Press Release: Ollarsaba to Compete in Cardiff Singer of the World
JUNE 7, 2019
BASS-BARITONE RICHARD OLLARSABA TO COMPETE IN THE BBC CARDIFF SINGER OF THE WORLD COMPETITION IN WALES JUNE 16-22 OF 2019.
MAIN PRIZE REPERTOIRE SELECTIONS INCLUDE ARIAS BY ROSSINI, MOZART, BIZET, HÄNDEL, MASSENET AND DONIZETTI. SONG PRIZE REPERTOIRE A DIVERSE SELECTION OF SONGS FROM SCHUBERT TO HEGGIE AND GUASTAVINO TO KOHN.
Richard Ollarsaba’s Competition Appearances:
Sunday June 16, 2019 Main Prize Round 1 Monday June 17, 2019 Song Prize Round 4
All rounds of the competition available for viewing online:
PRESS AND SOCIAL MEDIA
ABOUT RICHARD OLLARSABA
Hailed by The Washington Post for “evoking a young Ruggero Raimondi in looks and manner, with a meltingly smooth bass-baritone," the Arizona-native was a member of the prestigious Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago for three seasons and a grand finalist in the 2013 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Most recently, Ollarsaba was heard in the title role in Don Giovanni with Opera Hong Kong, a role he stepped into with hours’ notice for the Lyric Opera of Chicago. He returned to Minnesota Opera in the title role in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, debuted with Virginia Opera in Lucia di Lammermoor as Raimondo, and performed the role of Pistola in Falstaff both in his debut with Opera Omaha and Intermountain Opera Bozeman. He also returned to Piedmont Opera for his role debut as Colline in La bohème and North Carolina Opera as Escamillo in Carmen, a role he reprised in his debut with Annapolis Opera. Upcoming performances include his debuts with Dallas Opera, Kentucky Opera and the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra. WWW.RICHARDOLLARSABA.COM
ABOUT THE BBC CARDIFF SINGER OF THE WOLRD
BBC Cardiff Singer of the World is a competition known throughout the classical music world as the premier showcase for opera and concert singers at the outset of their careers. It has launched the careers of some major stars including Karita Mattila, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Bryn Terfel, Anja Harteros and Jamie Barton.
In 1983, BBC Wales created BBC Cardiff Singer of the World (J Mervyn Williams was the man credited with founding the competition) and continues to develop the format of the competition and its broadcast coverage. It takes place every two years and is organized in association with Welsh National Opera and supported by The City of Cardiff Council. The competition’s patron is Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and the artistic director is David Jackson. The competition is open to singers at the start of their professional careers, aged 18-32. After a three-stage selection process involving DVD and live auditions, 20 singers are invited to compete in Cardiff, to perform opera and concert music with full orchestra in four concerts, in front of a distinguished jury. The winner from each concert plus one wild card (the best of the rest) compete in the final in St David’s Hall, Cardiff.
The singers may also take part in a parallel competition, the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Song Prize, in which they perform art songs with piano accompaniment. The preliminary round of four recitals takes place in the Dora Stoutzker Hall at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, with the five singers selected by the jury going on to perform in the final at St David’s Hall. It is not possible to enter the Song Prize only. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007qn4b