Lieder prize
DEBUT 2022 gave even greater prominence to lieder as a separate art form.
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 from 18 to 25 September 2022.
DEBUT 2022 gave even greater prominence to lieder as a separate art form.
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.
Paul McNamara (Tenor) and Artistic Director Clarry Bartha will work together to select the 40 participants who will then have the opportunity to present themselves to an international jury during the week of the competition, 18-25 September 2022.
From Ireland, Paul McNamara is the Artistic Leader of the Dutch National Opera Academy – the collaborative masters programme in opera performance of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and the Royal Conservatoire The Hague.
The tenor has appeared in opera houses throughout Germany and Austria performing roles such as Wagner’s Tannhäuser, Erik, Tristan und Parsifal, Herodes in Salome and Vasco da Gama in Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine; his broad repertoire also includes work by Monteverdi, Mozart, Weber, Tschaikowsky, Janáček, Leoncavallo, Zemlinsky, Berg, Britten, Adams and many others. He has been heard at major venues including Venice’s Teatro La Fenice, Teatr Wielki – the Polish National Opera in Warsaw, the Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro, the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw.
The competition is sponsored by companies and institutions in the local region.
For the 10th time in a row the DEBUT Classical Singing Competition was also in its anniversary year managed without any form of public funding. This is first and foremost the achievement of its initiator and founder, Dr. Manfred Wittenstein, 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.
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.
The young singers will be 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.
The next DEBUT Classical Singing Competition will take place from September 18 to 25, 2022.
| 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 | |
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The opera singer Pia-Marie Nilsson teached all DEBUT participants 2022 in a two-day workshop. The main focus of the common work was on tips for voice training and stage presence.
Sharing enthusiasm, opening eyes and ears, stimulating discourses, promoting mental strength and creativity: These are the topics for which he wants to sensitize the participants in another workshop at DEBUT 2022. Ralf Tiedemann is a musicologist, media professional, mental coach and expert in deep relaxation through sounds & vibes.
