Today, the gala concert was held. Performers were prize winners of “Licia Albanses-Puccini Foundation International Voice Competition.” The competition is held every year in April. I have participated twice, and won the 2nd prize at the second try.

One of the special features of this concert is guest performers. Traditionally, former great vocalists are invited. This year, it was Giulietta Simionato! She flew all the way from Milan to New York to perform in this concert!

She has been “The Diva” for me. I never even dreamed about seeing her in reality. When I finally had a chance to talk with her, my heart pounded (very unlike my usual self) and I thought I would die on the spot. She is 83 years, but her beauty was dignity, the atmosphere she had around her from long experience as the professional opera singer, presence, everything was simply glorious. When she appeared on the stage, the audience all stood to give standing ovation. Ms. Simionato gracefully responded to the audience with a radiant smile. The pleasant tension around her made her look ready to sing the very next moment! That was doubtlessly one of the unforgettable moments in my life.



That day, I was asked from Ms. Albanese to sing a song in French shorter than 4 minutes. I chose “Amour, vien aider ma aiblesse.” Since performers’ impression and the audience’s impression rarely coincide, allow me to leave the details of my performance aside.

I had also learned that managers from music agencies come to see the concert to scout any promising talent. But you cannot tell the real talent just by listening to one song. So they simply come and see whether there is any fascinating talent. Further investigation comes later. The production manager of New York City Opera was also there.

The concert was followed by cocktail and dinner parties. Prize winners us were invited to cocktail party and had the opportunity to talk with rich supporters of the foundation and former maestros. It is often said that if you were invited to a party in NY, you must go there regardless of anything, be it sick or injury. That is because you never know who is there, and a small talk with someone may change your life from the next day! I mainly talked with Mr. and Mrs. Liebergesell. They kindly introduced me to many, many people. I may later come up with the sequels.

Anyway, I just wanted to tell the world that this weekend was “The Simionato Weekend” for me. Thank you for reading it through, and have a wonderful week!