Entries are open from 27 May to 28 June 2024 for the 60th Voci Verdiane Città di Busseto International Voice Competition, organised by the Municipality of Busseto, in honour and memory of Carlo Bergonzi on the centenary of the famous tenor’s birth, under the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism, chaired by the Mayor of Busseto Stefano Nevicati and organised by the Teatro Regio di Parma.
Aimed at all singers aged between 18 and 35 (sopranos and tenors) and between 18 and 38 (mezzo-sopranos, contraltos, baritones and basses), the competition will take place in Busseto from 2 to 7 September 2024. Applications must be received exclusively online no later than 14:00 (UTC+1) on 28 June 2024, by creating a profile at the following links, distinguished by sopranos and tenors, mezzo-sopranos, altos, baritones and basses, accompanied by two audio-video recordings and the documentation indicated in the call for entries, available at teatroregioparma.it and vociverdiane.com.
The Preliminary Stage of the Competition, aimed at the selection of a maximum of 50 candidates, will take place on the basis of the documentation submitted and the audiovisual material provided, which will be assessed by Alessio Vlad, Artistic Director of the Teatro Regio di Parma and Francesco Izzo, Education Director of the Accademia Verdiana. Admission to the Competition Phase will be notified by e-mail to the selected candidates by 15 July 2024.
The Competition Phase will take place from 2 to 7 September at the Teatro Verdi in Busseto according to the following schedule: Eliminatory rounds (2, 3 September, during which a maximum of 24 semi-finalists will be selected), Semifinals (4 September, during which a maximum of 12 finalists will be selected), piano and orchestra rehearsals of the finalists (6 September) and the Finale-Concert open to the public (7 September), during which the finalists will be accompanied by the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini conducted by Fabrizio Cassi and the winners will be announced.
An important novelty of this edition is the day dedicated to the Vocal coaching of the finalists (5 September). in which each of the finalists will be able to prepare the Verdi aria that they will perform at the Finale-Concerto with Francesco Izzo.
The first four finalists of the China Voci Verdiane 2024 competition will also take part in the Competition, according to the following modalities: the first classified will be directly admitted to the Final-Concert, the second classified will be admitted to the Semifinal and the third and fourth classified will be admitted to the Eliminatory Round.
The Jury for the Competition Phase is chaired by Carlo Fontana and composed of Jonathan Friend (Metropolitan Opera, New York), Francesco Izzo (Teatro Regio di Parma), Pal Christian Moe (Glyndebourne Festival, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, The Norwegian National Opera, Narodni Divadlo Prague), Karen Stone (Opera Europa) and, for the Finale-Concerto only, by Alessandro Galoppini (Teatro alla Scala, Milan), Cristiano Sandri (Teatro Regio, Turin), Ilias Tzempetonidis (Teatro di San Carlo, Naples).
The Jury will award the 1st Prize of 8,000 euros, the 2nd Prize of 5,000 euros and the 3rd Prize of 3,000 euros to the first three winners. The Teatro Regio di Parma will choose at least one of the finalists to be engaged for its artistic activity during the year 2025. Similarly, representatives of other theatres on the jury may award artistic scripts to any candidate finalist, regardless of the final ranking.
On the occasion of the 60th Voci Verdiane International Voice Competition, a second Jury of professionals and enthusiasts chosen by the Municipality of Busseto, present only at the Final Concert, will award a special prize.
The first three classified, and any other finalist candidates indicated by the Jury, will be invited to participate in the Winners’ Concert, with piano accompaniment, to be held in spring 2025 in Roncole Verdi (Busseto) at the house where Giuseppe Verdi was born.
The complete regulations and entry links for the 60th International Voci Verdiane Competition Città di Busseto are available online at vociverdiane.com and at teatroregioparma.it.
For information: Segreteria Concorso Internazionale Voci Verdiane Città di Busseto, vociverdiane@teatroregioparma.it
The 60th edition of the Concorso Internazionale Voci Verdiane Città di Busseto is promoted by the Municipality of Busseto and organised by the Teatro Regio di Parma. Under the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism and with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Emilia-Romagna Region and the Cariparma Foundation. In collaboration with La Toscanini, National Institute of Verdi Studies.