THE TWELFTH ELENA OBRAZTSOVA INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION OF YOUNG OPERA SINGERS

The Twelfth Elena Obraztsova International Competition of Young Opera Singers is held in St. Petersburg from 6 to 13 September, 2019 at the Grand and Small Halls of the D.D. Shostakovich St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonia.

Organizers of the Competition:
The Elena Obraztsova Cultural Centre (St. Petersburg)
The Charitable Foundation of Support for the Music Art «The Elena Obraztsova Foundation» (Moscow)

Online broadcast: 3rd tour

Russian and foreign performers aged 18 – 32 inclusive on the day of the opening of the Competition – 6 September, 2019 – are allowed to participate in the Competition.

All the documents are accepted since 10 December, 2018, in two stages:

1. Completed application form (in Word format only), should be sent to the e-mail address competition2019@obraztsova.spb.ru
   The deadline for applying is 1 June, 2019, 18.00 Moscow time.
2. After receiving an e-mail from the Directorate of the Competition with a confirmation of the application form, a package of documents should be sent to the e-mail address competition2019@obraztsova.spb.ru
   The submission deadline is 1 July 2019, 18.00 Moscow time.

Application forms should be completed in Russian or English language.
Incomplete application forms won’t be accepted.

APPLICATION FORM

(should be sent in one letter to the e-mail address: competition2019@obraztsova.spb.ru with last and first names of the participant mentioned in subject, for example: Application form of Sergeeva Svetlana)

1. Completed application form (only in Word format)
2. One photo in electronic format (not less than 1 MB) to be printed in the Competition booklet
3. One photo of the accompanist in electronic format (not less than 1 MB) to be printed in the Competition booklet
4. Passport copy of the participant (1^st page)
5. Short CV of the contestant (not more than 500 characters, in Word format)
6. Short CV of the accompanist (not more than 500 characters, in Word format)
7. Copy of the payment document, confirming transferring admission fee for the participation in the Competition (for Russian citizens only!)

In case a participant uses services provided by a duty accompanist, copies of the music material of the works to be performed in the 1^st and 2^nd rounds should be sent by traditional mail to the Directorate of the Competition. Music material should be printed out and signed (with rounds specified); sheets of every composition should be glued together and sent to the Directorate of the Competition not later than on 1 July, 2019 to the following address: 191025, Russia, St. Petersburg, Nevsky pr., 65, The Elena Obraztsova Cultural Centre

A contestant takes responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided for the Directorate of the Competition..

Contestants should keep copies of all the materials sent together with an application.

Within 15 days of receiving full package of documents Directorate of the Competition will send by e-mail an official confirmation of participation in the competition to each registered candidate.

Each participant should confirm his arrival to the competition by e-mail before 1 September, 2019.

Directorate of the Competition reserves the right to use all information materials and photos sent by the participants to be presented to mass media.

Directorate of the Competition can provide a participant with a skilled accompanist according to the application submitted by the participant before 1 June, 2019.

Directorate of the Competition provides every participant with rehearsal time as follows:

• Before 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd rounds – 30 minutes at the studios of the Grand Philharmonic Hall
• Rehearsals will take place on the day before a contestant’s performance
• Participants of the 3^rd Round will be provided with an orchestral rehearsal before the performance

The admission fee in amount of 5.000 Roubles should be paid as follows: by the participants from the Russian Federation it should be transferred to a settlement account of The Elena Obraztsova Cultural Centre in St. Petersburg before 1 July 2019; by the foreign contestants and contestants from the CIS countries it should be paid in cash to the Directorate of the Competition during the registration on 6 September, 2019.

In case of non-participation of the contestant at any phase of the Competition, admission fee won’t be returned.

Directorate of the Competition provides visa support in Russia for the foreign participants of the competition.

Participants bear all the expenses related to arrival and departure.

Participants of the 1^st Round bear all the expenses related to their hotel accommodation.

Directorate of the Competition provides and pays for the hotel accommodation of the participants of the 2^nd and 3^rd rounds on the basis of a list of hotels suggested by the Directorate.

In case of the participation with a personal accompanist, all the invitation and accommodation costs of the accompanist should be covered by the contestant.

To perform in all 3 rounds of the competition contestants should have concert clothes: tailcoat or dark suit for men, long concert dress for women.

On 6 September, 2019, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every contestant should be registered at the Directorate of the Competition.
The address is: St. Petersburg, Mikhailovskaya str., 2, Grand Hall of the D.D. Shostakovich St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonia.

On 6 September, 2019, at 2 p.m. the draw ceremony will take place.
The address is: St. Petersburg, Mikhailovskaya str., 2, Grand Hall of the D.D. Shostakovich St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonia.

The Competition consists of 3 rounds.

Only those contestants who presented all the documents requested to the Directorate of the Competition, in time and according to the rules stated in present regulations of the Competition, and received an official invitation from the Directorate of the Competition, are allowed to participate in the 1^st round.

Not more than 40 participants are allowed to take part in the 2^nd round, upon the jury’s decision.

Not more than 15 participants are allowed to take part in the 3^rd round, upon the jury’s decision.

All auditions are open for public.

The order of the performances is defined by the draw ceremony and is valid till the end of the competition.

All the works should be performed in the original language, in the original key, by heart.

Participants are allowed to make any changes in the announced program only with the consent of the jury.

Every contestant is free to fix an order of the compositions he performs.

Compositions performed in one round can’t be repeated in another round.

The Elena Obraztsova Cultural Centre and The Charitable Foundation of Support for the Music Art «The Elena Obraztsova Foundation» have all the rights for broadcasting and audio and video recording during the Competition, as well as for sale and distribution of these materials.

To the auditions of the 1^st and 2^nd rounds the admission is free.

Ceremonial opening and gala concert, as well as 3^rd Round and ceremonial closing of the competition are by tickets and invitation only.

Results of the Competition are determined by the decision of the international Jury:

• Alessandro Ariosi (Italy) - head of the artists management agency "Ariosi Management"
• Olga Borodina (Russia) - opera singer, soloist of the Mariinsky Theater, People's Artist of Russia, Laureate of the State Prize of Russia, professor of the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia
• Larisa Gergieva (Russia) - People's Artist of Russia. Artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre Academy of Young Opera Singers and the North Ossetian State Opera and Ballet Theatre
• Makvala Kasrashvili (Russia) - opera singer, soprano, People's Artist of the USSR, Laureate of the State Prize of Russia, Assistant of Principal Conductor - Music Director of the Bolshoi Theatre Russia, Professor
• Robert Koerner (Germany) - Director of Artistic Production of the Opéra de Lyon
• Markus Laska (Germany) - head of artists management agency "Melos Opera"
• Eva Marton (Hungary) - opera singer, professor
• Nadja Michael (Germany) - opera singer, soprano
• Richard Rodzinski (USA) - Manager, General Director of the First China International Music Competition

The Jury has the right:

• not to award some kind of prizes

With the agreement of all the jury members:

• to decide that a contestant’s program can be shortened
• to decide that a contestant’s program can be changed, upon request
• to decide that a contestant’s performance can be stopped

Jury members have no right:

• to divide any Prize between several laureates
• to change prizes and awards stated in the regulations of the Competition

Jury’s decisions are final and can’t be revised.

1^st Round (qualifying round, no more than 10 minutes long), with piano accompaniment:

1. An aria from an opera, cantata or oratorio written by a composer of the 17th and 18thcenturies
2. An aria from an opera written by a composer of the 19th century

2^nd Round (no more than 15 minutes long), with piano accompaniment:

1. A chamber vocal composition written by a Russian composer of the 19th and 20th centuries (Glinka, Dargomyzhsky, Cui, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Sviridov, Gavrilin)
2. A chamber vocal composition written by a West European composer of the 19th and 20th centuries (Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wagner, R. Strauss, Mahler, Wolf, Liszt, Dvorak, Grieg, Berlioz, Bizet, Massenet, Delibes, Saint-Saёns, Faure, Debussy, Chausson, Poulenc, Granados, De Falla, Tosti)
3. An aria from an opera written by an Italian composer of the 18th and 19th centuries

3^rd Round with orchestral accompaniment:

1. Two arias from an opera written by a composer of the 19th and 20th centuries
   (Four arias should be stated in an application; the Jury will specify which ones to be performed by the finalist in the 3^rd Round)

1. Each aria can be performed just in one round

GRAND PRIX – Roubles 700 000,00

1^st Prize – Roubles 500 000,00
2^nd Prize – Roubles 350 000,00
3^rd Prize – Roubles 250 000,00

Special Prize of The Charitable Foundation of Support for the Music Art «The Elena Obraztsova Foundation» - Roubles 30 000,00
Special Prize of The Elena Obraztsova Cultural Centre – Roubles 30 000,00
Special Prize «The best accompanist of the competition» – Roubles 30 000,00
Special Prize «The Audience Prize» - Roubles 50 000,00

Participants of the 3^rd round who won’t become the laureates will be awarded the Diploma of the Competition and the Prize in the amount of Roubles 35 000,00

State and public institutions, artistic unions, business companies and press are given the right to award their special prizes as agreed with the Directorate of the Competition.

All Prize Winners are obliged to take part in the concerts arranged by The Charitable Foundation of Support for the Music Art «The Elena Obraztsova Foundation» or The Elena Obraztsova Cultural Centre in period up to the 31 December, 2020 - two times, without compensation.

Income tax will be withheld from all the money prizes!

Russia, 191025, St. Petersburg, Nevsky pr., 65, 3^rd floor
The Elena Obraztsova Cultural Centre
Tel.: +7 (812) 575 50 38
Tel./Fax: +7 (812) 575 72 94
e-mail: competition2019@obraztsova.spb.ru
www.obraztsova.org