'A dream competition': Veteran singer Sumi Jo crowns winner in first edition of singing contest

The Sumi Jo International Singing Competition has been Jo’s dream project for the past four years. “It began with my desire to support young classical singers and provide more opportunities for them.”

Veteran soprano Sumi Jo hugs Korean tenor Lee Ki-up after he placed third at the Sumi Jo International Singing Competition, which ended Saturday at Château de La Ferté-Imbaultin in Loire Valley, central France. [NEWS1]

[Interview]

Veteran soprano Sumi Jo appeared buoyant as she answered the phone on the road in France on Saturday. The curtains had just closed on the first edition of her eponymous international singing competition at a château in Loire Valley, central France. Twenty-four up-and-coming singers from around the world competed for a week. Chinese baritone Li Zihao, 22, placed first, Romanian tenor George Ionut Virban, 20, placed second and Korean tenor Lee Ki-up, 31, placed third.

“I couldn’t stop my happy tears as I listened during the final round,” she told the JoongAng Ilbo, the Korean language affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily.

The Sumi Jo International Singing Competition has been Jo’s dream project for the past four years. “It began with my desire to support young classical singers and provide more opportunities for them.”

She added, “I’ve poured in all my ambition during the past week.”

The next Sumi Jo International Singing Competition is slated to be held in 2026. It is the year that Jo will be celebrating her 40th year since debuting as Gilda in Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Rigoletto" in Trieste, Italy.

Below is an edited excerpt of the JoongAng Ilbo’s interview with Jo.

Sumi Jo poses for the press ahead of the final rounds of her eponymous international singing competition at Château de La Ferté-Imbaultin in Loire Valley, central France, on Friday. [YONHAP]

Q. You say this is a special kind of competition. How did you proceed with making and hosting it?

A. Five hundred applicants from 47 countries sent in their recorded performances in our preliminary rounds. I was stunned. Everyone was so good. It wasn’t easy picking the top 24 to invite to France and even more difficult picking the final eight. Sixteen singers didn’t make it. I thought that was such a shame, so we held a surprise concert that wasn’t part of the initial plan. There, we asked the audience to download an app that would let them vote for one of those 16 singers, and the one with the most votes was included in the final group of singers.

Why did you decide to take such an unusual route?

They were all so talented, and [after the surprise concert], I still couldn’t let go of the remaining 15. We decided to break the mold once again, and the head of the judging panel and I each picked one singer to enter the finals. So, 11 singers ended up singing in the finals.

Romanian tenor George Ionut Virban, 20, sings during the Sumi Jo International Competition on Saturday. He placed second. [NEWS1]

But shouldn’t a competition be a place of critical evaluation?

I call this competition a “dream competition in [a] dream castle.” I wanted young singers to experience more and dream bigger as singers. Not only did we hold competitions, but we also held other events like public lessons, my solo concert and gala concerts.

What is your relationship to singing competitions?

My career started with them. From Viotti [International Music Competition] to competitions in Verona, Naples [both in Italy] and South Africa, I’ve done all kinds. I wasn’t financially well off so I needed the prize money. In those times, I stayed at cheap hotels and couldn’t afford lunch so would just walk to the competition hall, grab a piece of bread and sing. I didn’t want that for the singers in my competition.

What did you do for them?

We held the competition at Château de La Ferté-Imbault in Loire Valley, and there are many fancy houses nearby. Singers were paired in twos and each pair did a homestay at one of these houses. They were really grand places [...] with private pools and stables. Hyundai Motor also sponsored the competition and provided six Genesis cars so singers could move around comfortably.

Sumi Jo, third from left, poses with the three finalists of the Sumi Jo International Singing Competition on Saturday. From left are Korean tenor Lee Ki-up, Chinese baritone Li Zihao and Romanian tenor George Ionut Virban. [NEWS1]

Even though this was the first edition of the competition, it had many sponsors and high prize money. The first place singer received 50,000 euros ($54,559). How did you manage this?

I was initially afraid [of helming the competition] because I had never done it before. On the first day that the applications opened in March, only five had sent in their performance clips. But after a month or so, we started getting a hundred applications in a day. In China, in particular, 180 singers applied. There was no way I could go through all those clips, so I had to go to China to hear them myself. I can’t help but think that God was with me throughout this entire journey.

Korean tenor Lee Ki-up sings during the Sumi Jo International Singing Competition on Saturday. He placed third. [NEWS1]

How did you grade the singers?

I very clearly knew the kind of person I was looking for. Singing well is a given. After that, I looked at the singer as a person and their cultural foundations. I looked for an artist who could hold up a conversation through any topic. And most importantly, the person needed to have a clear idea about why he or she was doing music.

Were there many people like that?

Absolutely! Young classical singers these days are all very talented and they are all stars already. Many have it all.

What kinds of benefits do the finalists receive?

Placing first and just getting a trophy? That certainly isn’t the case. In our judging panel, we invited the casting director of Milan’s La Scala theater, the artistic adviser of New York's Metropolitan Opera House and the president of Warner Music Group’s classical label, Warner Classics. I wanted to open up as many opportunities as I could for them to continue singing. Just 30 minutes before this call, the La Scala casting director liked the winner [of the competition] so much that he said he was going to invite him to Italy.

Chinese baritone Li Zihao sings during the Sumi Jo International Singing Competition on Saturday. He placed first. [NEWS1]

How do you feel now that the first edition of the competition is over? I live by drawing up long-term plans and dreams in life, and one of those was realized today. Over the past 10 years, I have sat as a judge in many singing competitions, and it has made me set up a plan to help young classical singers. Of the 500 applicants from around the world, some 350 apparently said that they grew up listening to me as they were deciding to become singers. These days, I am thinking to myself that despite it all, I have done well.

BY KIM HO-JOUNG [kjdculture@joongang.co.kr]