IV International Competition of Opera Singers «SAINT-PETERSBURG»

IV International Competition of Opera Singers «SAINT-PETERSBURG»
will take place in Saint-Petersburg in 2009 from November 23 to December 2

ORGANIZERS OF THE COMPETITION:

  • Ministry of Culture of Russia
  • committee for culture of the Government of Saint-Petersburg
  • Saint-Petersburg State Conservatory named after N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov
  • Public Beneficial Foundation of Irina Bogacheva «Art-Petersburg»

Management of the Competition

Chairman

Anton Gubankov, Chairman of St. Petersburg Committee for Culture

Vice-Chairman

Yulia Strizhak, Vice Rector for Concert Activity and International Relations of St.Petersburg Conservatory

THE JURY

HEAD OF JURY

Honorary Citizen of Saint-Petersburg, People's Artist of USSR, soloist of the Mariinsky theatre, head of the Department of Solo Singing of Saint-Petersburg State Conservatory, professor Irina BOGACHEVA.







MEMBERS OF JURY

Galina VISHNEVSKAYA, People's Artist of Russia (Russia)

Virgilijus NOREIKA, People's Artist of USSR (Lithuania)

Alexandrina MILTCHEVA (Bulgaria)

Sergey LEIFERKUS, People's Artist of Russia (Russia)

Carmen BALTHROP (USA)

Tito CAPOBIANCO (Argentina)

Tamas BATOR (Hungary)

Galina PISARENKO, People's Artist of Russia (Russia)

Mauro TROMBETTA (Italy)

Angelo GABRIELLI (Italy)

Cristina FERRARI (Italy)

ADMINISTRATION

Director of the Competition - Honored Artist of Russia Elena GAUDASINSKAYA

Telephone/Fax +7 (812) 312-10-88

CONDUCTORS

Maxim Alekseev

Sergey Fedoseev

COMPETITION SCHEDULE

OPENING CEREMONY

November 23
Small Hall of the Saint-Petersburg State Conservatory

I ROUND

November 24 and 25
Small Hall of the Saint-Petersburg State Conservatory

II ROUND

November 27 and 28
Small Hall of the Saint-Petersburg State Conservatory

III ROUND

November 30
Grand Hall of the Saint-Petersburg State Conservatory
Symphony Orchestra of the Opera and Ballet Theatre of Saint-Petersburg Conservatory

LAUREATES' GALA, CLOSING CEREMONY

December 2
Grand Hall of the Saint-Petersburg State Philharmonic
Symphony Orchestra of the Opera and Ballet Theatre of Saint-Petersburg Conservatory

RULES

I.APPLICATION PROCEDURE

  1. The competition is open to singers aged from 18 to 32 years old at the time of competition, graduates or students of academic institutions of music.
  2. The competition consists of two eliminatory and one final rounds. All rounds are open to public, the order of performance is determined by ballot and will be the same for all the rounds.
  3. The completed application form, together with enclosures should be sent to the Competition Committee by October 20, 2009 to

Russia, 190000, Saint-Petersburg, Teatralnaya sq., 3
Saint-Petersburg conservatory named after N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE OF THE COMPETITION OF OPERA SINGERS «SAINT-PETERSBURG»

tel./fax (812) 312-10-88

or send scanned application documents in electronic format to the e-mail student@conservatory.ru

List of application documents to be presented by the applicant

completed application form [download];

copy of passport or birth certificate

copy of the diploma for graduates, certificate from place of studies for students

CV must contain the following information:

  • name, title and rank of the teacher
  • prizes and diplomas at the competitions
  • current affairs

The photo in the size 9 on 12 centimeters (a personal photo of the singer, colored, art, portrait, a close up)

Applications that are incomplete or sent to the Competition Office after the date specified will not be considered. The date of sending is determined by the stamp of the post-office.

The application fee of 50 Euro is to be paid upon arrival to the competition before the ballot.

All applicants allowed to the competition will be notified by e-mail or fax stated in the application form. They will receive an invitation with the date of arrival to the competition. Invitations will be sent by ordinary mail only to citizens of countries which are required entry visa to Russia.

II.COMPETITION SCHEDULE

  1. The order of performance decided by ballot at the beginning of the competition will be the same in each round until the end of the competition.
  2. The decisions of jury is final and will not be reconsidered.
  3. No more than half of the participants of the First Round will take part in the Second Round.
  4. No more that 16 participants of the Second Round will be allowed to the Final Round. The prizes will be assigned by the Jury on their final meeting.
  5. The Jury has the right to reduce a program or to stop a performance which exceeds the regulations or in case of an evident result of a performance upon agreement of all Members of Jury
  6. The final decision of any disputable questions which may arise during the competition is reserved to the President of the Competition.
  7. The prize-winners and competitors assigned diplomas must take part in 2 to 3 concerts upon the end of the Competition without any payment.
  8. The competition organizers have unlimited rights to broadcast and record, videotape, televise, film and photograph the competition events and to make audio or visual recordings of them and to broadcast them without any payment to the competitors. The organizers have right to contract a third party to distribute the above motioned material of the Competition.

III. PIANISTS

  1. The Competition Committee will place a qualified pianist at the disposal of each competitor upon request sent not later than October 20, 2009.
  2. If a competitor wishes to bring his or her own pianist he or she must bear all the expenses for pianist's travel and accommodation.

IV. REHEARSALS

  1. The Competition Committee will offer rehearsing rooms and 15 minutes rehearsing time at the Hall to every competitor.
  2. The competitors selected to the Final Round will have a rehearsal with the orchestra the day before the performance.

V. PRIZES

Grand-prix of 7500$ and the title of Laureate

Two 1st Prizes of 5000$ and the title of Laureate

Two 2nd Prizes of 3000$ and the title of Laureate

Two 3rd Prizes of 1500$ and the title of Laureate

SPECIAL PRIZES OF THE COMPETITION

Competition prizes of 500$ are assigned to:

the youngest competitor

the best performance of a piece by a composer from Saint-Petersburg

the best performance of an aria of a foreign composer

the best performance of a piece to the poetry of Alexander Pushkin

exquisite artistic interpretation and mastery of performance

The competitors of the Final Round not awarded the main prizes and the title of Laureate will be assigned a prize of 500$ and an Honorary Diploma.

The Jury has a right to reward three best pianists of the competition with Special Diploma and a prize of 300$.

The prizes are given in rubles according to the rate of Central Bank of Russia on the day of payment.

Within the limit of the award fund the Jury is entitled to:

  • assign some of the prizes
  • divide the prizes (with the exception of the Grand-prix) among the Laureates.

State and social organizations, artistic associations, mass media, institutions and firms may establish special prizes upon agreement of the Competition Jury.

VI. FINANCIAL AMENDMENTS

  1. The Organizing Committee will offer accommodation and will reimburse the accommodation expenses of the contestants from the Second Round on. The accommodation of the contestants of the Second Round not passed to the Final Round will be reimbursed up to 12 a.m. of the day following the day of the announcement of the results of the Second Round.
  2. The accommodation of the contestants of the Final Round will be reimbursed up to 12 a.m. of the day following the day of the official closing ceremony of the competition.
  3. The contestants not passed to the Second or Final Rounds may stay until the end of the Competition on their own expense.
  4. The Competition Committee will not reimburse any expenses of the pianists brought by the contestants.
  5. Upon early request, the Competition Committee is ready to give assistance in booking hotels, attending the Competition events and cultural programs to persons accompanying the contestants on their expense.
  6. The contestants must produce passports and visas themselves and on their expense.

COMPETITION PROGRAM

1 ROUND

  1. One aria from an opera, a cantata or an oratorio of XVI-XVIII centuries including Mozart
  2. An opera aria of contestant's choice
  3. A song to the lyrics of a poet from Saint-Petersburg of XVIII-XX centuries (Derzhavin, Sumarokov, Pushkin, Lermontov, Blok, Sasha Tcherny, Akhmatova, Volodin and others)

2 ROUND

  1. One aria from an opera of one of the following Western composers:
    Beethoven, Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini, Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Gounod, Bizet, Delibes, Leoncavallo, Mascagni, Cilea, Boito

  2. One aria from a Russian opera of the XIX century
  3. A song of a West-European composer of the XVIII-XIX centuries

3 ROUND

(Final listening accompanied by an orchestra)

  1. An opera aria for choice the participant
  2. An aria from an opera of Petersburg composer XIX-XX centuries (Glinka, Borodin, Musorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Slonimsky, etc.)

Important

  • the contestants must check the availability of the scores and orchestra parts of the arias to be performed in the Final Round with the Competition committee. In case of their unavailability at the Competition, the contestants must present them for performance in the Final Round.
  • All works must be performed from memory and in the original language
  • No piece may appear twice in the contestant's repertoire.
  • Amendments to the repertoire will be exceptionally allowed upon the agreement of the Head of Jury