cultural activities
20
finnish cultural foundation
annual report 2013–2014
T
wenty-five years ago Andrea Rost
was nervously seated in the front
row of Finlandia Hall. The great
moment had come in the II Mirjam Helin
International Singing Competition: it was
time to announce the winners.
“It was fantastic sitting there, waiting,
and then to realise that I am the winner,
because all the other names had been
mentioned,” she recalls.
As in this year’s competition, the jury
for 1989was distinguished to say the least:
such stars as
TomKrause
,
Birgit Nilsson
,
Carlo Cosutta
and
Yevgeny Nesterenko
.
It was because of the jury that Andrea
Rost came to Helsinki to take part in the
competition.
“These singers were my idols. It was
wonderful singing to them, and the fact
that they liked my singing was the best
feedback of all. I never expected to win
the first prize.”
Now Andrea Rost is back in Helsinki.
She is the first winner of the MirjamHelin
International Singing Competition to return
as amember of the jury. Themomentmeans
a lot to her, especially in the company of
fellow-adjudicators
Franz Grundheber
,
Maria Guleghina
,
Ben Heppner
,
Robert
Holl
,
Nathalie Stutzmann
and
Deborah
Voigt
. The Chairman of the Jury is
Jorma
Silvasti
. What is most difficult about
serving on a jury?
“You mustn’t look ahead. You have to
make your decision solely on that moment
in the competition. That isn’t easy.”
Charis a is the singer’s soul
Andrea Rost is in such great demand as
a singer that she has not really had time
for jury work until now. This is the second
time in her career that she has been on the
jury of a singing competition, and she says
that from now on she intends to devote
never stops stressing this in speaking of
her career.
Gilda her calling card
The Mirjam Helin International Singing
Competition was the last competition in
which Andrea Rost took part. From that
moment, her career really took off.
“It all came at just the right time for me.
Immediately after the competition I signed
a contract with the opera in Budapest,
and only a year after that I received an
invitation from the Vienna State Opera. I
knew the members of the jury had talked
about me and I got a warm welcome in
Vienna. It’s different nowadays, what with
social media and the internet. A singer has
to market herself, and anyone can watch
competitions on the internet.”
In Vienna Andrea was assigned roles
for which she would later become famous:
Lucia di Lammermoor, Violetta in La
Traviata, and the lyric Mozart roles. Her
star role is, however, probably Gilda in
Rigoletto, the part in which she made her
debut at La Scala, Milan in 1994, on the
invitation of
Riccardo Muti
. Gilda is also
her favourite role.
“My La Scala debut was a leap to a
world career,” she happily recalls. “After
that, the path lay open to the Met, the
Bastille, Salzburg, everywhere.”
In very recent years Andrea has also
jumped to the heavyweight league and
more and more time to jobs like this. The
day before the interview she held her very
first masterclass in connection with the
competition.
“I had only 20 minutes for each singer,
so maybe I should have been sharper,” she
laughs. “But I wanted to add to the good
feeling and to be encouraging, because
they’re such good singers! I have got so
much feeling inside me and a need to
express myself that now I want to share
them with young singers.”
Jury work is just right for this: giving
the feedback that meant so much to her
25 years ago.
Charisma is, says Rost, extremely
important for a singer.
“I can’t describe it – it’s when the
audience cannot tear their eyes away from
the singer. The singer comes on stage and
she’s got something to say. Something that
speaks to the soul.”
Singers, says Rost, often do too many
facial expressions andmovements. They’re
not necessary.
“What you need ismusicality, elegance…
You can sense charisma at once; it is
presence, the singer’s soul.”
Andrea Rost herself simply radiates
soul and elegance. She acts from the
heart, her movements are soft. She
gives the impression of being a dreamy
operatic heroine, but she knows it takes
vast determination to become a star. She
Back in Helsinki
Andrea Rost was the first winner of the Mirjam Helin International
Singing Competition to return as a member of the jury. Victory in 1989
raised her to the lyric soprano elite, but she has never felt there was no
more to learn. And as she emphatically puts it, this calls for self-discipline.
"Charisma is extremely important for a singer.
It is something that speaks to the soul."
