This year’s participants now selected

After four days of intensive screening, Artistic Director Clarry Bartha and judging panel chair Paul McNamara have finally selected this year’s participants for the 12th DEBUT Classical Singing Competition. At the end of September, a total of 41 talented soloists will perform their repertoire in various rounds, hoping to be rewarded with the Golden Victoria as well as €10,000 in prize money.

Candidates were required to submit videos of two opera arias or one aria and one lieder in order to qualify for the 2024 competition. Over four full days Clarry Bartha, Paul McNamara and DEBUT Project Manager Sarah Behrendt reviewed applications from more than 250 international talents and assessed this year’s hopefuls in terms of vocal quality, technical ability, musical interpretation, artistic personality / stage presence and development potential.

Sopranos and mezzo-sopranos form the largest group

During the competition week from September 23 to 28 in Weikersheim 23 sopranos, nine mezzo-sopranos, four tenors, three baritones and two basses will be appearing before the – as ever – distinguished judging panel and the DEBUT audience in various public selection rounds as well as at the grand gala concert. It is a long-established tradition at DEBUT that all singers – irrespective of whether they are eliminated or qualify for the next round – receive detailed, personal feedback from the judging panel on each of their performances. “That’s something that matters a great deal to us, and indeed it’s one of the main reasons why I hold the singing competition in such high regard. From what I’ve heard, participants in similar competitions are often given absolutely no explanation of why they didn’t make it”, says tenor and panel chair Paul McNamara, who can look back on performances at numerous German and international opera houses.

Foretaste of DEBUT 2024 at the matinee

The first public event in this year’s competition will take place at 11 am on September 15 at the Great Kursaal in Bad Mergentheim. Bernd Loebe (Intendant Oper Frankfurt), Enrico Calesso (Music Director at the Main-Franconia Theater as well as at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste), Uwe Friedrich (music journalist), Bernd Künzig (opera editor for SWR2 radio), Paul McNamara (tenor and Artistic Director of the Dutch National Opera Academy) and Adrian Mocanu (composer of the DEBUT 2024 commission) will engage in an open round table discussion under the motto “Singing! Yesterday – Today – Tomorrow: The voice as the most human of all art forms in the context of our time”).

Other DEBUT 2024 dates at a glance:

- Qualifying rounds: September 23-24, Weikersheim Castle Arsenal

- Semifinals: September 25, Weikersheim Castle Arsenal

- Lieder recital: September 26, TauberPhilharmonie Weikersheim

- Gala concert: September 28, TauberPhilharmonie Weikersheim

Pictures: 

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Clarry Bartha and Paul McNamara spent four full days reviewing applications for the 12th DEBUT Classical Singing Competition.

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The selection team (from left to right): Sarah Behrendt (DEBUT Project Manager), Clarry Bartha (Artistic Director) and Paul McNamara (Judging Panel Chair).

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