53rd Francisco Viñas International Singing Contest | Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona
Revista Musical Catalana (28/01/2016) - Mercedes Conde Pons
A magnificent performance from the Catalan soprano Sara Blanch, not only at the final stage but also at the prize-winners performance. The singer has an unusual scenic ease in young singers in their first forays onto stages like the Lyceum, which deserved the Audience Award mainly justified by her excellent overall performance. At the end the soprano started her performance with an impressive and full of energy version of "Der Holle Rache" from Mozart's Magic Flute, with a treble impeccably accurate, the singer repeated in the final stage and in the winners concert "They call me exquisite" from the The Barber of Seville (Gimenez and Nieto), which made her won the prize for Best Zarzuela Performance. "Una voce poco fa" from Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia -with high-pitched treble and well-chosen vocal ornaments- allowed us to enjoy a smooth and a well-placed voice, although occasionally blurred; we wish her a career full of successes in the future.
El Pais (25/01/2016) - Javier Pérez Senz
Sara Blanch was the one who succeeded, the one who showed us her promising vocal qualities while performing, with technical skills and scenic ease, some famous pages from Rossini's opera and Nieto and Giménez’s zarzuela both sharing the same main title: "The barber of Seville". He won the fourth prize, but hers was the voice that received the most enthusiastic applause of the concert, along Bridges.
Barcelona Classica (23/01/2016)
[…] and also the most successful winner this year was the Catalan soprano Sara Blanch, winning the fourth official award, the Audience Award and six other special prizes and special awards, thanks to a stunning performance of the “Queen of the Night” aria from The Magic Flute and a piece from "The barber of Seville" zarzuela.
