Kathleen Ferrier Awards review — Lily Mo Browne takes top prize
We all play the game at a competition — don't we? — of picking our own personal winners. And the name at the top of my list, and I suspect many others at this year's Kathleen Ferrier Awards at the Wigmore Hall in London, was Lily Mo Browne. A mezzo-soprano with a richly hued, deep voice, she generated expressive, emotional and dramatic power. And when she sang I had that instant prickle of curiosity — I wanted to hear what happened next. Browne was the judges' favourite, too, in a jury chaired by the soprano Patricia Rozario that was above all looking for someone who connected words with music, but who also surprised them. The 24-year-old British singer was awarded the first prize of £12,500.
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