Auditions for the contest, which aims to recognise not only the most beautiful singing voice, but to acknowledge the best performer, based on stage movement and acting, have already taken place in Budapest, New York and Gdansk and will soon start in Bergen.
This year's contest involves five partners: the Csokonai Theatre (Debrecen, Hungary), the Baltic Opera (Gdansk, Poland), the Théâtre Bienne Soleure (Bienne, Switzerland), the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre (Ostrava, Czech Republic) and the Dicapo Opera Theatre (New York, USA).
The auditions, at each of the five partner operas and theatres, are based exclusively on vocal capabilities and musicality. In the second round, to be hosted, along with the finals, in Hungary, the directors of the productions will select the final cast for the operas and start rehearsing. MEZZO will broadcast the finals, to take place on November 3-17, in 39 countries.
The jury in Paris will select 15 finalists from among almost 200 applicants.
The auditions in Budapest drew a surprising number of artists from Ukraine, Germany, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Romania, Germany, Switzerland, Estonia and Russia.
The operas participating in the contest will each contribute with a different production. The Dicapo Opera Theatre will perform Tobias Picker's Emmeline, directed by Róbert Alföldi. The Csokonai Theatre will show Last Day of a Condemned, by David Alagna, directed by Nadine Duffaut. The Baltic Opera show Ariadne auf Naxos, by Richard Strauss. The Théâtre Bienne Soleure will show two one-act operas: L'Heure Espagnole, by Ravel, and Alexandre bis, by Bohuslav Martinu, both directed by Bertalan Bagó. The National Moravian-Silesian Theatre will present Life, by Marco Tutino, directed by Péter Telihay.
Photo: MTI
