May 13, 2025 • 34 mins
Ever wondered what it takes to succeed in the high-stakes world of international opera competitions? This candid conversation with two rising stars - Sophie Naubert and Ihor Mostovoi - offers a fascinating glimpse behind the curtain of the prestigious Concours Musical International de Montréal.
The two singers provide invaluable insights into competition strategy, from repertoire selection to mental preparation. Sophie emphasizes choosing pieces that showcase her theatrical strengths while avoiding older repertoire that might reveal outdated vocal habits. Ihor describes crafting thematic art song programs built around concepts like "water and fire" or "horror and splendor," balancing technical agility with emotional depth.
Both artists speak candidly about competition's true purpose: beyond winning prizes, these events create crucial industry exposure and performance experience under pressure.
Whether you're an aspiring singer, a devoted opera fan, or simply curious about the artistic journey, listen to understand the strategic thinking, personal sacrifices and pure passion driving these remarkable young artists.
All episodes of The Opera Glasses podcast are hosted by the editor of Opera Canada, currently Michael Jones after Elizabeth Bowman hosted seasons 1 and 2. Follow Opera Canada on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Visit OperaCanada.ca for all of your Canadian Opera news and reviews.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Michael Jones (00:06):
Good day and welcome to the Opera Glasses
podcast.
My name is Michael Jones andI'm your host, and today we're
going to be talking aboutcompetitions and young artists,
focusing particularly on theConcours Musical International
de Montréal.
It is happening this yearbetween May 25th and June 6th,
(00:29):
featuring singers.
This year there are 24competitors from 16 countries
and this year the competitorsinclude four Canadians and we
will be covering them all inOpera Canada over the coming
weeks.
I'm speaking with two of themtoday in opera glasses.
This is my first three-waybroadcast, so I'm hoping this
(00:51):
goes well.
So I will be speaking with twotoday.
The other two will be coveredin the Artist of the Week
feature on Opera Canada's socialmedia feed, so make sure you're
following us Today, becausethere's two.
I'm going to allow them tointroduce themselves.
I'll go ladies first.
Sophie Nobert is a currentmember of the Atelier Lyrique at
(01:14):
l'Opéra de Montréal and thisyear she had her European debut
singing the title role in Semeleat Theater Lubeck in Germany.
Sophie, what would you like toshare with our audience?
Sophie Naubert (01:30):
Well, hi everyone, it's great to be here,
thank you.
I'm from Gatineau, quebec, andI moved to Montreal about eight
years ago to study voice and Ifell in love with opera when I
was about 17 or 18.
And I studied a lot of piano, Idid a lot of theatre and
professional acting as a kid andI did a lot of dance and it
(01:53):
just led up to opera, becauseopera just combines every art
form.
So, without even knowing that,I was going to pursue an opera
career.
So I had a very great training,starting as a kid, to go into
this path.
And, yes, I had my operaticEuropean debut in Lübeck,
(02:15):
germany, and it was, I think,the best experience that I've
ever lived ever in my life.
I met amazing colleagues andI'm very excited to be moving
there in the fall as a as a festsinger.
Michael Jones (02:28):
Oh, that's very exciting, and you're allowed to
announce that.
Sophie Naubert (02:31):
I am allowed.
Yeah, as of last week.
Michael Jones (02:34):
Congratulations, that's wonderful Sophie.
Sophie Naubert (02:37):
Thank you very much.
Michael Jones (02:39):
Ihor Mostovoi, and he will correct me if I just
said that wrong, although I waspracticing.
Ihor is a baritone.
He is a Ukrainian-Canadian, hestudied at McGill University and
he's currently a member of theYoung Artist Program at the
Opera Nationale de Paris, so heis joining us this morning from
(03:01):
Paris.
Ihor, what would you like totell us about yourself?
Ihor Mostovoi (03:05):
Thank you very much.
I'm very happy to be here.
It's a pleasure.
It's a pleasure to meet all ofyou, to meet Michael Sophie and
I've yes, I'm originally.
I was born in Ukraine and thenmoved to Canada and did my
studies at McGill and spentseven wonderful years in
(03:26):
Montreal and became Canadian aswell and my path in music
actually was brought intosinging by passion about rock
music and guitar.
So originally I asked myparents to bring me into music
school because I wanted to playguitar so much and then one of
the tests was singing andapparently it went well and
(03:49):
teachers there said why don'tyou come and make an audition
for the voice department?
And that's how I startedsinging and then after some time
voice just took over and thenapparently McGill has a very
strong school, great teachers,great singers and the big music
(04:11):
community, and then kind ofbecame my motivation as well to
pursue this careerprofessionally.
And yeah, and at the moment I'mat the Opéra de Paris and this
is a wonderful opportunity andvery happy to be here and
progress in my journey as anopera singer.
Michael Jones (04:31):
And before we go on, I'm dying to ask are you
still playing guitar?
Ihor Mostovoi (04:36):
I'm still playing a little bit, not very
frequently, but sometimes.
Michael Jones (04:44):
Not on the streets of paris to get no no,
but, but I would.
Ihor Mostovoi (04:49):
That's some something I want to come back to
and do more okay, well, thatsounds like a really lovely plan
.
Michael Jones (04:57):
Also, before we go for forward, I should ask you
do you still have family inukraine and how are they doing
right now?
Ihor Mostovoi (05:04):
Yes, I do, it's my mother and father.
My parents are in Ukraine.
They're in Odessa at the momentbecause originally we're from
Mariupol, which is occupied, sothey had to leave and they're
staying in Odessa now.
It's difficult, but we'restriving and we're trying to
(05:25):
keep positive good spirits andhopefully this will come to the
end soon and people will be ableto live peacefully.
Michael Jones (05:38):
Well, thank you.
Thank you for being willing toshare that with our listeners.
Ihor Mostovoi (05:42):
Thank you very much.
Michael Jones (05:43):
And our best wishes go out to your mother and
father and we hope that theyare continuing to, let's just
say, make it through and behealthy and find as much life as
they can in Odessa and that,hopefully, someday they will be
able to return peacefully.
Ihor Mostovoi (06:03):
Thank you very much, thank you so much, thank
you so much Thank you forsharing that.
Michael Jones (06:07):
So competitions play a major role in the career
of young artists.
As I look at it, one of mypleasures this year has been
meeting a lot of emergingartists who represent the new
generation, the next singersthat we will be hearing for
years and years.
And as I read your bios, manyof you talk a lot about
(06:31):
competitions.
Can you please share with ourlisteners why competitions are
so important, why you enter them, and also maybe a little bit
about how you choose which onesto enter?
Sophie Naubert (06:43):
maybe a little bit about how you choose which
ones to enter.
Actually, I personally havejust one reason why I do big
competitions it's for exposure.
There are casting directors andagents who come from all over
the world who come to listen tous, especially for the
semifinals and finals.
So it's mainly just forexposure.
(07:03):
And even if a singer does notwin or does not gain success in
the competition, a castingdirector attending the
competition might want to signwith them or offer a contract
for the future.
So it's always great forexposure and contacts are
everything in this industry.
Ihor Mostovoi (07:20):
So that's my main and almost only reason why I do
these to be her I think thereis not a lot of things to add to
what sophie said, but I thinkit's also it also can be a good
motivation for for growthbecause, um, you go for
experience and, uh, sometimesyou win, sometimes you don't,
(07:42):
and if you don't, you canre-listen to your recordings,
see what you did, becausecompetition is also a
performance and in performancesthings go differently and we can
learn for future.
In this kind of stresssituation, when you put under
(08:03):
the certain pressure, you cansee how you act, how your body
behaves, how your voice behaves,how your memory behaves, and I
think it's a very goodexperience as well.
In addition to exposure, inaddition to being seen by
(08:23):
casting directors, being seen bytheater directors and by agents
.
I think it's a very good optionto put yourself under certain
pressure and get some feedback.
Michael Jones (08:41):
Okay, that sounds very Now.
I'm even feeling the pressurehere.
Why the and the ConcoursMusical International de
Montréal?
How did you light on that?
Is it about the fact that youboth have relationships with
that city, or was theresomething that really drew you
(09:02):
to this one in particular?
I'll start with Ihor this time.
Ihor Mostovoi (09:06):
Well, concours International de Montréal it
always was one of thecompetitions that I really
wanted to do and I appliedseveral times.
In fact, and this is the, or Ithink, one or two times I
applied, and this is the firsttime I made it, so I'm happy.
(09:27):
I'm already happy with thisresult and it was always a
pleasure to see the high levelthat this competition brings and
the international communitythat it unites, because singers
come from all over the places.
(09:47):
And then, of course, I don'twant to say goals, but maybe
goals to try and take part inthis competition.
Michael Jones (10:07):
That's interesting and I don't want to
interrupt you, sophie, if youhave anything to add, so I'm
going to come to you in a second.
But, ihor, you mentioned you'dapplied to this before.
I had been told by the peopleat the Concours that Sophie had,
so I was intending actually toask her about that.
I know, sophie, that theConcours Musical International
(10:28):
de Montréal alternates betweenthree disciplines, so they do
piano, they do violin and theydo voice, and so voice is only
every three years, so the lastyear must have been 2022.
And I know, sophie, that youapplied at that time and also
were not successful getting tothese rounds.
(10:48):
But you're back.
Why?
Maybe this is all tied together, but why do you come back?
And the same Ihor can answerthe same thing as well, but I'll
start with you.
Sophie Naubert (11:02):
Well, I'm a big fan of the CMIM.
I the first year that I movedhere actually when I was
studying at the Conservatoirethere was the 2018 voice edition
, and I was still very, veryyoung, I was starting my
undergrad and I got tickets tosee every single round, from art
song selection to to um, thearia division, uh, and I also
(11:24):
saw all of the master classesfor uh university de Montreal
students and conservatoirestudents that they were offering
as well.
So I attended every singleevent because I felt so inspired
and I just loved how thecompetition was organized, how
it was open to anyone.
Anyone could just come in inthe afternoon and sit and listen
(11:44):
to a masterclass, with amazingmasters coming from from every
part of the world, and I felt Ijust felt so inspired.
And sometimes my teacher wouldcome along with me and she'd say
look how she's so precise withher text.
You should do that in this meet.
And it was just amazing, anamazing moment for me in June.
That whole month, I was justthere the entire time.
(12:08):
So, of course, I applied for the2022 edition.
If I'm not mistaken, I thinkthey jumped a year because there
was the pandemic edition.
If I'm not mistaken, I thinkthey jumped a year because there
was the pandemic and Iabsolutely loved my experience
doing the CMIM in 2022.
The competition was soorganized.
(12:28):
If we had any questions oranything, they would always be
there for us.
They would answer our emails,our calls and it was an amazing
experience.
Also, between competitors,there was no jealousy or
competition vibe.
It was just very friendly andit was an amazing opportunity
and I learned a lot frompreparing for an international
(12:50):
competition.
This was my first internationalcompetition.
I think I was among theyoungest of all the competitors
and I remember just having ablast and learning from all my
competitors and learning aboutthe mental preparation, the
physical preparation and thevocal preparation for a big
competition.
So I'm actually gettinginspired by my younger self to
(13:12):
prepare for this year'scompetition younger self to
prepare for this this year'scompetition.
Michael Jones (13:20):
That's, that's wonderful.
Do the, does the, the jury,does the panel play a role in
making decisions?
This year's panel features some.
It's chaired by adrian pizancawho is, I should say, as the
opera canada editor, who is aformer ruby recipient from Opera
Canada magazine.
Adrienne is also an Order ofCanada recipient.
She is the chair of vocalstudies currently at Glenn Gould
(13:46):
School, but she also had amajor international career.
The jury this year includessenior staff at the Canadian
Opera Company as well as theopera companies in both Seattle
and Chicago, and some incrediblesingers.
In addition to Adrian, there isEtienne Dupuy and Susan Graham
(14:06):
and Harrolyn Blackwell, who, Iwill say, I remember so well
because she played Circumstancethe first time I ever saw
Dialogue des Carmelites many,many years ago.
So it's a really wonderfulpanel this year.
Do you know who those peopleare in advance?
(14:26):
Does that help you decide whatand where to go to?
Ihor Mostovoi (14:32):
I mean, yes, usually as singers, we look at
who is on the jury and, forexample, in this competitions,
on the jury there are a lot ofpeople who I admire.
So for me it's it's a greatopportunity to maybe get some
feedback, advice and and be ableto sing for them and be able to
(14:56):
sing for them.
They're very highlyprofessional people and highly
professional singers and peoplewho I saw on stage and who
inspire me every time I see themon stage.
So I'm very excited and ingeneral for competitions, I
think most of singers look atwho are the juries just to know
(15:21):
what kind of repertoire you canoffer or see, because people
have different tastes andthey've sang different
repertoires.
So that would give some kind ofidea of what would be better
for this or that competition.
So I think it's important.
Michael Jones (15:45):
You give me such great segues, so let's actually
talk a little bit aboutrepertoire.
Now, sophie, can you talk alittle bit about what you're
singing and why you chose thosethings?
Sophie Naubert (15:56):
Yes, bit about what you're singing and why you
chose those things.
Yes, Well, I choose repertoirefor competitions based on a few
points.
First off is my vocaltheatrical strengths and also
the mood of each piece, like theemotional journey that I want
to present to the audience, andalso the repertoire requirements
(16:18):
which are out of my control,but I have to respect Um so um
for me.
For example, I my strengths arecoloratura, um, a lot of
theatrical um pieces likecharacter pieces or party pieces
, um, from my, my acting as achild, Um, so I often go for,
(16:38):
like fiery coloratura, brevuraarias.
So for my first round I'mstarting off with a semoli aria,
actually, that I've sungmultiple times this year, which
opens up early music, which ismy forte, coloratura.
And then, second aria, I'mdoing a Canadian piece because
(16:58):
for the first round we have todo a contemporary piece that was
written after 1975.
So I'll be doing a KendraHarder piece which is kind of
like a baroque pastiche aria andit's very funny, it's in
English.
So it will show a bit of myanother personality, more
character, more acting.
(17:18):
And then I'm finishing with LeFeu from L'Enfant et les
Sortilèges by Ravel.
So again finishing with thatbig cul-de-sac French, which is
my mother tongue.
So yeah, always go with mystrengths.
Michael Jones (17:35):
So before I go to you, I want to do a little
shout out to kendra harder, whois a young, emerging female
composer from canada, and she isbased in saskatchewan and I
like to tell people that thatthings happen.
I was, I was the ceo of of saskarts for many, many years and
(17:55):
so I became familiar with herwork.
Her work is really exceptional.
So thank you for performing ayoung, emerging woman composer.
Ihor, what's on the plate foryou, well?
Ihor Mostovoi (18:10):
it depends for lead part of the competition and
for opera part of thecompetition and for opera, part
of the competition, because, forexample, for the melody and
lead part of the competition, Iwas trying to choose more based
on a theme.
So I would build a program ofthe of the of the round
(18:33):
depending on the theme.
For example, my first round isuh, based on water and fire.
Uh, which is like eternalopposites, and uh.
So there are um, I'm singingroadside fire by one Williams,
uh.
Then there's a Ukrainian song,um, which is called the boat,
(18:55):
which is about water, but alsoin a lot of ways, in a lot of
ways philosophical, about life,because it compares the boat in
the open water with the life ofa person.
And then another choice isDiafoeia Raita, which by Hugo
Wolf, which is by Hugo Wolf,which is one of my favorites and
(19:18):
always I'm having lots of funwhen I'm singing that.
And another one is La vague etla cloche by Duparc, which is
also my other favorite composer.
So, and the second row round isthe repertoire about the horror
and splendor.
So there are different songsthat show either the horror and
splendor.
So there are different songsthat show either horrible
(19:42):
situations and horror of thesituations, for example, like
Die Zwerg of Schubert, andanother one is something about
splendor, which is like alsoEpiphany, by Charles Copeland,
which is unknown piece, but ittalks about very and it talks
(20:06):
about life, but in very, I can'tsay vague, but very, like you
don't really understand, thewords are so poetic that you
don't have a clear idea whatexactly is going on.
Because it talks about thelakes and of the big figure of a
(20:27):
guardian who guards the orangetree, who looks at the woman who
passes on the lakes.
And for me, like every personcan find their own explanation
for the song, but for me this isthe guardian, the spirit,
spiritual figures who watch thelife going on on the earth, and
which is about splendor for me,which is about something nice
(20:51):
and beautiful.
So the, I was trying to base itbased around the theme, and for
opera of course it's different,because Sometimes we can base
our repair, turn around thetheme, but because we want to
show so many things and we tryto show the, the biggest
versatility also, but ourstrength also.
(21:13):
So we have to, we have to bebased on our voice and the
character, preference and vocal,vocal things that vocally are
comfortable, so.
So my repertoire for opera wasbased basically on characters
that I love and what can I showwith this or that aria?
Michael Jones (21:38):
And examples just from your opera rep.
Ihor Mostovoi (21:42):
Yeah, for example , for showing the agility of the
voice I chose.
There are two arias indifferent rounds.
One is Sibilar from rinaldo byhandle and another one is
dandini from uh lechnerentola.
And then, uh, things that showmore of a legato style and more
(22:03):
of a line in the voice are uhbyne from Don Quixote, which is
there's it's very characterpiece, but there's also a lot of
places where you can show theline.
Another one I tried to also addsomething that is unknown, so I
(22:23):
tried to add the Ukrainian aria, which is by Konstantin
Donkevich, which is from operaBogdan Fomilnitsky, and this is
the monologue, which also hasbeautiful legato lines.
And this is something that Imight not be able to do as a
role in the next couple of years, but it shows my direction,
where I go.
Michael Jones (22:45):
That's interesting and I'm coming back
to Sophieie with it, because youtalked about ior, just talked
about I'm not, maybe not readyto sing this right now, but this
is the direction that he hopeshe's going.
You, I know you're opening.
You're starting with samalee,which is something that you've
performed this year.
(23:06):
Do you have any any stretcharias in your rep for this, or
are you really going with whatyou have completely got under
your belt and have performed?
Sophie Naubert (23:18):
Actually, out of the well talking about arias,
out of the nine arias that wehave to prepare, I only have
three arias that are reallyunder my belt, that I've
performed and that I'mcomfortable with.
The other six are all fairly newand I might say I still have to
(23:38):
learn another aria that I willdo today, I promise myself.
But yeah, it's fairly newrepertoire because I I do.
I don't like to do older ariasbecause I tend to have my tend
to show my older habits.
And as the voice develops andas you, you work and refined
(24:01):
your vocal technique, you findthat sometimes old repertoire
might not work and especially ina competition, under pressure,
singers often tend to go back totheir old vocal habits.
So I tried, yeah, this year Isaid I'm just going to go with
new repertoire and I am doingsome repertoire that I have
never sung.
And that's not coloratura thatI'm starting gently with.
(24:26):
I have Steal Me Sweet Thiefthief by Monati.
That's very lyric, um, veryslow, which I'm not used to and
I'm I'm really learning to getcomfortable with it, which is a
very fun process.
And also um the uh, sophie Aria, ich bin euer liebten, uh, from
Rosenkavalier by Strauss.
That's another stretch for meworking, working those floaty
(24:49):
high notes, working the legato,the slower lines.
So that's a big challenge forme, but it's an amazing
challenge, it's a very goodproblem.
Michael Jones (25:01):
That sounds very exciting and I will come back
while we're still on repertoire.
Ihor Mostovoi (25:05):
I'm going to come back to Ihor and just say end
youradian aria, because I knowit's required for this year's
competition yes, yes, it's fromthe opera la reine garcon and
this is a very beautiful pieceand I'm actually feeling a
little bit.
I don't think of scared is agood word, but uh, because on
(25:25):
the jury there's gonna be a tndpwho, but because on the jury
there's going to be a TNGP whosang this role, and I think he
created this role and I wouldlike to sing it in a good
standard and make him proud inthis music, if I can say like
(25:48):
this so, but Were you inMontreal when La Reine Garcon
premiered.
No, I wasn't unfortunately Okay,but I wish I was.
Michael Jones (26:01):
That is really, really exciting.
I'm going to give some detailsabout the competition and then
I'm just just because I'mconscious of everyone's time,
I'm going to move into a speedround with the singers to to end
the day.
But and forgive me forreferring to my notes, but there
are a lot of details to give.
First of all, as sophie wassharing, all of these rounds are
(26:23):
open to the public and pleasepurchase your tickets.
Go hear these young voices.
What hearing hearing voices incompetition when they're at the
very beginning song is a realgem in the repertoire and
(26:53):
requires a very differentapproach.
So it lets you hear singers dosomething that you might not as
readily hear them do elsewhere.
So please join.
The first round, which includesboth aria and art song, runs
from May 25th to 29th.
It leads up to the art songfinale, which is on May 31st.
(27:14):
The semi-finals oh sorry.
The first round competitionswill be held in the Salle
Bourgie at the Musée desBeaux-Arts in Montreal.
The semi-finals are june 3rdand 4th at the maison
symphonique de montreal, at theplace des arts, with the finals
to follow on june 6th.
(27:35):
You can find out moreinformation and you can get
tickets at concours montrealca,which is yeah, let's just have
some fun and move in.
We do a speed round at the endof these just to learn a little
bit more about these people,these singers, as people.
I think that's a great thing todo, because it also lets us
(27:56):
know it lets us know that thereare people behind the
spectacular work that we see onstage, that it just is regular
human beings doing these amazingthings.
So I'm going to start, I'mgoing to go back and forth.
Ihor your favorite guiltypleasure food.
Ihor Mostovoi (28:16):
Dumplings.
Any kind of dumplings.
Michael Jones (28:22):
Very nice, and so , Sophie, I will.
I'll flip it.
I'm not going to ask you thesame one, so you don't have time
to prepare your favorite drink.
Oh tea, tea Lovely.
And is it flavors?
Is it herbals or is it juststraight Green tea?
Sophie Naubert (28:37):
Any green tea, any green tea, that's lovely,
I'm a huge fan.
Michael Jones (28:41):
Do you brew your own with the loose leaves?
Sophie Naubert (28:43):
Yes, absolutely yeah, I have hojicha matcha
oolong any tea.
I have it in my apartment.
Michael Jones (28:53):
Nehar, what's the thing you do when you're
preparing for a performance thatgets you all revved up and
ready?
What is your routine?
Ihor Mostovoi (29:02):
I do some breathing exercises.
I have some recording and for10 minutes I just I breathe in,
breathe out.
There's this great thing whichis called Wim Hof breathing
routine and it's on YouTube.
Everybody can do it, but thisreally gets me calm and centered
.
Michael Jones (29:23):
Okay, that's a really good approach.
Sophie, the role in the futurethat you most dream about
singing right now oh, queen ofthe night, oh, really, okay,
that's because you want to havethe two big arias and then just
stay off stage the rest yeah.
Emails during the opera yeah goback to another hit and then go
(29:45):
back to your computer.
Exactly.
I'm gonna ask you the samequestion, or what's your dream
role?
Ihor Mostovoi (29:53):
Wow, I really like Oprah Falstaff, so I would
say Ford and, the short term,dandini.
Michael Jones (30:02):
Short term is Dandini, but Ford in the longer
term.
Are you doing any Verity yet?
Are you starting with somelighter verity or uh, I have one
in the competition rep.
Ihor Mostovoi (30:13):
I have, uh, rodrigo's dustin, so I'm I'm
starting little by little, butI'm trying to be very careful
good for you.
Michael Jones (30:23):
Good for you, um sophie.
What's the best advice anyoneever gave you?
Sophie Naubert (30:28):
Stay in your lane.
Michael Jones (30:30):
That's interesting.
Yeah, and was that a vocalteacher, or was that just?
Sophie Naubert (30:36):
It was actually a sports psychologist that works
at the Atelier des Riques.
He gives us one-on-onecoachings and he once mentioned
stay in your lane.
And he once mentioned stay inyour lane.
Don't think of whatever otherpeople may think, or don't think
of exterior judgment.
Just keep on going.
(30:57):
Trust yourself.
If you know that your processworks, just keep going.
And every path is different.
Everyone has a different careerpath and wants different things
in life.
Michael Jones (31:14):
So you just do.
You keep going.
Yeah, now for the one morequestion for each of you.
So I'll do something.
It's a little pop culture justfor fun.
Guitar player yehor.
What do you listen to that'snot classical?
What's your favorite thing tolisten to music?
I listen to rock music.
Ihor Mostovoi (31:27):
I still listen to it.
So I I listen to things likeiron maiden and uh like music
like this metal, the hard rockyes, yes, but a lot of popular
music too, I mean a lot of popmusic.
Uh, it's always I'm like I likewith food.
I like a lot of food.
(31:48):
Like music too, I like a lot ofmusic, so I listen to
everything.
Michael Jones (31:54):
Ed.
I will end with Sophie, A movieyou saw recently that you
really loved.
Sophie Naubert (31:59):
I saw Game Night .
That was really nice withRachel McAdams.
That I saw on the plane a weekago.
It was very nice.
Action and crime and comedy atthe same time.
Michael Jones (32:11):
Okay, well, that's perfect.
You see, the speed round isvery easy.
I would like to thank both ofyou for taking time out of your
preparation to join us today, totell us about the competition,
to tell us about yourselves andto let us meet you Now.
Is there any place online I'llcome to Ihor first where people
(32:33):
can go and see, hear recordingsof you?
Ihor Mostovoi (32:37):
I mean, the best place is my Instagram account.
There are some recordings there.
Michael Jones (32:44):
What is your Instagram?
Ihor Mostovoi (32:45):
account Ihor, it's Ihor Mostovoi, so it's like
my name, but all together.
And with account Ihor, it'sIhor Mostovoi, so it's like my
name, but all together and withH Ihor Ihor, yeah.
Michael Jones (32:55):
I will just just so everyone has it
I-H-O-R-M-O-S-T-O-V-O-I.
Ihor Mostovoi (33:03):
Wonderful Thank you very much.
Michael Jones (33:07):
And Sophie, where can people go to hear some more
of you?
Sophie Naubert (33:10):
Well, like Ihor on Instagram, I have two videos,
I think, on my website and onYouTube.
You can just Google my nameSophie Nobert.
Michael Jones (33:20):
Sophie Nobert, that's N-A-U-B-E-R-T, which was
not so hard because it'sactually written in front of me
on the screen.
Which was not so hard becauseit's actually written in front
of me on the screen.
So thank you so much for takingthe time to join me.
I hope that our listeners thatthe Opera Canada podcast, opera
Glasses, that our listeners goand check out more, and I hope
(33:43):
that as many as possible areable to come and hear you in
Montreal.
Thank you so much Once again.
This has been Michael Jones forthe Opera Glasses podcast.
I've been speaking with SophieNobert and Igor Mostovoi, who
are two of the competitors inthe Concours Musical
International de Montréal at theend of May and beginning of
(34:03):
June.
Thank you for taking your time,your time to listen to us and
please join us again.
Good day and welcome to the Opera Glasses
podcast.
My name is Michael Jones andI'm your host, and today we're
going to be talking aboutcompetitions and young artists,
focusing particularly on theConcours Musical International
de Montréal.
It is happening this yearbetween May 25th and June 6th,
(00:29):
featuring singers.
This year there are 24competitors from 16 countries
and this year the competitorsinclude four Canadians and we
will be covering them all inOpera Canada over the coming
weeks.
I'm speaking with two of themtoday in opera glasses.
This is my first three-waybroadcast, so I'm hoping this
(00:51):
goes well.
So I will be speaking with twotoday.
The other two will be coveredin the Artist of the Week
feature on Opera Canada's socialmedia feed, so make sure you're
following us Today, becausethere's two.
I'm going to allow them tointroduce themselves.
I'll go ladies first.
Sophie Nobert is a currentmember of the Atelier Lyrique at
(01:14):
l'Opéra de Montréal and thisyear she had her European debut
singing the title role in Semeleat Theater Lubeck in Germany.
Sophie, what would you like toshare with our audience?
Sophie Naubert (01:30):
Well, hi everyone, it's great to be here,
thank you.
I'm from Gatineau, quebec, andI moved to Montreal about eight
years ago to study voice and Ifell in love with opera when I
was about 17 or 18.
And I studied a lot of piano, Idid a lot of theatre and
professional acting as a kid andI did a lot of dance and it
(01:53):
just led up to opera, becauseopera just combines every art
form.
So, without even knowing that,I was going to pursue an opera
career.
So I had a very great training,starting as a kid, to go into
this path.
And, yes, I had my operaticEuropean debut in Lübeck,
(02:15):
germany, and it was, I think,the best experience that I've
ever lived ever in my life.
I met amazing colleagues andI'm very excited to be moving
there in the fall as a as a festsinger.
Michael Jones (02:28):
Oh, that's very exciting, and you're allowed to
announce that.
Sophie Naubert (02:31):
I am allowed.
Yeah, as of last week.
Michael Jones (02:34):
Congratulations, that's wonderful Sophie.
Sophie Naubert (02:37):
Thank you very much.
Michael Jones (02:39):
Ihor Mostovoi, and he will correct me if I just
said that wrong, although I waspracticing.
Ihor is a baritone.
He is a Ukrainian-Canadian, hestudied at McGill University and
he's currently a member of theYoung Artist Program at the
Opera Nationale de Paris, so heis joining us this morning from
(03:01):
Paris.
Ihor, what would you like totell us about yourself?
Ihor Mostovoi (03:05):
Thank you very much.
I'm very happy to be here.
It's a pleasure.
It's a pleasure to meet all ofyou, to meet Michael Sophie and
I've yes, I'm originally.
I was born in Ukraine and thenmoved to Canada and did my
studies at McGill and spentseven wonderful years in
(03:26):
Montreal and became Canadian aswell and my path in music
actually was brought intosinging by passion about rock
music and guitar.
So originally I asked myparents to bring me into music
school because I wanted to playguitar so much and then one of
the tests was singing andapparently it went well and
(03:49):
teachers there said why don'tyou come and make an audition
for the voice department?
And that's how I startedsinging and then after some time
voice just took over and thenapparently McGill has a very
strong school, great teachers,great singers and the big music
(04:11):
community, and then kind ofbecame my motivation as well to
pursue this careerprofessionally.
And yeah, and at the moment I'mat the Opéra de Paris and this
is a wonderful opportunity andvery happy to be here and
progress in my journey as anopera singer.
Michael Jones (04:31):
And before we go on, I'm dying to ask are you
still playing guitar?
Ihor Mostovoi (04:36):
I'm still playing a little bit, not very
frequently, but sometimes.
Michael Jones (04:44):
Not on the streets of paris to get no no,
but, but I would.
Ihor Mostovoi (04:49):
That's some something I want to come back to
and do more okay, well, thatsounds like a really lovely plan
.
Michael Jones (04:57):
Also, before we go for forward, I should ask you
do you still have family inukraine and how are they doing
right now?
Ihor Mostovoi (05:04):
Yes, I do, it's my mother and father.
My parents are in Ukraine.
They're in Odessa at the momentbecause originally we're from
Mariupol, which is occupied, sothey had to leave and they're
staying in Odessa now.
It's difficult, but we'restriving and we're trying to
(05:25):
keep positive good spirits andhopefully this will come to the
end soon and people will be ableto live peacefully.
Michael Jones (05:38):
Well, thank you.
Thank you for being willing toshare that with our listeners.
Ihor Mostovoi (05:42):
Thank you very much.
Michael Jones (05:43):
And our best wishes go out to your mother and
father and we hope that theyare continuing to, let's just
say, make it through and behealthy and find as much life as
they can in Odessa and that,hopefully, someday they will be
able to return peacefully.
Ihor Mostovoi (06:03):
Thank you very much, thank you so much, thank
you so much Thank you forsharing that.
Michael Jones (06:07):
So competitions play a major role in the career
of young artists.
As I look at it, one of mypleasures this year has been
meeting a lot of emergingartists who represent the new
generation, the next singersthat we will be hearing for
years and years.
And as I read your bios, manyof you talk a lot about
(06:31):
competitions.
Can you please share with ourlisteners why competitions are
so important, why you enter them, and also maybe a little bit
about how you choose which onesto enter?
Sophie Naubert (06:43):
maybe a little bit about how you choose which
ones to enter.
Actually, I personally havejust one reason why I do big
competitions it's for exposure.
There are casting directors andagents who come from all over
the world who come to listen tous, especially for the
semifinals and finals.
So it's mainly just forexposure.
(07:03):
And even if a singer does notwin or does not gain success in
the competition, a castingdirector attending the
competition might want to signwith them or offer a contract
for the future.
So it's always great forexposure and contacts are
everything in this industry.
Ihor Mostovoi (07:20):
So that's my main and almost only reason why I do
these to be her I think thereis not a lot of things to add to
what sophie said, but I thinkit's also it also can be a good
motivation for for growthbecause, um, you go for
experience and, uh, sometimesyou win, sometimes you don't,
(07:42):
and if you don't, you canre-listen to your recordings,
see what you did, becausecompetition is also a
performance and in performancesthings go differently and we can
learn for future.
In this kind of stresssituation, when you put under
(08:03):
the certain pressure, you cansee how you act, how your body
behaves, how your voice behaves,how your memory behaves, and I
think it's a very goodexperience as well.
In addition to exposure, inaddition to being seen by
(08:23):
casting directors, being seen bytheater directors and by agents
.
I think it's a very good optionto put yourself under certain
pressure and get some feedback.
Michael Jones (08:41):
Okay, that sounds very Now.
I'm even feeling the pressurehere.
Why the and the ConcoursMusical International de
Montréal?
How did you light on that?
Is it about the fact that youboth have relationships with
that city, or was theresomething that really drew you
(09:02):
to this one in particular?
I'll start with Ihor this time.
Ihor Mostovoi (09:06):
Well, concours International de Montréal it
always was one of thecompetitions that I really
wanted to do and I appliedseveral times.
In fact, and this is the, or Ithink, one or two times I
applied, and this is the firsttime I made it, so I'm happy.
(09:27):
I'm already happy with thisresult and it was always a
pleasure to see the high levelthat this competition brings and
the international communitythat it unites, because singers
come from all over the places.
(09:47):
And then, of course, I don'twant to say goals, but maybe
goals to try and take part inthis competition.
Michael Jones (10:07):
That's interesting and I don't want to
interrupt you, sophie, if youhave anything to add, so I'm
going to come to you in a second.
But, ihor, you mentioned you'dapplied to this before.
I had been told by the peopleat the Concours that Sophie had,
so I was intending actually toask her about that.
I know, sophie, that theConcours Musical International
(10:28):
de Montréal alternates betweenthree disciplines, so they do
piano, they do violin and theydo voice, and so voice is only
every three years, so the lastyear must have been 2022.
And I know, sophie, that youapplied at that time and also
were not successful getting tothese rounds.
(10:48):
But you're back.
Why?
Maybe this is all tied together, but why do you come back?
And the same Ihor can answerthe same thing as well, but I'll
start with you.
Sophie Naubert (11:02):
Well, I'm a big fan of the CMIM.
I the first year that I movedhere actually when I was
studying at the Conservatoirethere was the 2018 voice edition
, and I was still very, veryyoung, I was starting my
undergrad and I got tickets tosee every single round, from art
song selection to to um, thearia division, uh, and I also
(11:24):
saw all of the master classesfor uh university de Montreal
students and conservatoirestudents that they were offering
as well.
So I attended every singleevent because I felt so inspired
and I just loved how thecompetition was organized, how
it was open to anyone.
Anyone could just come in inthe afternoon and sit and listen
(11:44):
to a masterclass, with amazingmasters coming from from every
part of the world, and I felt Ijust felt so inspired.
And sometimes my teacher wouldcome along with me and she'd say
look how she's so precise withher text.
You should do that in this meet.
And it was just amazing, anamazing moment for me in June.
That whole month, I was justthere the entire time.
(12:08):
So, of course, I applied for the2022 edition.
If I'm not mistaken, I thinkthey jumped a year because there
was the pandemic edition.
If I'm not mistaken, I thinkthey jumped a year because there
was the pandemic and Iabsolutely loved my experience
doing the CMIM in 2022.
The competition was soorganized.
(12:28):
If we had any questions oranything, they would always be
there for us.
They would answer our emails,our calls and it was an amazing
experience.
Also, between competitors,there was no jealousy or
competition vibe.
It was just very friendly andit was an amazing opportunity
and I learned a lot frompreparing for an international
(12:50):
competition.
This was my first internationalcompetition.
I think I was among theyoungest of all the competitors
and I remember just having ablast and learning from all my
competitors and learning aboutthe mental preparation, the
physical preparation and thevocal preparation for a big
competition.
So I'm actually gettinginspired by my younger self to
(13:12):
prepare for this year'scompetition younger self to
prepare for this this year'scompetition.
Michael Jones (13:20):
That's, that's wonderful.
Do the, does the, the jury,does the panel play a role in
making decisions?
This year's panel features some.
It's chaired by adrian pizancawho is, I should say, as the
opera canada editor, who is aformer ruby recipient from Opera
Canada magazine.
Adrienne is also an Order ofCanada recipient.
She is the chair of vocalstudies currently at Glenn Gould
(13:46):
School, but she also had amajor international career.
The jury this year includessenior staff at the Canadian
Opera Company as well as theopera companies in both Seattle
and Chicago, and some incrediblesingers.
In addition to Adrian, there isEtienne Dupuy and Susan Graham
(14:06):
and Harrolyn Blackwell, who, Iwill say, I remember so well
because she played Circumstancethe first time I ever saw
Dialogue des Carmelites many,many years ago.
So it's a really wonderfulpanel this year.
Do you know who those peopleare in advance?
(14:26):
Does that help you decide whatand where to go to?
Ihor Mostovoi (14:32):
I mean, yes, usually as singers, we look at
who is on the jury and, forexample, in this competitions,
on the jury there are a lot ofpeople who I admire.
So for me it's it's a greatopportunity to maybe get some
feedback, advice and and be ableto sing for them and be able to
(14:56):
sing for them.
They're very highlyprofessional people and highly
professional singers and peoplewho I saw on stage and who
inspire me every time I see themon stage.
So I'm very excited and ingeneral for competitions, I
think most of singers look atwho are the juries just to know
(15:21):
what kind of repertoire you canoffer or see, because people
have different tastes andthey've sang different
repertoires.
So that would give some kind ofidea of what would be better
for this or that competition.
So I think it's important.
Michael Jones (15:45):
You give me such great segues, so let's actually
talk a little bit aboutrepertoire.
Now, sophie, can you talk alittle bit about what you're
singing and why you chose thosethings?
Sophie Naubert (15:56):
Yes, bit about what you're singing and why you
chose those things.
Yes, Well, I choose repertoirefor competitions based on a few
points.
First off is my vocaltheatrical strengths and also
the mood of each piece, like theemotional journey that I want
to present to the audience, andalso the repertoire requirements
(16:18):
which are out of my control,but I have to respect Um so um
for me.
For example, I my strengths arecoloratura, um, a lot of
theatrical um pieces likecharacter pieces or party pieces
, um, from my, my acting as achild, Um, so I often go for,
(16:38):
like fiery coloratura, brevuraarias.
So for my first round I'mstarting off with a semoli aria,
actually, that I've sungmultiple times this year, which
opens up early music, which ismy forte, coloratura.
And then, second aria, I'mdoing a Canadian piece because
(16:58):
for the first round we have todo a contemporary piece that was
written after 1975.
So I'll be doing a KendraHarder piece which is kind of
like a baroque pastiche aria andit's very funny, it's in
English.
So it will show a bit of myanother personality, more
character, more acting.
(17:18):
And then I'm finishing with LeFeu from L'Enfant et les
Sortilèges by Ravel.
So again finishing with thatbig cul-de-sac French, which is
my mother tongue.
So yeah, always go with mystrengths.
Michael Jones (17:35):
So before I go to you, I want to do a little
shout out to kendra harder, whois a young, emerging female
composer from canada, and she isbased in saskatchewan and I
like to tell people that thatthings happen.
I was, I was the ceo of of saskarts for many, many years and
(17:55):
so I became familiar with herwork.
Her work is really exceptional.
So thank you for performing ayoung, emerging woman composer.
Ihor, what's on the plate foryou, well?
Ihor Mostovoi (18:10):
it depends for lead part of the competition and
for opera part of thecompetition and for opera, part
of the competition, because, forexample, for the melody and
lead part of the competition, Iwas trying to choose more based
on a theme.
So I would build a program ofthe of the of the round
(18:33):
depending on the theme.
For example, my first round isuh, based on water and fire.
Uh, which is like eternalopposites, and uh.
So there are um, I'm singingroadside fire by one Williams,
uh.
Then there's a Ukrainian song,um, which is called the boat,
(18:55):
which is about water, but alsoin a lot of ways, in a lot of
ways philosophical, about life,because it compares the boat in
the open water with the life ofa person.
And then another choice isDiafoeia Raita, which by Hugo
Wolf, which is by Hugo Wolf,which is one of my favorites and
(19:18):
always I'm having lots of funwhen I'm singing that.
And another one is La vague etla cloche by Duparc, which is
also my other favorite composer.
So, and the second row round isthe repertoire about the horror
and splendor.
So there are different songsthat show either the horror and
splendor.
So there are different songsthat show either horrible
(19:42):
situations and horror of thesituations, for example, like
Die Zwerg of Schubert, andanother one is something about
splendor, which is like alsoEpiphany, by Charles Copeland,
which is unknown piece, but ittalks about very and it talks
(20:06):
about life, but in very, I can'tsay vague, but very, like you
don't really understand, thewords are so poetic that you
don't have a clear idea whatexactly is going on.
Because it talks about thelakes and of the big figure of a
(20:27):
guardian who guards the orangetree, who looks at the woman who
passes on the lakes.
And for me, like every personcan find their own explanation
for the song, but for me this isthe guardian, the spirit,
spiritual figures who watch thelife going on on the earth, and
which is about splendor for me,which is about something nice
(20:51):
and beautiful.
So the, I was trying to base itbased around the theme, and for
opera of course it's different,because Sometimes we can base
our repair, turn around thetheme, but because we want to
show so many things and we tryto show the, the biggest
versatility also, but ourstrength also.
(21:13):
So we have to, we have to bebased on our voice and the
character, preference and vocal,vocal things that vocally are
comfortable, so.
So my repertoire for opera wasbased basically on characters
that I love and what can I showwith this or that aria?
Michael Jones (21:38):
And examples just from your opera rep.
Ihor Mostovoi (21:42):
Yeah, for example , for showing the agility of the
voice I chose.
There are two arias indifferent rounds.
One is Sibilar from rinaldo byhandle and another one is
dandini from uh lechnerentola.
And then, uh, things that showmore of a legato style and more
(22:03):
of a line in the voice are uhbyne from Don Quixote, which is
there's it's very characterpiece, but there's also a lot of
places where you can show theline.
Another one I tried to also addsomething that is unknown, so I
(22:23):
tried to add the Ukrainian aria, which is by Konstantin
Donkevich, which is from operaBogdan Fomilnitsky, and this is
the monologue, which also hasbeautiful legato lines.
And this is something that Imight not be able to do as a
role in the next couple of years, but it shows my direction,
where I go.
Michael Jones (22:45):
That's interesting and I'm coming back
to Sophieie with it, because youtalked about ior, just talked
about I'm not, maybe not readyto sing this right now, but this
is the direction that he hopeshe's going.
You, I know you're opening.
You're starting with samalee,which is something that you've
performed this year.
(23:06):
Do you have any any stretcharias in your rep for this, or
are you really going with whatyou have completely got under
your belt and have performed?
Sophie Naubert (23:18):
Actually, out of the well talking about arias,
out of the nine arias that wehave to prepare, I only have
three arias that are reallyunder my belt, that I've
performed and that I'mcomfortable with.
The other six are all fairly newand I might say I still have to
(23:38):
learn another aria that I willdo today, I promise myself.
But yeah, it's fairly newrepertoire because I I do.
I don't like to do older ariasbecause I tend to have my tend
to show my older habits.
And as the voice develops andas you, you work and refined
(24:01):
your vocal technique, you findthat sometimes old repertoire
might not work and especially ina competition, under pressure,
singers often tend to go back totheir old vocal habits.
So I tried, yeah, this year Isaid I'm just going to go with
new repertoire and I am doingsome repertoire that I have
never sung.
And that's not coloratura thatI'm starting gently with.
(24:26):
I have Steal Me Sweet Thiefthief by Monati.
That's very lyric, um, veryslow, which I'm not used to and
I'm I'm really learning to getcomfortable with it, which is a
very fun process.
And also um the uh, sophie Aria, ich bin euer liebten, uh, from
Rosenkavalier by Strauss.
That's another stretch for meworking, working those floaty
(24:49):
high notes, working the legato,the slower lines.
So that's a big challenge forme, but it's an amazing
challenge, it's a very goodproblem.
Michael Jones (25:01):
That sounds very exciting and I will come back
while we're still on repertoire.
Ihor Mostovoi (25:05):
I'm going to come back to Ihor and just say end
youradian aria, because I knowit's required for this year's
competition yes, yes, it's fromthe opera la reine garcon and
this is a very beautiful pieceand I'm actually feeling a
little bit.
I don't think of scared is agood word, but uh, because on
(25:25):
the jury there's gonna be a tndpwho, but because on the jury
there's going to be a TNGP whosang this role, and I think he
created this role and I wouldlike to sing it in a good
standard and make him proud inthis music, if I can say like
(25:48):
this so, but Were you inMontreal when La Reine Garcon
premiered.
No, I wasn't unfortunately Okay,but I wish I was.
Michael Jones (26:01):
That is really, really exciting.
I'm going to give some detailsabout the competition and then
I'm just just because I'mconscious of everyone's time,
I'm going to move into a speedround with the singers to to end
the day.
But and forgive me forreferring to my notes, but there
are a lot of details to give.
First of all, as sophie wassharing, all of these rounds are
(26:23):
open to the public and pleasepurchase your tickets.
Go hear these young voices.
What hearing hearing voices incompetition when they're at the
very beginning song is a realgem in the repertoire and
(26:53):
requires a very differentapproach.
So it lets you hear singers dosomething that you might not as
readily hear them do elsewhere.
So please join.
The first round, which includesboth aria and art song, runs
from May 25th to 29th.
It leads up to the art songfinale, which is on May 31st.
(27:14):
The semi-finals oh sorry.
The first round competitionswill be held in the Salle
Bourgie at the Musée desBeaux-Arts in Montreal.
The semi-finals are june 3rdand 4th at the maison
symphonique de montreal, at theplace des arts, with the finals
to follow on june 6th.
(27:35):
You can find out moreinformation and you can get
tickets at concours montrealca,which is yeah, let's just have
some fun and move in.
We do a speed round at the endof these just to learn a little
bit more about these people,these singers, as people.
I think that's a great thing todo, because it also lets us
(27:56):
know it lets us know that thereare people behind the
spectacular work that we see onstage, that it just is regular
human beings doing these amazingthings.
So I'm going to start, I'mgoing to go back and forth.
Ihor your favorite guiltypleasure food.
Ihor Mostovoi (28:16):
Dumplings.
Any kind of dumplings.
Michael Jones (28:22):
Very nice, and so , Sophie, I will.
I'll flip it.
I'm not going to ask you thesame one, so you don't have time
to prepare your favorite drink.
Oh tea, tea Lovely.
And is it flavors?
Is it herbals or is it juststraight Green tea?
Sophie Naubert (28:37):
Any green tea, any green tea, that's lovely,
I'm a huge fan.
Michael Jones (28:41):
Do you brew your own with the loose leaves?
Sophie Naubert (28:43):
Yes, absolutely yeah, I have hojicha matcha
oolong any tea.
I have it in my apartment.
Michael Jones (28:53):
Nehar, what's the thing you do when you're
preparing for a performance thatgets you all revved up and
ready?
What is your routine?
Ihor Mostovoi (29:02):
I do some breathing exercises.
I have some recording and for10 minutes I just I breathe in,
breathe out.
There's this great thing whichis called Wim Hof breathing
routine and it's on YouTube.
Everybody can do it, but thisreally gets me calm and centered
.
Michael Jones (29:23):
Okay, that's a really good approach.
Sophie, the role in the futurethat you most dream about
singing right now oh, queen ofthe night, oh, really, okay,
that's because you want to havethe two big arias and then just
stay off stage the rest yeah.
Emails during the opera yeah goback to another hit and then go
(29:45):
back to your computer.
Exactly.
I'm gonna ask you the samequestion, or what's your dream
role?
Ihor Mostovoi (29:53):
Wow, I really like Oprah Falstaff, so I would
say Ford and, the short term,dandini.
Michael Jones (30:02):
Short term is Dandini, but Ford in the longer
term.
Are you doing any Verity yet?
Are you starting with somelighter verity or uh, I have one
in the competition rep.
Ihor Mostovoi (30:13):
I have, uh, rodrigo's dustin, so I'm I'm
starting little by little, butI'm trying to be very careful
good for you.
Michael Jones (30:23):
Good for you, um sophie.
What's the best advice anyoneever gave you?
Sophie Naubert (30:28):
Stay in your lane.
Michael Jones (30:30):
That's interesting.
Yeah, and was that a vocalteacher, or was that just?
Sophie Naubert (30:36):
It was actually a sports psychologist that works
at the Atelier des Riques.
He gives us one-on-onecoachings and he once mentioned
stay in your lane.
And he once mentioned stay inyour lane.
Don't think of whatever otherpeople may think, or don't think
of exterior judgment.
Just keep on going.
(30:57):
Trust yourself.
If you know that your processworks, just keep going.
And every path is different.
Everyone has a different careerpath and wants different things
in life.
Michael Jones (31:14):
So you just do.
You keep going.
Yeah, now for the one morequestion for each of you.
So I'll do something.
It's a little pop culture justfor fun.
Guitar player yehor.
What do you listen to that'snot classical?
What's your favorite thing tolisten to music?
I listen to rock music.
Ihor Mostovoi (31:27):
I still listen to it.
So I I listen to things likeiron maiden and uh like music
like this metal, the hard rockyes, yes, but a lot of popular
music too, I mean a lot of popmusic.
Uh, it's always I'm like I likewith food.
I like a lot of food.
(31:48):
Like music too, I like a lot ofmusic, so I listen to
everything.
Michael Jones (31:54):
Ed.
I will end with Sophie, A movieyou saw recently that you
really loved.
Sophie Naubert (31:59):
I saw Game Night .
That was really nice withRachel McAdams.
That I saw on the plane a weekago.
It was very nice.
Action and crime and comedy atthe same time.
Michael Jones (32:11):
Okay, well, that's perfect.
You see, the speed round isvery easy.
I would like to thank both ofyou for taking time out of your
preparation to join us today, totell us about the competition,
to tell us about yourselves andto let us meet you Now.
Is there any place online I'llcome to Ihor first where people
(32:33):
can go and see, hear recordingsof you?
Ihor Mostovoi (32:37):
I mean, the best place is my Instagram account.
There are some recordings there.
Michael Jones (32:44):
What is your Instagram?
Ihor Mostovoi (32:45):
account Ihor, it's Ihor Mostovoi, so it's like
my name, but all together.
And with account Ihor, it'sIhor Mostovoi, so it's like my
name, but all together and withH Ihor Ihor, yeah.
Michael Jones (32:55):
I will just just so everyone has it
I-H-O-R-M-O-S-T-O-V-O-I.
Ihor Mostovoi (33:03):
Wonderful Thank you very much.
Michael Jones (33:07):
And Sophie, where can people go to hear some more
of you?
Sophie Naubert (33:10):
Well, like Ihor on Instagram, I have two videos,
I think, on my website and onYouTube.
You can just Google my nameSophie Nobert.
Michael Jones (33:20):
Sophie Nobert, that's N-A-U-B-E-R-T, which was
not so hard because it'sactually written in front of me
on the screen.
Which was not so hard becauseit's actually written in front
of me on the screen.
So thank you so much for takingthe time to join me.
I hope that our listeners thatthe Opera Canada podcast, opera
Glasses, that our listeners goand check out more, and I hope
(33:43):
that as many as possible areable to come and hear you in
Montreal.
Thank you so much Once again.
This has been Michael Jones forthe Opera Glasses podcast.
I've been speaking with SophieNobert and Igor Mostovoi, who
are two of the competitors inthe Concours Musical
International de Montréal at theend of May and beginning of
(34:03):
June.
Thank you for taking your time,your time to listen to us and
please join us again.
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