mynenko [Photo courtesy of BBC Cardiff Singer of the World]