Winners announced for Kathleen Ferrier Awards Competition 2021

The prize winners of the 66th Kathleen Ferrier Awards Competition, were announced last night (Sunday 14 November).

This year’s first prize of £12,500 was won by British countertenor Hugh Cutting, a member of the Royal College of Music International Opera Studio and a Vocal Masters graduate of the Royal College of Music.

Ferrier chairman, Valerie Beale, said: ‘after a strong competition we are delighted that Hugh Cutting is joining the distinguished and exclusive club of Kathleen Ferrier winners. We look forward to seeing where this journey takes him.'

Latvian soprano Laura Peresivana, a student at the Guildhall Opera School who began her career at the Latvian National Opera, won the second prize of £6,000.

The Ferrier Loveday Song Prize of £5,000 went to British mezzo Helen Charlston who had previously won first prize in the 2018 Handel Singing Competition.

The Accompanist’s Prize of £5000, funded by the charity Help Musicians, went to Israeli pianist Ilan Kurtser, a student at the Royal Academy of Music and a member of the prestigious Academy Song Circle.

Having watched the semi-finalists and finalists’ performances at Southwark’s Henry Wood Hall, the final decisions were made by the Awards jury chaired by Sir Thomas Allen, a trustee of the Ferrier since 1994. He was joined by mezzo Alice Coote, soprano Valerie Masterson, tenor Ian Partridge, and James Baillieu, song and chamber music accompanist.

The Awards will be streamed online for free at the Kathleen Ferrier Awards website. The semi-final will be shown in four parts, available successively on Monday 29th November, Tuesday 30th November, Wednesday 1st December and Thursday 2nd December, each at 7.30pm. The final will be in two parts, respectively available to watch from Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th December, each also at 7.30pm.