+++
author = ["authors/jenna.md"]
categories = "News"
date = "2018-05-28T21:53:00-04:00"
lastmod = "2018-05-29T20:16:00-04:00"
primary_image = "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1545409169/media/webhook-uploads/1527558763427/PlacedesArts.jpg.jpg"
publishDate = "2018-05-29T09:28:00-04:00"
related_articles = ["articles/anticipation-cmim-aria-semifinals-part-i.md","articles/cmim-finals-one-out-of-three-aint-bad.md"]
related_people = ["scene/people/andrew-haji.md","scene/people/rihab-chaieb.md","scene/people/lauren-margison.md","scene/people/magali-simard-galdes.md","scene/people/emily-dangelo.md"]
short_description = "Competitions are a funny thing. They demand a different set of skills than a performance in an opera or recital, and with the CMIM&#039;s expanded, online audience, the pressure for perfection is at its peak. A competition doesn&#039;t always give a good indication of what a singer does well - they may be an entirely different beast in performance-mode - but it&#039;s a fascinating snapshot into what a singer is doing at a specific point in their career."
slug = "the-2018-cmim-begins"
title = "The 2018 CMIM begins!"
+++

This year's [Concours musical international de Montréal](https://concoursmontreal.ca/en/the-competitions/voice/) is upon us, and 2018 marks its seventh edition dedicated to voice. Known in the industry "The Montréal Competition", the CMIM brings together [38 singers from around the world](https://concoursmontreal.ca/en/the-competitions/voice/) to compete for $270,000 in prizes - including two $30,000 First Prizes in each of the Aria and Art Song divisions.

On top of prize money, the CMIM offers to all its competitors a decent amount of public exposure; the competition rounds are [broadcast live online](http://concoursmontreal.ca/en/LIVE/) for the world to see. That's a good thing, considering the exhaustive amount of [repertoire](https://concoursmontreal.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/cmim_Chant18-prog_F9_web.pdf) each competitor is required to bring - three rounds' worth, with very few repeats allowed.

[**Watch the CMIM live right here!**](http://concoursmontreal.ca/en/LIVE/)

Competitions are a funny thing. They demand a different set of skills than a performance in an opera or recital, and with the CMIM's expanded, online audience, the pressure for perfection is at its peak. A competition doesn't always give a good indication of what a singer does well - they may be an entirely different beast in performance-mode - but it's a fascinating snapshot into what a singer is doing at a specific point in their career.

Schmopera is excited to join the fun this year. We'll be heading to Montréal to catch live the Semi-Final and Final rounds of the Aria division. Some of the singers are familiar to us, like "techie tenor" [Andrew Haji](/talking-with-singers-andrew-haji/); [Rihab Chaieb](/spotlight-on-rihab-chaieb/), the mezzo who used to sing heavy metal; and "voracious knitter" [Lauren Margison](/scene/people/lauren-margison/).

Most of this year's CMIM competitors, we'll hear for the first time, and their stories make for an enticing introduction to their singing. Ukrainian soprano **Ruslana Koval** loves to cook, and her signature [borscht](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borscht) was a hit at the Bolshoi Theater; soprano **Suzanne Taffot**, representing Canada and Cameroon, is a practicing lawyer who specializes in immigration, family, and civil rights; Finnish baritone **Tomi Pukeri** is a self-proclaimed "Nutella enthusiast"; American tenor **David Tayloe** has a fourth-degree black belt in karate; and baritone **Julien Van Mellaerts** once had a summer job as Santa Claus in the 30-degree heat of his hometown of Auckland, NZ.

If you're like us, you'll be tuning in to the [live broadcasts](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode) of this year's CMIM, and following closely with the hashtag **#CMIM2018**. You can find the [full schedule here](http://concoursmontreal.ca/en/LIVE/),  and we've listed a few highlights below:

<ul class="nospace">

<li>June 1, 3pm and 7:30pm: **Art Song Semi-Finals I & II**
<li>June 3, 3pm: **Art Song Finals**
<li>June 4 and 5, 7:30pm: **Aria Semi-Finals I & II**
<li>June 7, 7:30pm: **Aria Finals**
</ul>

If you missed day one of the competition, get caught up with the first two Art Song rounds below:

<figure data-type="video">
<iframe width="854" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/
EKJhs514mDM" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</figure>

<figure data-type="video">
<iframe width="854" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d2jeTBi8-
P0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</figure>

***
Photo: [abdallah](https://www.flickr.com/photos/husseinabdallah/) via [Flickr](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode).
