Blue Danube / Bela Bartok International Opera Conducting Competition 2021 (8th Edition)  15 – 29 June 2021

with the State Opera Stara Zagora in Stara Zagora / Bulgaria

The winners of the 8th Edition of thr Blue Danube International Opera Conducting Competition 2021 are:
1st Prize Winner – Michael ENGELBRECHT / Holland
2nd Prize Winner – Julia CRUZ CARCELLER / Spain
3rd Prize Winner – Gaddiel DOMBROWNER / Israel

Jury’s Special Prize – Karine LOCATELLI / France

LINK TO A DOCUMENTARY FILM ABOUT OUR COMPETITION:

https://vimeo.com/237761332    Password: baguette

REPERTOIRE:

HOW TO APPLY:

1. Send the BDM Application Form and your CV via e-mail or standard post.

2. Provide recent examples of your conducting (files, links, etc) to the address under \’contact\’ on this web site. These may be instrumental, choral or operatic conducting. Conductors who have participated in our previous masterclasses or competitions DO NOT need to send examples.

3. Pay the application fee of €50,00 via bank wire transfer (bank account details are below) or with credit card. Please inquire about credit card payments.

Conductors will be notified if they are accepted immediately after we receive everything requested in nos. 1, 2 & 3 above. Upon acceptance, conductors secure a competition place by sending a deposit of €325,00. The balance fee of €620,00 is payable no later than the conductor’s first day at the Competition. Thus, the total for the Opera Conducting Competition is €995,00 – €50,00 application fee (non-refundable); €325,00 deposit (refundable before 15 February 2020); and €620,00 balance fee.

The Competition is limited to 65 participants. Qualified conductors who apply and are accepted, will receive the Competition slots. We urge conductors to apply as soon as possible. Conductors may not compete if they are currently, or have ever been, general manager, chief conductor, artistic director, associate conductor or Erste Kapellmeister of a professional opera company. There is no minimum or maximum age limit for this Competition. 

The orchestra, chorus and soloists of the State Opera Stara Zagora and guest soloists will be used for all rounds of the Conducting Competition. 26 conductors will advance to Round II; and 8 to Round III. First, second and third-prize winners from our previous opera conducting competitions are NOT eligible to compete.

The winners will also conduct a gala performance on the evening of 29 June at the conclusion of the Competition.

Winning conductors will receive the standard fees and conditions offered by the participating opera theaters and orchestras for their guest conductors. Engagements will take place during the 2021-2022 or 2022-2023 seasons. Titles to be conducted will be by agreement between the artistic directors of the respective opera theaters or orchestras and the prize-winning conductors. Winners are urged to accept the date offered by the institution or risk losing the engagement.

Past prizes have included guest conducting engagements in the following opera theaters: Slovak National Opera Theater, Bratislava; National Opera Theater Brno, Czech Republic; Opera Nationala Bucuresti, Romania; Opera Maghiara Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Volkstheater Rostock, Germany.

INTERNATIONAL JURY MEMBERS, OPERA DIRECTORS & MANAGERS: the jury will be comprised of a cross-section of conductors and opera professionals from a variety of countries and continents. Opera house managers, directors and concert and opera agents will be at the Competition during Rounds II and III to see and hear (and sometimes engage) conductors whose work they like.

STATE OPERA STARA ZAGORA: http://en.operasz.bg/

Conductors have a total of 30 minutes in Round I with the State Opera Stara Zagora’s full forces — orchestra, choir, soloists — 15 minutes in the morning in a Sitzprobe situation (soloists and choir seated on stage with the conductor and orchestra in the pit) with Don Giovanni; and 15 minutes in the evening in a Generalprobe (dress rehearsal) situation with Carmen with some sets and soloists and choir moving per the staging and accompanied recitatives.

The jury will be evaluating how effectively a conductor rehearses his/her assigned segment of the opera during the morning rehearsal. In contrast, the requirement of the evening rehearsal will be to see how well a conductor maintains the flow and continuity of his/her assigned segment. Conductors receive their assigned segments on the morning of their conducting in Round I (segments are drawn out of a hat). The entire opera is performed from beginning to end during both morning and evening rehearsals; in this way the orchestra, choir & soloists do not have to repeat the same segment or segments over and over.

DAY-BY-DAY SCHEDULE

Round I, up to 52 conductors, 13 conductors each day, 30′ for each conductor

Round II, 18 conductors, 9 each day, 60′ for each conductor

 Round III, 8 conductors, 90′ each conductor

*All rehearsals will take place at State Opera Stara Zagora unless otherwise noted.

CANCELLATION POLICY.  The signed application form is binding. All cancellations must be submitted in writing (email).

The deposit will be refunded if the accepted conductor cancels for any valid reason — such as health issues, impossibility to get a visa, or other similar reasons prior to 15 February 2021. The reason must be substantiated with documentation.

Once a refund is approved, please allow four to six months.

Blue Danube Musikimpresario reserves the right to shorten or postpone the Competition dates or cancel the competition due to insufficient enrolment, force majeure, or any other circumstance or event for which Blue Danube Musikimpresario cannot be held responsible. Jury members, repertoire and prizes are subject to change.