For the first time in history, Russian countertenor has made it to the 10 finalists of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. 

      Russian young countertenor Andrey Nemzer is often described by music critics as one of the most promising Russian talents. He graduated from the Moscow Academy of Choral Art, then performed in Russian theatres and toured extensively in Europe, Asia and America. In 2010 Nemzer was offered a position as a teaching assistant at Duquesne University’s Mary Pappert School of Music in Pittsburgh, where he is currently studying at the faculty of Music Performance. Just this school sent him to the contest as the representative of one of the American regions. 

      His musical repertoire is rather wide and includes Renaissance and Baroque music, Jazz, Russian folk, old romances, sacred music and opera.

      In case of a victory, Andrey Nemzer will receive $15,000 prize at the Grand Finals Concert, accompanied by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, on March 18. The other finalists will receive $5,000 prizes.

      The contest is held among young opera talents from every corner of the world. It is established in 1954 for discovering new promising names and helping them in the development of their careers.  

Source: dni.ru Image: countertenors.ru