Judges & Judging
Siegfried Jerusalem - International Judge
It was an honour to have the distinguished German tenor Siegfried Jerusalem as the judge for the 2009 Lexus Song Quest.
Siegfried Jerusalem began his professional music career as an orchestral bassoonist. In 1975 he stood in for tenor Franco Bonisolli for a television production of Der Zigeunerbaron, after which his singing career really took off, taking him to the major opera houses of Europe and the United States. He made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival in 1977 as "Froh" in Das Rheingold and the young sailor in Tristan und Isolde. Closely identified with the heldentenor roles of Wagner, he has performed Siegfried, Siegmund, Lohengrin, Parsifal and Tristan to wide acclaim and in 1996 he celebrated 20 consecutive years as the principal heldentenor at the Bayreuth Festival.
An accomplished Lieder singer, Siegfried Jerusalem has released recordings of Lieder by Schumann, Mahler and Strauss. He also features on many operatic recordings. While still singing, Siegfried Jerusalem is the Director of the Nuremberg-Augsburg School of Music and now devotes much of his time to the training of young singers.
Preliminary Judges
The preliminary judges for the 2009 Lexus Song Quest were Rosemary Barnes, Annabelle Cheetham and Richard Greager.
Rosemary Barnes spent several years on the music staff of the English National Opera, was assistant conductor on over a dozen Opera Rara recordings and worked for Glyndbourne Touring Opera, Opera Northern Ireland and Musica nel Chiostro in Tuscany. Since returning to New Zealand she has worked extensively as a vocal coach, repetiteur and accompanist with many organisations as well as working closely with most of the country's leading singers.
Annabelle Cheetham returned to New Zealand after 20 years as a freelance artist in London. Winning the Wagner Society Bursary led to several seasons at the Bayreuth Festival singing chorus and minor roles. She worked extensively with Opera Factory in London and Zurich and concert engagements took her to the Edinburgh and Salzburg Festivals. Since returning to New Zealand she has taught vocal technique at secondary schools.
Richard Greager's extensive international career has included periods as a company singer with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and principal tenor with the Scottish Opera, Hanover State Opera and Opera Australia. Now based in New Zealand, he is a regular performer on the operatic and concert stage throughout Australasia and Asia. Recent engagements have included concert performances of Strauss's Salome in Brisbane and Auckland and Der Rosenkavalier in Hong Kong.
Judging Procedure
The Lexus Song Quest aims to hear and present young New Zealand singers at their best. Entrants are required to prepare a six item programme (see Music Preparation).
At the preliminary audition the Preliminary Judges will ask to hear three items from this programme. Twelve semi-finalists will be selected.
Entrants living overseas or unable to attend the auditions may enter by submitting a recording. The recording must be in CD format and contain all six items. The recording must be of a professional broadcast quality because if you are selected as a semi-finalist, it will be broadcast on Radio New Zealand Concert. The tracks must be unedited, recorded without excessive reverb or processing and have a good balance between the voice and piano. The recording will be used for the preliminary and semi-final rounds. (Recording Guidelines are available on request.)
The semi-finalists will record their full six-item programme two months preceding the final. The preliminary judges then select the six finalists from these recordings.
At the 2009 Lexus Song Quest Final Concert, held at the Auckland Town Hall, on Thursday 23 April 2009, each finalist sung one item accompanied by Terence Dennis (piano) and two accompanied by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michael Lloyd.
