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)
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.
Submission of the application
All the documents are accepted since 10 December, 2018, in two stages:
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.
(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)
Completed application form (only in Word format)
One photo in electronic format (not less than 1 MB) to be printed in the Competition booklet
One photo of the accompanist in electronic format (not less than 1 MB) to be printed in the Competition booklet
Passport copy of the participant (1st page)
Short CV of the contestant (not more than 500 characters, in Word format)
Short CV of the accompanist (not more than 500 characters, in Word format)
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 1st and 2nd 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.
Rehearsals
Directorate of the Competition provides every participant with rehearsal time as follows:
Before 1st, 2nd and 3rd 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 3rd Round will be provided with an orchestral rehearsal before the performance
Admission fee
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.
Hotel accommodation and travel
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 1st 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 2nd and 3rd 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.
Concert clothes
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.
6 September
11 a.m.
Registration of the participants Small Hall of the D.D. Shostakovich St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonia (Nevsky pr., 30)
2 p.m.
Draw ceremony Small Hall of the D.D. Shostakovich St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonia (Nevsky pr., 30)
7 p.m.
Ceremonial opening of the Competition and gala concert Grand Hall of the D.D. Shostakovich St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonia (Mikhailovskaya str., 2)
7 September
11 a.m.
1st Round (with piano accompaniment) Small Hall of the D.D. Shostakovich St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonia (Nevsky pr., 30)
8 September
9 September
10 September
12 noon
2nd Round (with piano accompaniment) Grand Hall of the D.D. Shostakovich St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonia (Mikhailovskaya str., 2)
11 September
12 September
Orchestral rehearsals of the finalists Grand Hall of the D.D. Shostakovich St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonia (Mikhailovskaya str., 2)
13 September
3rd Round (with orchestral accompaniment) Grand Hall of the D.D. Shostakovich St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonia (Mikhailovskaya str., 2)
Ceremonial closing of the Competition and gala concert of the Prize Winners
Order of holding the competition
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 1st round.
Not more than 40 participants are allowed to take part in the 2nd round, upon the jury’s decision.
Not more than 15 participants are allowed to take part in the 3rd 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 1st and 2nd rounds the admission is free.
Ceremonial opening and gala concert, as well as 3rd 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.
1st Round (qualifying round, no more than 10 minutes long), with piano accompaniment:
An aria from an opera, cantata or oratorio written by a composer of the 17th and 18thcenturies
An aria from an opera written by a composer of the 19th century
2nd Round (no more than 15 minutes long), with piano accompaniment:
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)
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)
An aria from an opera written by an Italian composer of the 18th and 19th centuries
3rd Round with orchestral accompaniment:
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 3rd Round)
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 3rd 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!
The address of the directorate of the Сompetition: