Sin Nyung Hwang: the picture of consistency and tenacity

Overcome by the intensity of the emotion, Sin Nyung Hwang made her way across the stage late Wednesday evening to accept the First Grand Prize of the 2005 Montreal International Musical Competition. She who had delivered a semi-final recital qualified by many of the die-hard music fans in the audience as purely exceptional, and who had displayed such remarkable self-assurance from the outset of the final round did not think for a moment that she would win the coveted prize. She was afraid to hope, wracked by feelings of self-doubt. "This prize isn't for me," she told the members of her host family again on the way home later that evening. The following day, after taking a long walk around the neighbourhood she has called home since the start of the Competition in an effort to come to grips with the reality of this win, she confided that when she was gathered with all of the other candidates backstage awaiting the announcement, she was the only one who wasn't crying. When her name was called, a wave of emotion suddenly came over her and threw her off balance.

Yet Sin Nyung Hwang is no stranger to international competitions. She took home 2nd prize in the Valsesia Viotti International Competition in 1998, 2nd prize in the Geneva International Competition in 2000, 1st prize in the Concours de chant d’Arles in 2003, 2nd prize in the Concours international de chant de Marseille the same year and 1st prize in the Spiros Argiris International Competition in Sarzana, Italy, last year. A finalist in the first edition of the Montreal International Musical Competition in 2002, she decided to try her hand again on Montreal soil. "In life, one must never give up. That's why I am back," she wrote prophetically in response to one of the informal questions submitted to candidates for the Competition website. From that famous evening in June 2002 when Measha Brueggergosman was crowned the winner of the first Competition, Sin Nyung Hwang knew she would be returning: "The first time, I was less sure of myself. Technically, musically, I had not yet matured enough. At that moment, I thought to myself that I would like to work to come back again."

Like the indefatigable and dedicated Maria Callas, her long-time idol – "She is unique because she has it all!" –, Sin Nyung is completely immersed in her art. "She quite literally cloistered herself to work," notes Mr. Ventura, her host for the duration of the Competition. And the hard work obviously paid off. "When I sing, I don't think about the jury or the audience. When I sing Lucia di Lammermoor, I can't be Lucia, but I can take on the role. I need my full concentration to convey the beauty of the music," she explains when asked to share the thoughts that accompany her on stage. She admits to experiencing a moment when time seems to stop, a moment of "ecstasy" when she was singing "Ah ! se una volta sola" from Bellini's La Sonnambula.

Her host family throughout the Competition, charmed by both her voice and human warmth, had nothing but praise for her when they heard the results. But in their eyes, whatever the outcome was to be, it was clear to them after only minutes of having met her that she was the big winner. "She threw her arms around my neck when she saw me at the airport," recounts a visibly moved Mr. Ventura, who was so convinced that the name of Sin Nyung Hwang, "an incredible ray of sunshine", would be among the top winners. He also notes the deep attachment forged between the singer and the members of his family (two of whom also practice the arts at a high level), her appreciation for small gestures of kindness and her engaging personality. "I do not trust glory," Maria Callas once said. Once the tears of joy have subsided, Sin Nyung Hwang will undoubtedly return to the task at hand of transmitting the beauty of the repertoire. Today, Montreal; tomorrow, the world!

Lucie Renaud