Opera Slovakia, international singing competition Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavsky
I consider the Croatian countertenor Franko Klisović a clear and unsurpassed winner. He held audience breath in a song by Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavski Ružičky, which was probably for the first time in history heard in a countertenor performance. He presented it with great nobility, emotion, dynamism, and perfect pronunciation. But he literally shocked by Arsace’s extremely demanding aria from the first act of Gioachino Rossini’s opera Semiramide. He had it all: soprano high notes, full central tessitura, and resonant alto depths, precise Rossini’s coloratura, stylistic manner, and deep expression.
"Franko Klisović was able to sing Arsace from Semiramide with absolute technical certainty and strong expressiveness. It was a unique example of how to sing Rossini's coloraturas and thrillers. They were precise, clear, sparkling, in one breath. Whether they are in height, in the middle or in the contraalt depth. It was a perfect performance, it was an example of an extremely demanding aria from one of Gioachino Rossini's most perfect operas. "
Operawire.com
“The countertenor Franko Klisovic produced a very strong performance in the role of Farnace, whom he successfully portrayed as a defiant, emotional character whose repentance in the final act was fully believable. He possesses a strong, bright, flexible voice which he used with intelligence to develop his interpretation in which he successfully married vocal beauty with characterization and expression. Each of his arias was given a nuanced, forceful presentation in which “Venga pur, minacci, e frema” was particularly impressive, in what was a detailed presentation full of dynamic and emotional accents, with occasional sparks of color and pleasing ornamentations. Very different was his aria “Gia dagli occhi il velo” in which he showed off his gentle phrasing.”