In the summer of 2005, I was one of the top 6 finalists out of more than 40 candidates in the Béla Bartók International Opera Conducting Competition in Romania.
Of all the competitions I have seen in the world, this one allowed the candidates the most amount of time for rehearsing!
In the first round, we were already given 40 minutes each to prepare scenes from Bizet’s Carmen and Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana with the entire cast and orchestra!
Even more time was given to us in the semi-finals with separate rehearsals for chorus, orchestra, sitz-probe, and then performance of one act from Puccini’s La Boheme and Verdi’s Rigoletto.
As a finalist, I rehearsed and conducted an entire performance of Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard's Castle. (This alone was a dream fulfilled for me!)
As a finalist, I rehearsed and conducted an entire performance of Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard's Castle. (This alone was a dream fulfilled for me!)
Later that year, I also conducted Verdi's La Traviata in a competition in Italy.
This is one of my favorite places in Venice, where there is a bust of Wagner (on the left) near a bust of Verdi (on the right).
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