The CIVC is held every three years, sponsored by Ningbo Municipal People?s Government, Zhejiang Province. The fifth CIVC will take place on October 9-20.
Tamás Bátor is joined on the jury by the well known Chinese soprano and music teacher Guo Shuzhen, the Russian opera stars Elena Obraztsova and Evgeny Shapin, the Italian Giuseppe Montanari, Sergio Segalini from France and Marina Krilovici from Greece.
Eighty singers between the ages of 18 and 33 from 24 countries are competing at the contest, said Bátor. The will sing excerpts from oratorios by Gluch, Bach and Haydn as well as songs by Beethoven, Dvorak, Debussy and Rachmaninoff in the first round; Chinese folk songs and opera arias will be sung in the second round, he added.
The top male and female prize winners will take home purses of 20,000 dollars.
Bátor took his position at the Palace of Arts late last summer, leaving as director of the Bartók+? International Opera Festival of Miskolc.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
