Merritt Chris

Tenore - USA

Components of the Jury

Specialist in Italian operas of the first half of the 19th century, studied piano, singing, dance and dramaturgy at the Oklahoma City University.

Merritt made his professional debut at the Santa Fe Opera in 1975, as Fenton in Verdi’s Falstaff, In 1978 he performed in Salzburg in L’italiana in Algeri, and in 1981, after an audition at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, he was chosen for Vincenzo Bellini’s I Puritani, with which he achieved international fame. In 1983, Merritt made his debut at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, singing in Rossini’s Tancredi with Marilyn Horne. In 1985 he performed at the Royal Opera House of London in Rossini’s La Donna del Lago, and in 1988 he sang at the San Francisco Opera in Maometto Secondo. In the same year Merritt debuted at La Scala theatre, with William Tell conducted by Riccardo Muti. His presence in Milan’s theatre was confirmed the following year when he sang in I Vespri Siciliani and in La donna del lago, again under the direction of Muti. In 2006, he appeared in the American premiere production of Thomas Adès’ The Tempest, marking his return to The Santa Fe Opera. His extremely extended range, along with his fierce emission technique and vocal agility have made him one of the most renowned interpreters of Rossini’s ‘serious’ operas. Thanks to his powerful low extension and his capacity to generate very high-pitched notes in a ‘falsettone’ sound production, Merritt has managed to replicate the old-style tenor’s robust voice – at least as far as we can presume from the essays on vocal styles in the past -, just like Andrea Nozzari and Domenico Donzelli,.

Mirouslava Yordanova ha iniziato gli studi di canto e pianoforte alla Scuola Superiore di Musica ed all’Accademia Musicale di Sofia. Dopo il diploma è stata scelta come una delle principali interpreti all’Opera Nazionale di Sofia. Vincitrice di importanti concorsi, inizia la sua carriera come Rosina dal “Barbiere di Siviglia”, poi, grazie alla sua flessibile vocalità e presenza scenica, interpreta ruoli tra i quali: Idamante “Idomeneo”, Angelina “La Cenerentola”, Malcom “La donna del lago”, Maffio Orsini “Lucrezia Borgia”, Gondì “Maria di Rohan”, Adalgisa “Norma” e recentemente Federica “Luisa Miller”, Azucena “Il trovatore”, Amneris “Aida”, Eboli “Don Carlo”, Preziosilla “La forza del destino”, La Principessa “Adriana Lecouvreur” e “Carmen” di Bizet. Si è esibita nei principali teatri tra i quali Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opera National de Paris, Monte Carlo Opera, Theater Erfurt, Ópera de Tenerife, Sofia National Opera. Ha cantato con la fondazione Gulbenkian a Lisbona, con Maastricht Chamber Orchestra, Sofia Philharmonic e WNO Orchestra. Al Dordrecht Belcanto Festival, DomStufen Festspiele e al Llangollen e Buxton festivals . Le sue recenti esibizioni concertistiche includono: Pergolesi “Stabat Mater”, Mozart “Requiem”, la Petite Messe Solennelle di Rossini, Haydn” Stabat Mater”, Liszt “Via Crucis”, Beethoven 9th Symphony e il Requiem di Verdi, inciso per la BBC TV. Ha realizzato diverse registrazioni, in particolare per la Naxos, incidendo anche la prima esecuzione contemporanea di tre ultime cantate di G.B. Sammartini.