Five months after the 63rd Tenor Viñas International Singing Contest, soprano Elionor Martínez — winner of the Oratorio-Lied Prize and Sixth Official Prize — and Victoria Guerrero, official pianist of the Contest's Oratorio-Lied category, reunited to perform at the closing concert of the Viena 1900 cycle, held on May 13 at the Palau de la Música Catalana. The music cycle, organized in collaboration with the Franz Schubert Association of Barcelona and the Centro Nacional de Difusión Musical, concluded with this joint performance.
The Contest team interviewed them and talk about the impact that the Tenor Viñas Contest has had on their careers over the past few months, both professionally and personally.
AFTER THE 63RD TENOR VIÑAS CONTEST
For Elionor Martínez, taking part in the Tenor Viñas Contest has brought new opportunities, including concerts and contracts resulting from the visibility offered by a competition of this scale. She also highlights that the Contest marked a key artistic moment in her career, as it led her to prepare in a very different way from how she would usually approach concerts, with a higher level of demand. She believes that this process of preparation and hard work becomes integrated into the artist and turns into a valuable tool that can later be applied to future projects.
Victoria Guerrero explains that the Contest is an excellent platform for gaining visibility and building new professional connections. She comments that it allowed her to meet many people and opened doors to future collaborations and concert opportunities.
As for returning to everyday routine after the Contest, both describe it as a “return to reality” following the excitement experienced during the event. Elionor recalls that, immediately afterwards, she received many messages from people who had followed the Contest, which made her feel “on cloud nine”. Even so, she had to quickly return to her professional schedule: “You have to close that chapter and move forward, even if you carry with you the wonderful memories of everything you experienced". In Victoria’s case, the accumulated tiredness after accompanying the entire course of the Contest — from the preliminary auditions to the Winners’ Concert, including the second round, the semifinals and the final — meant that she needed a couple of days to rest before returning to her usual working rhythm.
CLOSING CONCERT OF THE VIENNA 1900 CYCLE: A REPERTOIRE BUILT TOGETHER
The preparation of the closing recital of the Vienna 1900 Cycle was the result of a joint process of research and repertoire selection carried out by the singer and the pianist, culminating in the performance of works by composers such as Mozart, Mahler, Schreker, Zemlinsky and Wolf.
Guerrero explains that one of the most enriching discoveries of the process was delving deeper into composers she had previously been less familiar with, such as Schreker. She also highlights the value of working together when selecting and interpreting the pieces, especially being able to “build the repertoire together and find our own way of performing it, bringing it into our own artistic language and making it our own.”
For Elionor, one of the main challenges was finding a repertoire that suited the characteristics of her voice. “Many composers from the Vienna 1900 repertoire require large voices and a very specific vocal density,” she explains, “and that is not exactly what best fits my voice.” For this reason, they decided to combine this repertoire with works by Mozart, searching for a distinctive sound that would match the soprano’s sensitivity and vocal qualities.
THE AUTHENTICITY OF LIED AND THE SINGER–PIANIST DUO
Both Elionor and Victoria highlight the particular richness of Lied and Oratorio repertoire in comparison with opera.
Victoria, who has worked extensively in the world of Lied for many years, explains that it is a genre that allows for a highly personal interpretation: “It is a very delicate universe, full of details, colours and subtleties. You always begin with the poetry and the text, and that gives you enormous interpretative freedom.” Elionor shares this view and emphasizes the expressive intensity of a repertoire that is often brief but emotionally very concentrated: “In just a few minutes, you have to build an entire musical universe.” She also highlights the close connection established between singer and pianist, working “as one single team.”
This connection between the two of them has, in fact, been one of the keys to their collaboration both during and beyond the Contest. Elionor explains that trust in the pianist is essential: “You need to feel that the person beside you is with you and supporting you.” Speaking about performing together at the Tenor Viñas Contest, she comments that the fact they already knew each other beforehand made everything flow very naturally. Victoria adds that there is a very good connection between them and that working together is especially easy and rewarding because they understand each other musically so well.
NEW PROJECTS AND THE 26/27 SEASON
As for future projects, with this concert Elionor Martínez is practically bringing the season to a close before a very special break: the arrival of her second daughter. Later, at the end of the summer, she will resume her activity with new concerts, including the Schubertiada 2026, where she and Victoria Guerrero will perform together again, as well as other projects within the Jordi Savall Festival. She will also take on new international engagements thanks to the ECHO Rising Stars 2026/27 programme, which will allow her to give around fifteen recitals in concert halls across Europe.
Victoria Guerrero, meanwhile, will continue the season with recitals in Nuremberg, masterclasses in Salzburg during the summer, and several concerts scheduled for the coming season.
ADVICE FOR FUTURE ORATORIO-LIED PARTICIPANTS IN THE TENOR VIÑAS CONTEST
Guerrero recommends taking the time to choose a repertoire that truly reflects each performer’s artistic personality, explaining that “Lied offers enormous freedom to show who you are musically.” Elionor, for her part, stresses the importance of enjoying the process and choosing works with which the singer feels confident and personally connected: “There is so much repertoire out there, and it is important to find the one that allows you to show the best version of yourself.”
