The ninth edition of the Josep Palet International Singing Competition of Martorell successfully concluded today with its grand final held at the Auditori Joan Cererols.
Following the semifinal and final rounds held on Saturday, March 21 and Sunday, March 22, the jury declared Croatian tenor Tomislav Jukic as the winner. The laureate will receive a prize of €5,000, will take part in tours organized by the Jeunesses Musicales networks in Catalonia and Spain, will perform a concert within the M’Clàssics Concert Series in Martorell, and will star in the world premiere of a work by the invited composer Montserrat Lladó, written especially for this Competition and sponsored by the Francesc Pujols Foundation.
Jukic also received the Audience Prize and the Best Italian Bel Canto Interpreter Prize.
The Second Prize was awarded to Welsh tenor Dafydd Jones, who will receive €2,000, a concert within the M’Clàssics Martorell Series, and a diploma; he also won two additional special prizes: the Amics de l’Òpera de Sabadell Prize and the Joan Cererols Prize for Best Early Music Interpreter.
The Third Prize went to Polish soprano Justyna Khil, who will receive €1,000, a concert within the M’Clàssics Martorell Series, and a diploma; she also received the Victoria de los Ángeles Foundation Special Prize.
This marks the first time in the history of the Competition that two tenors have been awarded the main prizes.
Other special prizes were awarded to Inés López (Amics de la Música de Valls Prize and 7 Portes Prize) and Laura Brasó (Casa Elizalde Prize). The award for Best Interpreter of Catalan Music was declared void.
The jury for the semifinal and final rounds was composed of Julien Benhamou, Director of Production and Outreach at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris and casting consultant for the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Aix-en-Provence Festival; Gabriele Donà, Operndirektor of Oper Köln and casting director and artistic coordinator of the Donizetti Opera Festival in Bergamo; Mirna Lacambra, soprano and Honorary President of the Fundació Òpera a Catalunya; Cesidio Niño, Artistic Director of ABAO Bilbao Opera; Elena Rizzo, Artistic Secretary and Casting Director of the Fondazione Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari; Christina Scheppelmann, General and Artistic Director of La Monnaie in Brussels; Augusto Techera, Artistic Production Director of the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville; and Jordi Maddaleno, Secretary of the Jury.
This edition of the Competition, organized by the Martorell City Council and Jeunesses Musicales of Martorell, saw the highest participation in its history, with 129 contestants from 35 nationalities: Germany, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, China, Cyprus, Colombia, South Korea, Croatia, Cuba, Spain, the United States, France, Georgia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, Norway, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Romania, Serbia, Sweden, Ukraine, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
