Debut

DEBUT is an international Classical Singing Competition, which supports young opera singers embarking on their career. The contest is open to the following voice types: soprano, mezzo-soprano & alto, tenor, countertenor and baritone & bass. It gives young soloists an opportunity to appear in a competition with a strong international profile in the presence of a distinguished judging panel. The event is held every second year in Weikersheim, which following a three-month entry phase serve as the venue for the preliminary rounds and the competition.

The next DEBUT Classical Singing Competition will take place in September 2024. 

Lieder Prize

DEBUT 2022 gave even greater prominence to lieder as a separate art form.

Lieder are considered to be an integral element of sustainable training in classical singing. To honour this art form in the competition, the famous composer Lucia Ronchetti has composed two lieder for high and low voices, which has to be performed by every singer as of the semifinal. Two lieder prizes will be awarded as part of the public DEBUT lieder recital: best presentation contemporary lied as well as best presentation German and Italien lied/romances.

Lucia Ronchetti

Lucia Ronchetti

Born in Rome in 1963, Lucia Ronchetti studied Composition and Computer Music at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia and Philosophy at the University of Rome.
In Paris, she took composition seminars with Gérard Grisey, participated in the annual computer music courses at IRCAM (1997) and obtained her PhD in musicology at the École Pratique des Hautes Études en Sorbonne, under the direction of François Lesure (1999).
In 2005 she was Visiting Scholar (Fulbright fellow) at the Columbia University Music Department in New York, at the invitation of Tristan Murail.

Other important working experiences include those with Sylvano Bussotti (Scuola di musica di Fiesole, 1981-1984), Salvatore Sciarrino (Corsi internazionali di Città di Castello, 1989-1991), Hans Werner Henze (Marino, 1993-1996).

Lucia Ronchetti has frequently been composer in residence: Villa Concordia, Bamberg; Studio für elektroakustische Musik, Akademie der Künste, Berlin; Schlossmediale Werdenberg, Zürich; Yaddo, New York; Berliner Künstlerprogramm des DAAD, Berlin; Fulbright scholar program, New York; Staatsoper of Stuttgart; Experimentalstudio des SWR, Freiburg; MacDowell Colony, Boston; Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart; Cité internationale des arts, Paris; Fondation Nadia Boulanger, Paris; Fondation des Treilles, Paris.

In 2022 the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin will present the world premiere of the chamber opera Pinocchios Abenteuer directed by Swaantje Lena Kleff. The new opera Das Fliegende Klassenzimmer will make its debut at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in late 2022 as part of the 2022-2023 season. The German premiere of Florilegium will be performed in 2022 at the Gewandhaus Leipzig conducted by Dennis Russell Davies and the Nouvelle Philharmonie in Paris will present the new choral opera Les paroles gelées, conducted by Leo Warynski.

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Initiator

Initiator

The competition is sponsored by companies and institutions in the local region.

For the 11th time in a row the DEBUT Classical Singing Competition was managed without any form of public funding. This is first and foremost the achievement of its initiator and founder, Dr. Manfred Wittenstein, Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board of WITTENSTEIN SE. His longstanding commitment – to providing opportunities to young soloists starting out on a musical career, networking them together and introducing them to a broad public – is meanwhile emulated by numerous other sponsors in the lovely Tauber Valley.

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Locations

Locations

Weikersheim Castle and the TauberPhilharmonie at Weikersheim are the perfect setting.

Both the qualifying rounds and the semifinal will take place against the historic backdrop of Weikersheim Castle while the location for the lieder recital will be the “Roter Saal” of the Deutschordensschlosses Bad Mergentheim . The week will end with the traditional gala concert and in the new TauberPhilharmonie in Weikersheim.

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Orchestra

The young singers are accompanied by the Würzburg Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Würzburg Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Music Director Enrico Calesso, will abandon the orchestra pit to demonstrate its excellent qualities as a concert orchestra.

Participation

The next DEBUT Classical Singing Competition will take place in September 2024. 

  • Female singers aged 34 or under 
  • Male singers aged 34 or under 
  • Technical skill
  • Musical interpretation (rhythm, phrasing, expression)
  • Voice quality
  • Artistic personality / presence
  • Registration fee: 40 EUR
  • Participation fee for the competition week: 200 EUR
  • Qualifying rounds
  • Semifinal
  • Lieder recital
  • Final / gala concert

Awards

1st prize: Golden Victoria and  € 10,000                  
2nd prize: Silver Victoria and € 7,500     
3rd prize: Bronze Victoria and € 5,000     

Various Lieder- and special prizes

 

 

 

Artistic Director

Artistic Director

Clarry Bartha

Clarry Bartha

Clarry Bartha was born in V ästeras (Sweden) to Hungarian-Swedish parents in 1956. At the age of 16, she moved to Rome to study at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia under Maria Teresia Pediconi. She obtained her masterclass diploma under Giorgio Favaretto at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and subsequently pursued further studies in London under Vera Rosza. She won first prizes at the Beniamino Gigli and Vincenzo Bellini international singing competitions in Italy.

Accompanists 2022

Michael Schütze

Michael Schütze

Michael Schütze studied at the Hochschule für Musik Dresden and graduated with distinction. He teaches repetition and song design at the Hochschule für Musik Dresden. He is also a sought-after accompanist for various choirs (Dresdner Kammerchor, Singakademie Dresden, etc.) both as a pianist and organist.
Eberhard Leuser

Eberhard Leuser

Since 1993, Eberhard Leuser has been a répétiteur in the vocal department at the Stuttgart State University of Music and Performing Arts. He is a fellow of the Richard-Wagner-Foundation and distinguished himself as a piano accompanist at various international competitions.
Doriana Tchakarova

Doriana Tchakarova

The pianist Doriana Tchakarova completed her bachelor and master studies at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart with Prof. Fernande Kaeser and Prof. Friedemann Rieger and studied in the lieder class of Prof. Konrad Richter. Since 2003 she has held a teaching position at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts.

Review 2022

The Golden Victoria and €10,000 in cash were presented to Kudaibergen Abildin, a tenor from Kasachstan.

Second prize and €7,500 went to ukrainian soprano Inna Husieva. The Bronze Victoria and €5,000 were bestowed on tenor Beomjin Angelo Kim from South Korea.

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Review 2022