Our
1st prize winners Carles Pachon
&
Francesca Pia Vitale
Discover - Nurture - Present

A Network for Success

News

Upcoming events, present happenings and past activities

Recap Prize Winners Concert

On May 23, our prize winners' concert finally took place again in Berlin. Exactly five years to the day after the last winners' concert, we were guests for the first time in the "Apollosaal" of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Our six finalists of the international singing competition Francesca Pia Vitale, Carles Pachon, Sakhiwe Mkosana, Yewon Han, Marvic Monreal and Dumitru Mitu inspired the audience. A big thank you to Marvic Monreal, who jumped in at short notice for Eugénie Joneau.

Find the German press release here

Prize Winners Concert 2023

On 23 May, our traditional prize winners concert will take place, continuing from the previous competition. This year, for the first time, the concert will be held in the Apollosaal of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden.
The six prizewinners Francesca Pia Vitale, Carles Pachon, Eugénie Joneau, Sakhiwe Mkosana, Yewon Han and Dumitru Mitu will be able to present their skills once again to a selected audience. They will be accompanied on the piano by Manuel Lange, who is also responsible for the artistic advice of the concert.

Masterclass Series 2023/24

We’re happy to finally announce that we will hold a Masterclass again this year.
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the format, there will be a special edition this year: Masterclass Series 2023/24!
Apart from to the traditional Masterclass week in Gütersloh, singers will also have the opportunity to take part in a “mixed reality“ opera production at the Staatstheater Augsburg in spring 2024 and to travel to Positano, Italy to work together with young pianists at the invitation of the Wilhelm Kempff Foundation and to present the results at a small local festival.

Find more information here

Competition 2024

We have news about the next singing competition in 2024.
Here is an overview of the most important dates:

Application phase:
November 15, 2023 to January 31, 2024

Live Auditions:
April to June 2024

Final round:
October 5-12, 2024

As before, all singers of all nationalities who wish to pursue a professional opera career and were born on or after October 13, 1993 may apply. No exceptions will be made regarding the age limit.
Detailed information on the conditions of participation will follow in summer 2023.

The final concert in full length

For those who missed the final concert or just want to enjoy it again in full length, check out our Neue Stimmen YouTube playlist! There you can also find all concert arias individually. So if you want to relive Dumitru Mitu's "E lucevan le stelle" or Marvic Monreal's "Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix", or maybe one of the winning arias (Carles Pachon's "Largo al factotum" perhaps?!): This way...

Find the playlist here

Our winners 2022

These are our winners! Francesca Pia Vitale from Italy, who also won the audience award, and Carles Pachon from Spain are the winners of Neue Stimmen 2022.
Second place went to Eugénie Joneau and Sakhiwe Mkosana, and third place went to Yewon Han and Dumitru Mitu. The Brian Dickie Young Talent Award was presented again this year, and went to the young South Korean Taehan Kim. The jury also awarded two "Talent Development Prizes" for the first time. The tenor Zachary Rioux from Canada and the soprano Parchiyachart Sitthidamrongkarn from Thailand can be pleased about it. This prize is sponsored by the Mascarade Opera Studio and the Fondazione Mascarade in Florence. The prize includes a stay of up to three weeks in Florence with the opportunity to join the opera studio there on a permanent basis.

Read the press release here

Our Finalists

11 singers have made it to the finals concert of this year's competition. We are very excited! Congrats to Marcela Rahal, Eugénie Joneau, Sakhiwe Mkosana, Francesca Pia Vitale, Alma Neuhaus, Lilit Davtyan, Dumitru Mitu, Yewon Han, Marvic Monreal, Carles Pachon (left to right) and Seungwoo Simon Yang (missing on the photo).
The final concert will take place on June 30 - the link to the livestream can be found here on the website.

The press release

Meet our singers 2022!

The wait is over. After an intensive selection phase, they have been chosen! We are very pleased to finally be able to present our final round participants 2022. In June, 36 singers will come to Gütersloh to prove their talent once again. On our overview you can find all singers with headshot, biography and some backstage information. In the course of April, we will introduce all singers in more detail on our social media channels. If you don't want to miss it, feel free to check us out on Instagram and Facebook.

Click here for the listing

NEW DATE Final Round 2022!

The final round of NEUE STIMMEN 2021/22 competition will be moved from March to June. This decision has not been taken lightly, but our responsibility for the welfare of all people involved must be our priority considering rising infection rates in Germany. The new date for the final round will be June 26-30, 2022, which will take place in a shortened format. Thus, the semifinal concert will be cancelled, the auditions as well as the final concert with orchestral accompaniment will remain as usual. We will provide timely information about ticket sales for the final concert as well as streaming of the concert here on the website and on our social media channels. An adjusted weekly overview of the event can be found on the “News Competition 2022” page.

Click here for the News page

Live Audition Season is over

The live auditions for the current 2021/22 competition have been completed. The last audition took place in Milan on December 11. In total, live auditions were held in 12 cities. The final round will take place in Gütersloh from June 26 - 30. The qualified finalists will be presented on our website and social media channels in early 2022.

HAPPY WORLD OPERA DAY!

World Opera Day is celebrated on October 25. On this day, opera houses along with artists, opera lovers and opera professionals appreciate and celebrate this art form. For this special occasion, we recorded a short video together with our NEUE STIMMEN community. You can find it on our social media channels - Instagram and Facebook. Check it out for news and insights about the ongoing competition.

Find the video here

Neue Stimmen alumni dinner in Frankfurt

Last week we had the kick-off of the Live Auditions in Frankfurt. This opportunity was used to have a small alumni meeting with our singers in Frankfurt the night before. With us were Ekin Su Paker, Marvic Monreal, Iurii Samoilov and Bianca Andrew. Jury member Brain Dickie also joined the little event. It was a great evening with lots of laughter and stories. After successful live auditions in Frankfurt, Paris and London will follow this week from the total of 12 pre-selection locations.

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Congrats on round 2!

After an exciting application phase, in which all participants submitted two videos with their online application for the first time, we were finally thrilled to receive over 1400 applications.
Our jury now had time to review all the documents and videos and had to make the difficult decision of who to admit to the live auditions. The overall level was very high. All singers received an email at the beginning of August, for some of them with the long-awaited information: Next stop --> Live Audition!
The first one will be in Frankfurt on September 28th.

All live audition cities

Applications are closed

The application process for the 2021/22 NEUE STIMMEN competition was open until June 13. Now our jury members Brian Dickie, Sophie Joyce and Evamaria Wieser are screening and judging the submitted application videos. All singers will be informed in late summer whether they are accepted for the live auditions.

Application open till June 13

We know it has not been easy to record arias with live piano accompaniment during this time. In certain countries there have been renewed lockdowns due to the ongoing pandemic. We want to give singers in these places a chance to enter the competition and decided to postpone the deadline for applications until June 13.

How to apply?

DIARY

We are very happy to finally present to you our new "Diary" on our website. Both our talented singers and our knowledgeable project partners get the chance to share their experiences, challenges and inspirations from their artistic lives. We, Dorothea and Vera from the NEUE STIMMEN team, will kick things off. Check it out - we are excited!

To the Diary it's this way

Tutorial Video

Here is our first NEUE STIMMEN tutorial!
Find out in seven steps how to produce a good audition video. Have fun watching - and give it a try yourself. Remember you will need to record and submit two videos along with your online application for the competition 2021. Applications start on 1 January, 2021. Happy to see you soon!

Watch tutorial

NEWS Competition 2021

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, there are some changes for the competition. Keep up to date on the page "Competition News"!

Find all news here

Final film Masterclass 2020

Our participants in this year's Masterclass have worked out a final film together with acting coach Martina Gredler. Under the title "L'amour de loin - Love from a distance" various ensembles of opera literature are staged. Have fun watching it!

Watch video

Masterclass 2020: Interview with Liz Mohn

Liz Mohn, initiator and president of NEUE STIMMEN, was interviewed on the occasion of the first digital Masterclass and gives an insight into the opportunities but also challenges for the new generation of singers.

Video

Masterclass 2020

Due to the current situation, our Masterclass 2020 will be held exclusively in digital form this year. For this reason the Open Masterclasses in Gütersloh unfortunately have to be cancelled. On our Master Class page you can find new content from the end of October, now there are still some videos of the latest masterclasses, i.e. with John Norris or Michelle Breedt. Have fun!

Masterclass-page

Neue Stimmen Connect/Re-Connect

During the past weeks we had contact with Neue Stimmen singers from the 2019 competition on severeal occasions. What a great joy! We laughed together, admired each others hair-do and talked about private and career matters, of course everything via video. In the sense of Connect and Re-Connect, we would like to encourage everyone from the Neue Stimmen family to communicate with us and with each other. Together we are strong.

Our new podcast "Alles klar, Klassik?" - Das Kultur-Update

We have some podcast news for you. For all German speakers among you or those who want to pimp their German language skills a bit.
The big topics in the cultural world in our weekly podcast.
For everyone who is interested in classical music and culture and who is up for exciting topics and guests.

Click here to listen
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Diary

With this diary we give our talented singers and our knowledgeable project partners the chance to share experiences, challenges, and inspirations from their artists’ life, with a few little insights form us, the team, as well.

To the Diary go this way

With experience to success

With the NEUE STIMMEN the Bertelsmann Stiftung creates a big opportunity for young vocal talents from all other the world, to realize a future with a singing career. For 30 years, the Competition has served as a springboard and renowned platform for exceptionally talented next-generation singers. It focuses on discovering and supporting the world's best singers, who receive ongoing, long-term assistance not only during the competition, but also through master classes, concerts, seminars and coaching sessions.

GRAB ATTENTION

Benefit from world wide auditions

NEUE STIMMEN auditions take place in a professional setting. Members of the jury attend in person to seek out emerging talents. Use this to grab attention.

MEET OPERA MOVERS

Benefit from our international partner network

NEUE STIMMEN cooperates with opera movers world wide and keeps close contact to important decision takers in the music business.

GAIN CONFIDENCE

Benefit from our know-how

NEUE STIMMEN has 30 years of experience. Working with long-term partners - our internationally renowned jury, experienced pianists and coaches - we offer challenging and encouraging advice and support.

INHALE CAREER ISSUES

Benefit from long term support and encouragement

In addition to master classes and concerts NEUE STIMMEN offers workshops and individual coaching units dealing with career planning and self marketing issues.

PASSION AND ENTHUSIASM DEFINE OUR WORK

Listening to music and wanting to produce it yourself is part of human nature. You can nurture it – and you have to nurture it!
Reinhard Mohn
Founder Bertelsmann Stiftung