"The international singing competition NEUE STIMMEN has become one of the most famous opera competitions in the world during the last 30 years." - Liz Mohn
Explore the history of NEUE STIMMEN over time:
The 14th NEUE STIMMEN International Masterclass took place in Gütersloh from 22 to 29 October. After the week in Gütersloh, a cooperation with the Augsburg State Theatre will take place for the first time.
Francesco Auriemma, baritone,*1996, Italy
Brayan Avila Martinez, tenor, *1991, Netherlands
William Desbiens, baritone, *1997, Canada
Marta Kristin Fridriksdottir, soprano, *1996, Iceland
Hedvig Haugerud, soprano, *1994, Norway
Stephanie Hershaw, soprano, *1995, Great Britain
Sanele Mwelase, countertenor, *1997, South Africa
Priya Pariyachart, soprano, *2000, Thailand
Alexandra Urquiola, mezzo-soprano, *1993, USA
Gerben van der Werf, countertenor, *1994, Netherlands
Luiza Willert, soprano, *1999, Brazil
Shuai Zhang, bass, *1991, China
Annette Dasch
Soprano
John Norris
Choreographer, coach, actor, singer and movement trainer
Dr. Ralph Strehle
Director of a programme for young singers in Italy
Axel Brüggemann
Cultural journalist, presenter and classical music expert
Markus Zugehör
Anne Larlee
Raffaele Cortesi
36 opera talents from 21 countries will compete in the final round of the international singing competition NEUE STIMMEN 2021/2022 in Gütersloh. From 26 to 30 June, they will have a possibly unique opportunity to convince opera and festival directors, agents and talent scouts in the music industry of their skills and personality. The conclusion and highlight of the final round in the 35th year of NEUE STIMMEN will be the grand final concert with orchestral accompaniment on Thursday, 30 June, in front of an audience in the Gütersloh Stadthalle.
Francesca Pia Vitale, soprano, *1995, Italy, 1st place & People's choice award
Carles Pachon, baritone, *1995, Spain, 1st place
Eugénie Joneau, mezzo-soprano, *1995, France, 2nd place
Sakhiwe Mkosana, baritone, *1994, South Africa, 2nd place
Yewon Han, soprano, *1998, South Korea, 3rd place
Dumitru Mitu, tenor, *1992, Moldova, 3rd place
Lilit Davtyan, soprano, *1999, Armenia, sponsorship award
Alma Neuhaus, mezzo-soprano, *1996, USA, sponsorship award
Marvic Monreal, mezzo-soprano, *1991, Malta, sponsorship award
Marcela Rahal, mezzo-soprano, *1990, Brazil, sponsorship award
Seungwoo Simon Yang, tenor, *1997, South Korea, sponsorship award
Dominique Meyer, Artistic Director of La Scala in Milan
Christoph Seuferle, Opera Director of the Deutsche Oper in Berlin
Bernarda Fink, mezzo-soprano
Brian Dickie, Former General Director of the Chicago Opera Theatre
Sophie Joyce, Casting Director of the Opéra National de Paris
Evamaria Wieser, Casting Director of the Salzburg Festival
Bernd Loebe, Artistic Director of the Frankfurt Opera
Elisabeth Sobotka, Artistic Director of the Bregenz Festival
Sophie de Lint, Director of the Dutch National Opera
Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Conductor: Jonathan Darlington
Amsterdam, Berlin, Frankfurt, Cape Town, London, Los Angeles, Milan, Moscow, Munich, New York, Paris, Zurich
The 13th edition of the NEUE STIMMEN International Masterclass was a premiere: from 26 to 30 October, eleven young opera singers from nine countries had the opportunity to develop both their artistic and career skills in a completely digital format for the first time. They exchanged ideas with each other via video and learnt from renowned artists and instructors both as a group and in individual training sessions.
The concept of the digital masterclass was characterised by the fact that the participants were not only presented with the learning content on screen, but also put it into practice in the form of various activities, such as singing in front of their own web camera, acting and completing movement and speech exercises. In view of the growing importance of digital channels, they also received training, workshops and counselling on the use of streaming platforms and social media channels as well as the creative use of audiovisual online presentation formats. Over the course of the week, they also worked on a joint music film. The up-and-coming singers came from the group of participants in the NEUE STIMMEN competition 2019 and were categorised by the jury as particularly worthy of support.
Spencer Britten, tenor, *1993, Canada
Ian Burns, baritone, *1992, USA
Adrian Daleore, bass-baritone, *1989, Germany/Serbia
Kayleigh Decker, mezzo-soprano, *1993, USA
Marta Kristin Fridriksdottir, soprano, *1996, Iceland
Kathrin Hottiger, soprano, *1992, Switzerland
Aebh Kelly, mezzo-soprano, *1997, Ireland
Jakob Kunath, baritone, *1994, Germany
Marvic Monreal, mezzo-soprano, *1991, Malta
Gabriel Rollinson, bass-baritone, *1993, Germany/USA
Matilda Sterby, soprano, *1991, Sweden
Bernarda Fink, mezzo-soprano, vocal coaching
Julian Prégardien, tenor, career coaching, video formats
John Norris, tenor, career coaching, video formats
Martina Gredler, director
Raffaele Cortesi, accompaniment/ voice coaching
Anne Larlee, accompaniment/ voice coaching
Markus Zugehör, accompaniment/ voice coaching
Evamaria Wieser, Artistic Director Salzburg Festival
Christiane Karg, Soprano
Boris Orlob, Artistic Manager
Stephan Reineke, Artistic Manager
Moritz Henning, influencer manager and social media expert
Of the 1,500 or so young singers who originally entered this year's NEUE STIMMEN singing competition, 42 participants from 26 countries qualified for the final round during the pre-selections in spring and summer. 18 of them made it through to the semi-finals. The final week took place from 19 to 26 October 2019 in the Gütersloh Stadthalle. The winners were honoured with cash and non-cash prizes with a total value of 60,000 euros.
Anna El-Khashem, soprano, *1996, Russia, 1st place
Long Long, tenor,*1991, China, 1st place
Natalia Tanasii, soprano, *1991, Moldova, 2nd place
Domen Križaj, baritone, *1989, Slovenia, 2nd place
Bongani Kubheka, baritone, *1988, Germany, 2nd place
Slàvka Zámečníkova, lyric soprano, *1991, Slovakia, 3rd place
Nombulelo Yende, soprano *1991, South Africa, sponsorship prize & People's choice award
Jamez McCorkle, tenor, *1989, USA, sponsorship award
Enkeleda Kamani, soprano *1991, Albania, sponsorship award
Hélène Carpentier, soprano, *1995, France, sponsorship award
Dominique Meyer, Chairman of the Jury, Director of the Vienna State Opera
Brian Dickie, Former General Director of the Chicago Opera Theatre
Sophie de Lint, Director of the Dutch National Opera Amsterdam
Sophie Joyce, Director of the "Lindemann Young Artist Development Programme"
Jürgen Kesting, music critic, author
Bernd Loebe, Artistic Director of the Frankfurt Opera
Fortunato Ortombina, artistic director and artistic director of Teatro La Fenice di Venezia
Elisabeth Sobotka, Artistic Director of the Bregenz Festival
Evamaria Wieser, Casting Director of the Salzburg Festival, European Casting Consultant of the Lyric Opera Chicago
Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Conductor: Jonathan Darlington
Amsterdam, Berlin, Bologna, Chicago, Cape Town, Dublin, Frankfurt, Gothenburg, Izmir, Kiev, London, Madrid, Moscow, Munich, New York, Beijing, Philadelphia, Pretoria, Riga, Santa Fe, Shanghai, Toronto, Warsaw, Vienna, Yokosuka
The 12th NEUE STIMMEN International Masterclass took place from 18-28 October 2018. Before the 12 singers from 11 countries came to Gütersloh, they visited Berlin for the first time for three days, during which all participants received career coaching and attended two musical theatre performances. The coaching sessions focussed on imparting industry-specific knowledge and skills for a successful career start, including with agent Judith Neuhoff and PR manager Simone Dollmann.
In Gütersloh, the focus was on teaching musical and performance skills as well as the artistic preparation for the final concert, which took place on 28 October in the foyer of the foundation in front of 350 invited guests from society, culture, politics and business.
Brigitte Fassbaender also staged the concert. In the run-up to the concert, opera star Rolando Villazón gave a workshop for the young talents, answered questions and imparted important knowledge from his long career.
Amelie Baier, mezzo-soprano, *1990, Germany
Daniil Chesnokov, bass, *1989, Russia
Zlata Khershberg, mezzo-soprano, *1990, Russia/ Israel
Martin Mkhize, baritone, *1988, South Africa
Eddie Mofokeng, lyric baritone, *1991, South Africa
Damir Rakhmonov, tenor, *1989, Uzbekistan
Michael Rakotoarivony, baritone, *1993, Madagascar
Patrik Reiter, tenor, *1995, Austria
Sophie-Magdalena Reuter, soprano, *1992, Germany
Olga Rudyk, soprano, *1993, Ukraine
Jolana Slavíková, soprano, *1991, Czech Republic
Pijarin Wiriyasakdakul, soprano, *1996, Thailand
Raffaele Cortesi - Professor of accompaniment at the Conservatory in Parma, Italy
Anne Larlee - Pianist
Fabio Vettraino - Pianist
Markus Zugehör - Pianist
Lenka Radecky - Head of the costume department of the Bregenz Festival
Judith Neuhoff - Managing Director of Centre Stage Artist Management
Simone Dollmann - Founding Partner and Managing Director of PS Music Berlin
Of the original 1430 applicants from 76 nations who applied to take part in the Gütersloh competition in its 30th anniversary year at the beginning of the year, 39 participants from 26 nations qualified for the final round during the global pre-selections in the summer. The pre-selections took place at 24 locations worldwide. The final week of the 17th edition of the competition took place in Gütersloh from 7 to 14 October 2017. Cash prizes totalling 60,000 euros were awarded to the top three winners. The semi-final and final were accompanied by the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Graeme Jenkins, with journalist and TV presenter Holger Noltze once again hosting. Both concerts took place in the Stadthalle Gütersloh and were broadcast as live streams.
Svetlina Stoyanova, mezzo-soprano, *1991, Bulgaria, 1st place
Cho ChanHee, bass, *1992, South Korea, 1st place
Emily D'Angelo, mezzo-soprano, *1994, Canada, 2nd place
Johannes Kammler, baritone, *1988, Germany, 2nd place
Zlata Khershberg, mezzo-soprano, *1990, Russia/Israel, 3rd place
Mingjie Lei, tenor, *1988, China, 3rd place
Samuel Mariño, soprano, *1993, Venezuela, People's choice award
Christina Nilsson, soprano, *1990, Sweden, sponsorship award
Olga Rudik, soprano, *1993, Ukraine, sponsorship award
Petr Sokolov, lyric baritone, *1987, Russia, sponsorship award
Božidar Smiljanić, bass-baritone, *1989, England, sponsorship award
Dominique Meyer, Chairman of the Jury, Director of the Vienna State Opera
Gustav Kuhn, conductor and opera director, artistic director of the Tyrolean Festival Erl, director of the Accademia di Montegral
Brian Dickie, Former General Director of the Chicago Opera Theatre
Sophie de Lint, Opera Director at Zurich Opera House
Helmut Deutsch, pianist and accompanist
Jürgen Kesting, music critic, author
Bernd Loebe, Artistic Director of the Frankfurt Opera
Christoph Meyer, General Director of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf/Duisburg
Elisabeth Sobotka, Artistic Director of the Bregenz Festival
Evamaria Wieser, Director of the Young Singers Project at the Salzburg Festival, Casting Consultant Lyric Opera Chicago
Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Conductor: Graeme Jenkins
Amsterdam, Berlin, Chicago, Gothenburg, Izmir, Cape Town, Kiev, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Munich, New York, Beijing, Riga, Shanghai, Sydney, Tbilisi, Toronto, Turin, Valencia, Vilnius, Warsaw, Vienna, Yokosuka
The 11th NEUE STIMMEN International Masterclass took place in Gütersloh from 22 to 29 October.
Derya Belevi, soprano, * 1990, Turkey
Ornella-Elise Berthelon, soprano, * 1994, Mexico
Dashuai Chen, tenor, * 1990, China
Anna Dowsley, mezzo-soprano, * 1987, Australia
Tamuna Gochashvili, soprano, * 1994, Georgia
Khanyiso Gwexane, tenor, * 1988, South Africa
Adam Kutny, baritone, * 1992, Poland
Emily Nakagawa, soprano, * 1990, Japan
Kseniia Nikolaieva, mezzo-soprano, * 1991, Ukraine
Georgios Papadimitriou, bass-baritone, * 1986, Greece
Erik Rousi, baritone, * 1987, Finland
Clara Corinna Scheurle, mezzo-soprano, * 1991, Germany
Chen Wang, soprano, * 1995, China
Gustav Kuhn
Artistic director, conductor and opera director, artistic director of the Tyrolean Festival Erl, director of the "Accademia di Montegral"
Andreas Leisner
Assistant director and dramaturge, stage director, deputy artistic director of the Tyrolean Festival Erl
Michelle Breedt
Mezzo-soprano, Professor of Singing at the University of Music and Theatre Munich
Roberto Scandiuzzi
Bass, singer and lecturer for international masterclasses
John Norris
Choreographer, coach, actor, singer and movement trainer
Friederike Janofske
Mental coach, qualified psychologist and psychological psychotherapist
Sophia Marie Schmidt
Harpist
Markus Appelt
Yuka Beppu
Raffaele Cortesi
Fabio Vettraino
42 opera singers, 20 women and 22 men from 30 nations, qualified for the final round of the 2015 NEUE STIMMEN International Singing Competition. A total of 1,318 young talents applied to take part in the worldwide pre-selections in 26 cities. The final week of the competition took place in Gütersloh from 17 to 24 October 2015. Cash prizes totalling 60,000 euros were awarded to the top three winners. The semi-final and final were accompanied by the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Graeme Jenkins, with journalist and TV presenter Holger Noltze once again acting as host. Both concerts took place in the Stadthalle Gütersloh and were broadcast as live streams.
In the 2015 competition year, the Bertelsmann Stiftung has strengthened its commitment to young artists in three steps under the motto "Creating Careers": Discover - Support - Accompany. The international singing competition makes it possible to discover talented singers. Individual coaching by professionals from the opera business helps with career focussing and self-marketing. The sustainability of the support is guaranteed through long-term counselling and guidance. A close-knit network of artistic directors, concert organisers, agents as well as university professors and finalists ensures the necessary exchange between the players.
Elsa Dreisig, soprano, * 1991, France, 1st place & People's choice award
Anatoli Sivko, bass, * 1987, Belarus, 1st place
Miriam Albano, mezzo-soprano, * 1991, Italy, 2nd place
Darren Pati, tenor, * 1987, New Zealand, 2nd place
Lukhanyo Moyake, tenor, * 1986, South Africa, 3rd place
Bongiwe Nakani, mezzo-soprano, * 1989, South Africa, 3rd place
Mariia Bochmanova, lyric soprano, * 1987, Russian Federation, sponsorship award
Dashuai Chen, tenor, * 1990, China, sponsorship award
Jung Rae Kim, baritone, * 1994, Republic of Korea, sponsorship award
Luthando Qave, lyric baritone, * 1986, South Africa, sponsorship award
Camila Titinger, lyric soprano, * 1989, Brazil, sponsorship award
Dominique Meyer, Chairman of the Jury, Director of the Vienna State Opera
Gustav Kuhn, Artistic Director, Conductor and Opera Director, Director of the Tyrolean Festival Erl, Director of the Accademia di Montegral
Brian Dickie, Head of Preselections, Former General Director of the Chicago Opera Theatre
Francisco Araíza, Kammersänger, Professor at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts
Dietrich Henschel, Singer
Siegfried Jerusalem, chamber singer, former president of the Nuremberg University of Music
Jürgen Kesting, music critic, author
Bernd Loebe, Director of the Frankfurt Opera
Christoph Meyer, General Director of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf/Duisburg
Nicholas Payne, Director Opera Europa
Anja Silja, Kammersängerin
Evamaria Wieser, Director of the Young Singers Project at the Salzburg Festival, Casting Consultant Lyric Opera Chicago
Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Conductor: Graeme Jenkins
Amsterdam, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Cluj-Napoca, Gothenburg, Cape Town, Kiev, London, Melbourne, Mexico City, Moscow, Munich, New York, Beijing, Prague, Riga, Rome, São Paulo, Shanghai, Sydney, Tbilisi, Toronto, Vilnius, Vienna, Yokosuka
The 10th NEUE STIMMEN International Masterclass took place in Gütersloh from 18 to 25 October 2014.
Andres Carrillo, tenor, * 1985, Mexico
Mihai Catinean, bass, * 1990, Romania
Rihab Chaieb, mezzo-soprano, * 1987, Canada
Aurora Faggioli, mezzo-soprano, * 1992, Italy
Giorgi Goderdzishvili, bass, * 1985, Georgia
Joseph Lim, baritone, * 1983, South Korea
Raffaela Lintl, soprano, * 1989, Germany
Patrícia Macák Solotruková, soprano, * 1986, Slovakia
Aistė Pilibavičiūtė, lyric soprano, * 1988, Lithuania
Maria Popa, mezzo-soprano, * 1991, Romania
Camila Titinger, lyric soprano, * 1989, Brazil
Jonathan Winell, tenor, * 1984, USA
Francisco Araíza
Kammersänger, Professor at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts
Andreas Leisner
Assistant director
Gustav Kuhn
Conductor and opera director, artistic director of the Tyrolean Festival Erl, director of the Accademia di Montegral
John Norris
Movement coach at the Bavarian State Opera Studio and the International Opera Studio of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin
Boris Orlob
Management Director
Cheryl Studer
Soprano
Raffaele Cortesi
Celine Dutill
Peter Nelson
Lied Masterclass 2014 from 10 to 16 November
Elsa Dreisig, soprano, * 1991, France
Monika Rydzkowski, soprano, * 1988, Germany
Annika Schlicht, mezzo-soprano, * 1988, Germany
Sebastian Seitz, baritone, * 1987, Germany
Dietrich Henschel
Opera and concert singer
Manuel Lange
Professor of Lied interpretation and song composition at the Detmold University of Music
40 opera singers from 24 nations have qualified for the final round of the NEUE STIMMEN International Singing Competition. In total, over 1,400 young talents applied to take part in the worldwide pre-selections in 22 cities. The final round of the competition took place in Gütersloh from 6 to 13 October 2013.
As in previous years, both concerts - the semi-final and final - were accompanied by the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of GMD Giordano Bellincampi. The semi-final concert was presented by soprano Christiane Karg, finalist in 2007, and Holger Noltze, television presenter and journalist.
Singers who did not make it to the semi-finals were given the opportunity to undergo individual training with movement coach John Norris. All finalists can have a counselling session with the 11 jury members.
A new award structure will apply from this year onwards. Cash prizes totalling 60,000 euros will be awarded to the singers in 1st to 3rd place. An audience prize and a sponsor prize will also be awarded. All participants also have the chance to make numerous contacts, concert appearances and sponsorship programmes.
Nicole Car, soprano, * 1985, Australia, 1st place
Myong-Hyun Lee, tenor, * 1988, Republic of Korea, 1st place
Nadine Sierra, soprano, * 1988, United States of America, 1st place & people's choice award
Oleg Tibulco, bass, * 1984, Republic of Moldova, 2nd place
Oleksandr Kyreiev, baritone, * 1988, Ukraine, 3rd place
Kristina Mkhitaryan, soprano, * 1987, Russian Federation, 3rd place
Saltanat Akhmetova, soprano, * 1986, Kazakhstan, sponsorship award
Alexey Bogdanchikov, lyric baritone, * 1985, Russian Federation, special prize
Yulia Mazurova, mezzo-soprano, * 1989, Russian Federation, special prize
Dominique Meyer, Chairman of the Jury, Director of the Vienna State Opera
Gustav Kuhn, Artistic Director, Conductor and Opera Director, Director of the Tyrolean Festival Erl, Director of the Accademia di Montegral
Brian Dickie, Head of Preselections, Former General Director of the Chicago Opera Theatre
Francisco Araíza, Kammersänger, Professor at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts
Siegfried Jerusalem, Kammersänger, former President of the Nuremberg University of Music
Jürgen Kesting, music critic, author
Bernd Loebe, Artistic Director of the Frankfurt Opera
Christoph Meyer, General Director of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf/Duisburg
Nicholas Payne, Director Opera Europa
Anja Silja, Kammersängerin
Evamaria Wieser, Casting Consultant Lyric Opera Chicago and Artistic Consultant Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Consultant to the Salzburg Easter Festival
Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Conductor: Giordano Bellincampi
Berlin, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Cluj-Napoca, Düsseldorf, Kiev, London, Melbourne, Mexico City, Moscow, Munich, New York, Beijing, Rome, São Paulo, Shanghai, Tbilisi, Toronto, Vilnius, Warsaw, Vienna, Yokosuka
Lied Masterclass 2013 "Vienna, love and song" from 6 to 13 October
Catalina Bertucci, soprano, * 1980, Chile
Maximilian Krummen, baritone, * 1989, Germany
Barbara Kinga Majewska, mezzo-soprano, * 1982, Poland
Michael Mogl, tenor, * 1987, Germany
Angelika Kirchschlager
Kammersängerin
Manuel Lange
Professor of Lied interpretation at the Detmold University of Music
The 9th international masterclass NEUE STIMMEN took place in Gütersloh from 20 to 27 October 2012
Dominic Armstrong, tenor, * 1979, USA
Frederik Baldus, baritone, * 1980, Germany
Guadalupe Barrientos, mezzo-soprano, * 1986, Argentina
Leonard Bernad, bass, * 1987, Romania
Mária Celeng, lyric soprano, *1988, Slovakia
Xu Chu, soprano, * 1980, China
Sofie Elkjaer Jensen, lyric soprano, * 1985, Denmark
Xiahou Jinxu, tenor, * 1990, China
Jaquelina Livieri, colouratura soprano, * 1986, Argentina
Paulina Gonzalez Melgarejo, lyric soprano, * 1985, Chile
Oded Reich, baritone, *1995, Israel
Grigory Shkarupa, bass, * 1989, Russia
Joe Tsuchizaki, tenor, *1977, Japan
Francisco Araíza
Kammersänger, Professor at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts
Gustav Kuhn
Conductor and opera director, artistic director of the Tyrolean Festival Erl, director of the Accademia di Montegral
Andreas Leisner
Assistant director
Edda Moser
German opera singer
John Norris
Movement coach at the Bavarian State Opera Studio and the International Opera Studio of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin
Raffaele Cortesi
Celine Dutilly
Peter Nelson
Lied Masterclass 2012 „Die Kunst des deutschen Liedes“
Simon Bode, tenor, * 1984, Germany
Julian Orlishausen, baritone, * 1981, Germany
Christina-Antoaneta Pasaroiu, soprano, * 1986, Romania
Faith Sherman, mezzo-soprano, * 1981, USA
Anna Sohn, colouratura soprano, * 1981, Korea
Manuel Lange
Professor of Lied Interpretation and Lied Interpretation at the Detmold University of Music
KS Edda Moder
Kammersängerin, Rheinbreitbach
41 young talents qualified for the one-week final round in Gütersloh from 16 to 22 October 2011 at the worldwide pre-selections in 23 different cities, 15 were able to sing in the semi-final. A total of over 1,400 singers had applied worldwide. This year, the 41 opera talents in the final round come from 18 nations: 19 from Europe, 11 from Asia, 6 from South America, 5 from North America and one Australian. China is the largest group with 6 participants, followed by Russia and the USA (5 each) and Germany and South Korea with 3 singers each. In the 14th NEUE STIMMEN competition, 23 women and 19 men of all voice ranges will be competing.
The 28-year-old Olga Bezsmertna from the Ukraine won the Bertelsmann Stiftung's NEUE STIMMEN 2011 International Singing Competition. The soprano thus received prize money of 15,000 euros and at the same time the best opportunities for a career as an opera singer. The Korean bass Jongmin Park was awarded 2nd prize, while 3rd prize went to the youngest participant in the final round, the 20-year-old tenor Xiahou Jinxu from China. A total of six cash prizes and numerous special prizes were awarded this year.
Olga Bezsmertna, lyric Soprano, * 1983, Ukraine, 1st place
Jongmin Park, bass, * 1986, South Korea, 2nd place & people's choice award
Xiahou Jinxu, tenor, * 1990, China, 3rd place
Cristina-Antoaneta Pasaroiu, soprano, * 1986, Romania, 4th place
Nadezhda Karyazina, mezzo-soprano, * 1986, Russia, 5th place
Mária Celeng, lyric soprano, * 1988, Slovakia, 1991, 6th place
Dominique Meyer, Chairman of the Jury, Director of the Vienna State Opera
Gustav Kuhn, Artistic Director, Conductor and Opera Director, Director of the Tyrolean Festival Erl, Director of the Accademia di Montegral
Brian Dickie, Head of Preselections, Former General Director of the Chicago Opera Theatre
Francisco Araíza, Kammersänger, Professor at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts
Siegfried Jerusalem, Kammersänger, former President of the Nuremberg University of Music
Jürgen Kesting, music critic, author
Bernd Loebe, Director of the Frankfurt Opera
Nicholas Payne, Director of Opera Europa
Anja Silja, Kammersängerin
Evamaria Wieser, Casting Consultant Lyric Opera Chicago and Artistic Consultant Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor: Axel Kober
Berlin, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Düsseldorf, Florence, Kiev, Copenhagen, London, Madrid, Mexico City, Moscow, Munich, New York, Beijing, San Francisco, Shanghai, Sydney, Toronto, Vilnius, Warsaw, Vienna, Yerevan, Yokosuka
The 8th International Masterclass NEUE STIMMEN took place from 13 to 23 November 2010 in Gütersloh.
Catalina Cuervo, sopran, * 1981, Colombia
Ángel Ruz Gómez, tenor, * 1985, Mexico
Sofia Gordeladze, soprano, *1983, Georgia
Chia-Ling Ho, soprano, * 1983, Taiwan
Barbara Kinga Majewska, mezzo-soprano, * 1982, Poland
Julian Orlishausen, baritone, * 1981, Germany
Carlos Osuna, tenor, * 1984, Mexico
Anna Princeva, soprano, * 1980, Russia
Fernando Javier Radó, bass, * 1986, Argentina
Iurii Samoilov, lyric baritone, * 1988, Ukraine
Cigdem Soyarslan, Colouratura soprano, * 1983, Turkey
Amanda Tarver, mezzo-soprano, * 1979, USA
Narine Yeghiyan, soprano, * 1981, Armenia
Yuan Zhang, soprano, * 1987, China
Grace Bumbry Kammersängerin
Francisco Araíza Kammersänger, Professor at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts
Gustav Kuhn Conductor and opera director, artistic director of the Tyrolean Festival Erl, director of the Accademia di Montegral
John Norris Movement trainer at the Bavarian State Opera Studio and the International Opera Studio of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin
Celine Dutilly
Manuel Lange
More than 1,000 young singers applied for the Bertelsmann Stiftung's 13th NEUE STIMMEN International Singing Competition. The pre-selections began on 24 April 2009 in Florence. By the end of August, the preliminary rounds had been completed in all 23 cities worldwide. In 2009, more than 95 per cent of the singers registered via the NEUE STIMMEN website. The 2009 final round, chaired for the first time by Dominique Meyer, designated artistic director of the Vienna State Opera, took place in Gütersloh from 25 to 31 October 2009. 41 young opera talents from 24 nations had qualified to take part; the Korean Eunju Kwon was awarded first prize, which was endowed with 15,000 euros. Kihwan Sim was honoured with second place, followed by JunHo You in third place.
Eunju Kwon, soprano, * 1985, South Korea, 1st place
Kihwan Sim, bass baritone, * 1983, South Korea, 2nd place
JunHo You, tenor, * 1980, South Korea, 3rd place
Pavel Kolgatin, tenor, * 1987, Russia, 4th place & people's choice award
Andriana Chuchman, soprano, * 1982, Canada, 5th place
Rachel Frenkel, mezzo-soprano, * 1981, Israel, 6th place
Mikhail Korobeynikov, bass, * 1979, Russia, 7th place
Dominique Meyer, Chairman of the Jury, Director of the Vienna State Opera
Gustav Kuhn, Artistic Director Conductor and Opera Director, Director of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl, Director of the Accademia di Montegral
Brian Dickie, Head of Auditions, Former General Director of the Chicago Opera Theatre
Francisco Araíza, Kammersänger, Professor at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts
Siegfried Jerusalem, Kammersänger, former President of the Nuremberg University of Music
Jürgen Kesting, music critic, author
Bernd Loebe, Director of the Frankfurt Opera
Nicholas Payne, Director of Opera Europa
Anja Silja, Kammersängerin
Evamaria Wieser, Artistic Advisor Lyric Opera Chicago and Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Conductor: John Fiore
Berlin, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Düsseldorf, Florence, Copenhagen, London, Mexico City, Moscow, Munich, New York, Oslo, Beijing, Riga, San Francisco, Saint Petersburg, Sydney, Tbilisi, Toronto, Vilnius, Warsaw, Vienna, Yokosuka
From October 11 to 18, 2008, the Bertelsmann Stiftung hosted the International Master Class NEUE STIMMEN for the 7th time under the artistic direction of Gustav Kuhn.
Levent Bakirci, baritone, * 1978, Turkey
Jonathan Beyer, baritone, * 1981, USA
Igor Eremin, baritone, * 1983, Russia
Krenare Gashi, soprano, * 1985, Kosovo
Claudia Huckle, mezzo-soprano, * 1982, Great Britain
Jacek Janiszeski, bass, * 1969, Poland
Emi Morofuji, soprano, * 1981, Japan
Ieva Prudnikovaitė, mezzo-soprano, * 1983, Lithuania
Pavel Shmulevich, bass, * 1982, Russia
Yuki Sunami, soprano, * 1981, Japan
Diego Torre, tenor, * 1979, Mexico
Fabiola Venegas, soprano, * 1978, Mexico
Francisco Araíza
Kammersänger, Professor at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts
Ute Trekel-Burckhardt
Kammersänger
Franz Grundheber
Kammersänger
Gustav Kuhn
Conductor and opera director, artistic director of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl, director of the Accademia di Montegral
Raffaele Cortesi
Celine Dutilly
Manuel Lange
Peter Nelson
20 years of NEUE STIMMEN: More than 1,000 young singers from 66 nations applied for the Bertelsmann Stiftung's 12th NEUE STIMMEN International Singing Competition. The worldwide pre-selections began in early May in Yokosuka, Japan. By the end of August, the singers had gone through preliminary rounds in 22 cities around the world. 46 young opera talents from 19 nations qualified to participate in the final round of the International Singing Competition, which took place in Gütersloh from October 21 to 27, 2007, under the chairmanship of Francisco Araiza. The competition was organized in cooperation with Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). The first prize, worth 15,000 euros, was awarded to the Latvian soprano Marina Rebeka. Fernando Javier Radó was awarded second place, followed by Diego Torre in third place.
Marina Rebeka, soprano, * 1980, Latvia, 1st place
Fernando Javier Radó, bass, * 1986, Argentina, 2nd place
Diego Torre, tenor, * 1979, Mexico, 3rd place
Anita Watson, lyric soprano, * 1980, Australia, 4th place
Yali Wang, soprano, * 1981, China, 5th place
Christiane Karg, soprano, * 1980, Germany, 6th place
Krenare Gashi, soprano, * 1985, Kosovo, 7th place
Sung-Kon Kim, baritone, * 1975, South Korea, 8th place
Julia Novikova, coloratura soprano, * 1983, Russia, people's choice award
Emma Pearson, soprano, * 1980, Australia, Anniversary Prize
Gustav Kuhn, artistic director, conductor and opera director, artistic director of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl, director of the Accademia di Montegral
Brian Dickie, Head of Preselections, Former General Director of the Chicago Opera Theater
Francisco Araíza, Kammersänger, Professor at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts
Siegfried Jerusalem, Kammersänger, former President of the Nuremberg University of Music
Jürgen Kesting, music critic, author
Bernd Loebe, Director of the Frankfurt Opera
Edith Mathies, Kammersängerin, Professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
Nicholas Payne, Director Opera Europa
Edith Wiens, concert singer, professor of singing at the University of Music Nuremberg-Augsburg and the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich
Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Conductor: Hendrik Vestmann
Berlin, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Düsseldorf, Florence, Helsinki, Cape Town, London, Mexico City, Moscow, Munich, New York, Beijing, Riga, San Francisco, St. Petersburg, Santiago de Chile, Stockholm, Sydney, Toronto, Vilnius, Warsaw, Yokosuka
The 6th International Master Class NEUE STIMMEN took place from November 10 to 18, 2006 in Gütersloh.
Jurgita Adamonyte, mezzo-soprano, * 1979, Lithuania
Javier Arrey, baritone, * 1982 Chile
Flurin Caduff, bass-baritone, * 1979, Switzerland
Selcuk Cara, bass, * 1969, Germany
Carla Filipcic, soprano, * 1977, Argentina
Phandulawazi Maseti, tenor, * 1982, South Africa
Manuel Nunez Camelino, tenor, * 1980, Argentina
Jessica Pratt, coloratura soprano, * 1979, GB/Australia
Maria Radoeva, lyric soprano, * 1984, Bulgaria
Katharine Tier, mezzo-soprano, * 1981, Australia
Bojidar Vassilev, lyric baritone, * 1977, Bulgaria
Nan Zheng, soprano, * 1979, China
Francisco Araiza
Kammersänger, Professor at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts
Ute Trekel-Burckhardt
Kammersängerin
Siegfried Jerusalem
Kammersänger, former President of the Nuremberg University of Music
Gustav Kuhn
Conductor and opera director, artistic director of the Tyrolean Festival Erl, director of the Accademia di Montegral
Katia Ricciarelli
Italian opera singer
Andreas Leisner
Assistant director
Celine Dutilly
Tito Ceccherini
Raffaele Cortesi
Peter Nelson
Argentinian María Virginia Savastano, a 22-year-old soprano, won the Bertelsmann Stiftung's 11th International Singing Competition. She came out on top against more than 1,200 young singers from 60 nations - more than ever before - and beat Russian tenor Alexey Kudyra and Russian soprano Anna Aglatova into second and third place.
Maria Virginia Savastano, soprano, * 1983, Argentina, 1st place
Alexey Kudrya, tenor, * 1982, Russian Federation, 2nd place
Anna Aglatova, soprano, * 1982, Russian Federation, 3rd place
Jane Archibald, soprano, * 1977, Canada, 4th place
Jurgita Adamonyte, mezzo-soprano, * 1979, Lithuania, 5th place
Emma Vetter, soprano, * 1975, Sweden, 6th place
Gérard Motier, Chairman of the Jury
Director of the Opéra National de Paris
Francisco Araíza
Kammersänger, Professor at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts
Brian Dickie
Former General Director of the Chicago Opera Theater
Anthony Freud
General Director of Welsh National Opera, Chairman of Opera Europa, Director of the National Opera Studio in London, Chairman of the Cardiff Singer of the World Jury.
Siegfried Jerusalem
Kammersänger, former President of the Nuremberg University of Music
Jürgen Kesting
Music critic, author
Gustav Kuhn
Conductor and opera director, artistic director of the Tyrolean Festival Erl, director of the Accademia di Montegral
Bernd Loebe
Director of the Frankfurt Opera
Edith Mathies
Kammersängerin, Professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
Edith Wiens
Concert singer, professor of singing at the University of Music Nuremberg-Augsburg and the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich
Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor: Jonathan Darlington
Berlin, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Kapstadt, London, Mailand, Moskau, München, New York, Paris, Peking, Port, Riga, Santiago de Chile, Sofia, Stockholm, Sydney, Toronto, Vilnius, Warschau, Yokosuka
The 5th International Master Class NEUE STIMMEN took place in Gütersloh from October 01 to 09, 2004.
Erika Buchholz, lyric soprano, * 1981, USA
Roxana Constantinescu, mezzo-soprano, * 1980, Romania
Katia Escalera, soprano, * 1974, Bolivia
Mia Hao, mezzo-soprano, * 1981, China
Ai Ichihara, soprano, * 1980, Japan
Phandulawazi Maseti, tenor, * 1982, South Africa
Mandlenkosi Mkhize, baritone, * 1978, South Africa
Christian Reyes Strappa, bass, * 1972, Chile
RuiRui Wu, coloratura soprano, * 1982, China
Yoshiko Yamaguchi, soprano, * 1976, Japan
Tae Joong Yang, lyric baritone, * 1976, South Korea
Yang Yang, tenor, * 1978, China
Francisco Araiza
Kammersänger, Professor at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts
Ute Trekel-Burckhardt
Kammersängerin
Siegfried Jerusalem
Kammersänger, former President of the Nuremberg University of Music
Gustav Kuhn
Conductor and opera director, artistic director of the Tyrolean Festival Erl, director of the Accademia di Montegral
Katia Ricciarelli
Italian opera singer
Daniel Rötting
Assistant director
Celine Dutilly
Tito Ceccherini
Raffaele Cortesi
Peter Nelson
The jury for the 10th NEUE STIMMEN competition was chaired by Gérard Mortier for the first time. The design of the competition was revised. The stylized note, the logo of the NEUE STIMMEN since 1987, was replaced in 2003. Since then, the International Singing Competition has been presented in a fiery red.
The Argentinian countertenor Franco Fagioli won first prize with his interpretation of the aria "Cara sposa" from George Frideric Handel's opera "Rinaldo". Russian tenor Maxim Mironov and Chinese lyric baritone Song-Hu Liu followed in second and third place.
In addition to a CD, a DVD will be released for the first time, documenting the final round in Gütersloh with background reports, interviews and live recordings of the semi-final.
Franco Fagioli, countertenor, * 1981, Argentina, 1st place
Maxim Mironov, tenor, * 1981, Russian Federation, 2nd place
Song-Hu Liu, lyric baritone, * 1974, China, 3rd place
Anna Virovlansky, soprano, * 1978, Israel, 4th place
TaeJoong Yang, lyric baritone, * 1976, Republic of Korea, 5th place
Miao Hao, mezzo-soprano, * 1981, China, 6th place
Erika Buchholz, lyric soprano, * 1981, United States of America, people's choice award
Gérard Mortier, Chairman of the Jury
Director of the Opéra National de Paris
Gustav Kuhn, Artistic Director
Conductor and opera director, artistic director of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl, director of the Accademia di Montegral
Brian Dickie
Former General Director of the Chicago Opera Theater
Anthony Freud
General Director of Welsh National Opera, Chairman of Opera Europa, Director of the National Opera Studio in London, Chairman of the Cardiff Singer of the World Jury.
Siegfried Jerusalem
Kammersänger, former President of the Nuremberg University of Music
Jürgen Kesting
Music critic, author
Edith Mathies
Kammersängerin, professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
Kurt Moll
Kammersänger
The Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, conducter: Johannes Wildner.
Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Cape Town, London, Milan, Moscow, Munich, New York, Beijing, Santiago de Chile, Sofia, Stockholm, Sydney, Warsaw, Yokosuka
The 4th International Master Class NEUE STIMMEN took place in Gütersloh from October 21 to 26, 2002.
Chi-Chun Chan, mezzo-soprano, * 1978, Taiwan
Li-Ni Gong, coloratura soprano, * 1981, People's Republic of China
Victoria Granlund, soprano, * 1972, Sweden
Tijana Grujic, mezzo-soprano * 1977, Yugoslavia
Donat Havar, tenor, * 1977, Germany
Giulio Mastrototaro, baritone, * 1979, Italy
Elizabeth Pacheco Rose, lyric soprano, * 1975, USA
Günter Papendell, lyric baritone, * 1975, Germany
Göknur Ray, soprano, * 1977, Australia
Hubert Schmid, tenor, * 1970, Germany
Alexandra R. Zabala Angulo, soprano, * 1975, Colombia
Ute Trekel-Burckhardt
Kammersängerin
Siegfried Jerusalem
Kammersänger, Former President of the Nuremberg University of Music
Gustav Kuhn
Conductor, Director of the Accademia di Montegral, President of the Tyrolean Festival Erl, Artistic Director of the Philharmonica Marchigiana
Reinald Heissler-Remy
Artistic management
Daniel Rötting
Assistant director
Augustin Wiedemann
Celine Dutilly
Tito Ceccherini,
Peter Nelson
Natalia Christoph
This year, pre-selections for the "'Neue Stimmen' International Singing Competition" took place in a total of 17 cities from January to April. Under the honorary chairmanship of Sir Peter Ustinov, the jury chose the Turkish bass Burak Bilgili as the winner ahead of the Korean Woo-Kyung Kim and the Russian Anna Samuil. The final round in May took place from 16 - 19.5.2001. Peter Kloeppel hosted the semi-finals and final.
Burak Bilgili, bass, * 1974, Turkey, 1st place
Woo-Kyung Kim, tenor, * 1977, Republic of Korea, 2nd place
Anna Samuil, soprano, * 1976, Russian Federation, 3rd place
Li-Ni Gong, soprano, * 1981, China, Operetta Prize
Masayo Kimura, soprano, * 1970, Japan, Yokosuka City Prize
Shawn Mathey, tenor, * 1968, United States of America, Operetta Prize and Musical Prize
Serge Novique, baritone, * 1975, Netherlands, sponsorship award
Cornelia Oncioiu, mezzo-soprano, * 1974, Romania, sponsorship award
Göknur Ray, soprano, * 1977, Australia, Special Prize of the Loreley Festival
Sir Peter Ustinov (Honorary Chair)
Brian Dickie, General Director of the Chicago Opera Theater
Reri Grist, Kammersängerin, voice professor at the Munich and Bloomington/Indiana music academies
René Kollo (Chairman of the Jury), Kammersänger
Gustav Kuhn (Artistic Director), conductor, Director of the Accademia di Montegral, President of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl, Artistic Director of the Philharmonica Marchigiana
Hellmuth Matiasek, Director of the Bayerisches Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, Chairman of the Directors' Group of the German Stage Association, Munich
James Wagner, opera and concert singer, singing professor at the Lübeck and Hamburg music academies
Stanley Walden, composer, musician and actor
David Weyner, Vice President and Managing Director, RCA Victor Group, BMG Classics, New York
The Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, conductor: Johannes Wildner.
Berlin, Boston, Buenos Aires, Bucharest, Chicago, Cape Town, London, Milan, Moscow, Munich, New York, Paris, Beijing, Sofia, Stockholm, Warsaw, Yokosuka
The 3rd International Master Class NEUE STIMMEN took place in Gütersloh from October 6 to 7.
Vladimir Baikov, bass, * 1974, Russia
Tsvetana Bandalovska, soprano, * 1976, Bulgaria
Marcello Bedoni, tenor, * 1966, Italy
Elena Comotti, soprano, * 1973, Italy
Kamelia Kader, mezzo-soprano, * 1975, Bulgaria
Hyauan-Ae Kim, soprano, * 1976, Korea
Lachezar Lazarov, bass, * 1973, Bulgaria
Ivan Ludlow, baritone, * 1972, Great Britain
Anna Samouil, soprano, * 1976, Russia
Timothy Sharp, baritone, * 1971, USA /Germany
Sofia Solovij, soprano, * 1971, Ukraine
Niklas Spangberg, bass, * 1968, Finland
Madelaine Wibom, soprano, * 1971, Sweden
Sabina Willeit, mezzo-soprano, * 1973, Italy
Enrico Fancini
Singer
Gustav Kuhn
Conductor, Director of the Accademia di Montegral, President of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl, Artistic Director of the Philharmonica Marchigiana
Rebecca Scheiner
Assistant director
Celine Dutilly
Jean Pierre Faber
Daniel Linton-France
The first competition after the death of August Everding, now with René Kollo as jury chairman, was held from October 2 - 9, 1999. With over 1000 registrations and one week of competition, the NEUE STIMMEN had grown steadily and recruited its participants from 15 pre-selections worldwide. For the first time, a German participant, soprano Tina Schlenker, won 1st prize.
Tina Schlenker, lyric coloratura soprano, * 1971, Germany, 1st place
Andrei Dounaev, tenor, * 1969, Russian Federation, 2nd place
Paul Gay, bass baritone, * 1968, France, 3rd place
Valentina Farcas, soprano, * 1975, Romania, Operetta Prize of the Felicitas-Vössing-Stiftung
Myung Won Han, baritone, * 1978, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Yokosuka City Sponsorship Award
Anna Samuil, soprano, * 1976, Russian Federation, sponsorship prize of the preliminary round
Alexandre Vinogradov, bass, * 1976, Russian Federation, Robert Stolz Foundation Sponsorship Award
Reuben Wilcox, baritone, * 1969, Great Britain, Operetta Prize
Chang Xu, tenor, * 1974, China, Advancement Award of the preliminary round
Raffaello de Banfield, Artistic Director of the Teatro Communale Trieste
Brian Dickie, General Director of the Chicago Opera Theater
Reri Grist, Kammersängerin, voice professor at the conservatories in Munich and Bloomington/Indiana
Kiyoshi Igarashi, singer, artistic director of the Fujiwara Opera, artistic director of the New National Theatre, Tokyo
René Kollo (Chairman of the Jury), Kammersänger
Gustav Kuhn (Artistic Director), Conductor, Director of the Accademia di Montegral, President of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl, Artistic Director of the Philharmonica Marchigiana
Thomas M. Stein, Chairman of the Management Board BMG Entertainment International Germany/Switzerland/Austria/Eastern Europe Holding GmbH, Munich
Sir John Tooley, Former Artistic Director of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, London
James Wagner, opera and concert singer, voice professor at the Lübeck and Hamburg conservatories
The New Philharmonic Orchestra of Westphalia, conductor: Johannes Wildner
Berlin, Buenos Aires, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Munich, New York, Paris, Beijing, Sofia, Stockholm, Tokyo, Warsaw
The 2nd International Master Class NEUE STIMMEN took place in Gütersloh from March 23 to 28, 1998.
Evgenij Alexiev, bass, * 1967, Bulgaria
Volodymyr Deineka, bass, * 1970, Ukraine
Hiroko Kouda, coloratura soprano, * 1971, Japan
Krzysztof Kur, tenor, * 1976, Poland
Xiaoliang Li, bass, * 1970, China
Csaba Markovits, bass, * 1967, Hungary
Rogelio Escutia Marin, tenor, * 1972, Mexico
Maki Mori, soprano, * 1970, Japan
Julia Oesch, mezzo-soprano, * 1971, Germany
Junko Saito, * 1970, Japan
Witold Zoladkiewicz, * 1969, Poland
August Haltmayer
Conductor
Gustav Kuhn
Conductor, Director of the Accademia di Montegral, President of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl, Artistic Director of the Philharmonica Marchigiana
Celine Dutilly
Tito Ceccherini
Marco Boemi
The now 10 pre-selections took place in 9 different countries. 720 applicants tried their luck and 62 came to Gütersloh. Karsten Speck was engaged as moderator in the competition from June 26-29, 1997. The first master class took place under the direction of Gustav Kuhn and has since established itself as a permanent fixture between the competition years.
Eteri Gvazava, soprano, * 1969, Russian Federation, 1st place
Tigran Martirossian, bass, * 1970, Armenia, 2nd place
Soon-Won Kang, bass, * 1973, Republic of Korea, 3rd place
Liang Li, bass, * 1970, China, special prize
Zhang Jia Ling, soprano, * 1971, China, Special Prize
Petia Petrova, mezzo-soprano, * 1973, Bulgaria, Special Prize
Kikuko Teshima, soprano, * , Japan, sponsorship award
Haitao Wang, baritone, * 1974, China, special prize
Regina Zona, soprano, * 1969, United States of America, Sponsorship Award of the City of Yokosuka
Hubert Deutsch, Former Vice-Director of the Vienna State Opera
August Everding (President), State Director and President of the Theaterakademie im Prinzregententheater, President of the German Stage Association, Munich
Brigitte Fassbaender, Kammersängerin, Opera Director at the Braunschweig State Theater
Reri Grist, Kammersängerin, Berlin
August Haltmayer, (Director of the preselections), Conductor, Zaisering
Gustav Kuhn (Artistic Director), Conductor, Director of the Accademia di Montegridolfo, Italy
Thomas M. Stein, BMG Ariola Music Group, Munich
James Wagner, opera and concert singer, voice professor at the Lübeck and Hamburg music academies
Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra, conductor: Steven Sloane
The panel discussion "Music culture of the future: between art and commerce?" took place on 29.06.97
Prof. Inge Brokh, Kammersängerin, Berlin
Rolf Deyhle, entrepreneur, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Stella AG, Stuttgart
Prof. August Everding (Director), President of the German Stage Association, State Director and President of the Theaterakademie im Prinzregententheater, Munich
Jürgen Kesting, music critic, Hamburg
Thomas M. Stein, Managing Director of BMG Ariola Music Group, Munich
Prof. Dr. Peter Wapnewski, Permanent Academic Member of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin
Berlin, Munich, New York, Mexico City, Milan, Lisbon, Minsk, Sofia, Beijing, Yokosuka
From February 3 to 8, 1997, the 1st International Master Class of the NEUE STIMMEN took place in Gütersloh.
Cornelia Bartelsmeier, soprano, * 1977, Germany
Andrej Burin, bass, * 1964, Russia
Susanne Duwe, soprano, * 1970, Germany
Bettina Jensen, soprano, * 1970, Germany
Soon-Won Kang, bass, * 1973, Korea
Dmitrii Pianov, tenor, * 1965, Russia
Zbigniew Pinderak, tenor, * 1969, Poland
Igor Tarasov, baritone, * 1965, Russia
Mojca Vedernjak, mezzo, * 1967, Slovenia
Tatiana Woropai, mezzo-soprano, * 1967, Belarus
Witold Zoladkiewicz, baritone, * 1969, Poland
August Haltmayer
Conductor
Gustav Kuhn
Conductor, Director of the Accademia di Montegral, President of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl, Artistic Director of the Philharmonica Marchigiana
Tito Ceccherini
Marco Boemi
William Lacey
Internationalization progressed: in addition to the cities of Berlin, Milan, Parma and Minsk, non-European metropolises such as Tokyo and Washington now also hosted the preliminary rounds. Of the 405 applicants, 57 sang at the now four-day final round in Gütersloh from June 6 to 10. 1995 was the tenor competition. For the first time, a male voice, the Welsh tenor Gwyn-Hughes Jones, won the "New Voices" competition. He was followed in the rankings by the baritone Hanno Müller-Brachmann from Germany and the Finnish bass Sami Luttinen. This year, the artistic direction of the competition will be taken over by Dr. Gustav Kuhn, who has been a permanent member of the jury since 1987.
A small change is made to the name: the "-wettstreit" is replaced by "-wettbewerb". From now on, the title is "'Neue Stimmen' International Singing Competition"
Gwyn Hughes Jones, tenor, * 1969, Great Britain, 1st place
Hanno Müller-Brachmann, bass baritone, * 1970, Germany, 2nd place
Sami Luttinen, bass, * 1970, Finland, 3rd place
Martina Janková, soprano, * 1971, Russian Federation, Operetta Prize
Alexander Krawetz, tenor, * 1966, Russian Federation, Felicitas Vössing Foundation Prize
Reinhard Mayr, bass, * 1972, Austria, sponsorship award
Shigehiro Sano, tenor, * 1965, Japan, sponsorship award
Renato Bruson, Kammersänger, Rome
Sir George Christie, Chairman of Glyndebourne Productions Ltd, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Glyndebourne
August Everding (President), State Director and President of the Theaterakademie im Prinzregententheater, President of the German Stage Association, Munich
Ioan Holender, Director of the Vienna State Opera, Vienna
Gustav Kuhn (Artistic Director), Conductor, Director of the Accademia di Montegridolfo, Italy
Hellmuth Matiasek, Director of the Bayerisches Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, Chairman of the Directors' Group of the German Stage Association, Munich
Edda Moser, Kammersängerin, Rheinbreitbach
Birgit Nilsson, Kammersängerin, Stockholm and Locarno
Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie Herford; conductor: Michail Jurowski.
The panel discussion "Goals and responsibility of cultural policy" took place on 10.06.95.
Prof. Dr. Kurt H. Biedenkopf, Minister President of the Free State of Saxony, Dresden
Prof. August Everding (Chairman), President of the German Stage Association, State Director and President of the Theater Academy at the Prinzregententheater, Munich
Prof. Dr. Joachim Kaiser, music critic, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Munich
Reinhard Mohn, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, Gütersloh
Prof. Dr. Hermann Rauhe, President of the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg Linda Reisch, Head of Cultural Affairs, City of Frankfurt
Berlin, Milan, Parma, Minsk, Washington, Tokyo
The competition is going international: while it was previously limited to participants who studied in Europe, singers from all over the world can now apply. In addition, a pre-selection took place abroad for the first time, in Moscow. The regulations change the name: the "European" competition becomes an "International Competition". Out of 320 applicants, 71 singers from 19 different countries made it to the final round in Gütersloh.
The competition, which was held from October 14-16, 1993, was moderated by Dr. Karl Dietrich Gräwe.
Marina Ivanova, coloratura soprano, * 1964, Russian Federation, 1st place
Laura Polverelli, mezzo-soprano, * 1967, Italy, 2nd place
Nicola Beller, lyric soprano, * 1964, Germany, 3rd place
Anke Hoffmann, soprano, * 1969, Germany, Sponsorship Award
Michael Kupfer, baritone, * 1972, Germany, Sponsorship Award
Karin Süß, soprano, * 1972, Germany, Operetta Prize
Francisco Araiza, Kammersänger, Munich
Sir George Christie, Chairman of Glyndebourne Productions Ltd, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Glyndebourne
August Everding (Director), President of the German Stage Association and General Director of the Bavarian State Theatres, Munich
Eskil Hemberg, General Director of the Royal Swedish Opera, Kungliga Operan, Stockholm
Gustav Kuhn, Conductor, Artistic Director of the Macerata Festival
Hellmuth Matiasek, Director of the Bayerisches Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz Munich, Chairman of the Directors' Group of the German Stage Association
Birgit Nilsson, Kammersängerin, Stockholm and Locarno
Braunschweig State Orchestra; conductor: Anton Kolar
On October 17, 1993, there was also a panel discussion on the topic "Does art need a guide? - Is leadership an art?" took place.
Roland Berger, Chairman of the Management Board of Roland Berger & Partner GmbH - International Management Consultants, Munich
Prof. August Everding (moderator), General Director of the Bavarian State Theatres and Chairman of the Directors' Group of the German Stage Association
Dr. Alexander Kluge, director, producer and writer, Munich
Reinhard Mohn, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, Gütersloh
Alexander Perreira, Artistic Director of the Zurich Opera House
Prof. Dr. h. c. Dieter Stolle, Director of the Second German Television, Mainz
Dr. Dieter Vogel, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Thyssen AG, Chairman of the Executive Board of Thyssen Handelsunion AG, Düsseldorf
Munich, Moscow
The NEUE STIMMEN 1991 competition took place from October 24-26 in Gütersloh. There were already 220 registrations and another pre-selection in Munich. 70 participants qualified to take part in the final round in Gütersloh. Gerhard Schmitt-Thiel took over the moderation.
Sonia Zlatkova, soprano, 1964* , Bulgaria, 1st place
Michael Volle, baritone, 1960* , Germany, 2nd place
Annette Seiltgen, lyric mezzo-soprano, 1964* , Germany, 3rd place
Prof. August Everding (Director), General Director of the Bavarian State Theatres and Chairman of the Directors' Group of the German Stage Association, Munich
Günter Hensler, President of the Bertelsmann Music Group Classic, New York
Peter Jonas, General Director of English National Opera, London
Dr. Gustav Kuhn, Director Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
Dr. Elisabeth Legge-Schwarzkopf, Kammersängerin
Prof. Hellmuth Matiasek, Director of the Munich State Theater
Prof. Josef Metternich, Kammersänger, Cologne University of Music
Dr. Klaus-Jürgen Seidel, Theatre Consultant in the General Directorate of the Bavarian State Theatres in Munich
Munich Symphony Orchestra; conductor: Christoph Stepp
A symposium entitled "Limits to artistic freedom?" was also held as part of this 4th competition.
Prof. August Everding (Director), General Director of the Bavarian State Theatres and Chairman of the Directors' Group of the German Stage Association
Dr. Hellmuth Karasek, editor in charge of the culture section of "Der Spiegel", Hamburg
Thomas Langhoff, Director of the Deutsches Theater, Berlin
Prof. Dr. Dr. Paul Mikat, Westdeutsche Landesbank
Prof. Dr. Claus Roxin, Institute for Criminal Law at the University of Munich
Prof. Dr. Rainer Volp, Seminar for Practical Theology, Department of Protestant Theology, University of Mainz
Munich
In 1989, the competition took place from November 2-4. Over 140 applications were received. Due to the large number of female applicants, a pre-selection was held in Munich for the first time specifically for sopranos. In its third year, the "Neue Stimmen" proved that it had already become a permanent fixture in the international opera world. A total of 65 participants from 21 nations traveled to Gütersloh.
Although the Berlin Wall will only fall five days later, all Eastern European nations were represented at this year's "Neue Stimmen", with the exception of Czechoslovakia. Among them were three participants from the GDR: Ute Selbig, René Pape and Roman Trekel. A baritone from the Soviet Union also took part in the singing competition. The Bulgarian mezzo-soprano Vesselina Kasarova took first place. Second and third prize went to the bass René Pape and the French tenor Bernard Lombardo.
The growing number of applicants and the increasing level of organization led to the competition now only being held every two years from 1989.
Vesselina Kasarova, mezzo-soprano, * , Bulgaria, 1st place
René Pape, bass, * , Germany, 2nd place
Bernard Lombardo, tenor, * , France, 3rd place
August Everding (Director), General Director of the Bavarian State Theaters and Chairman of the Directors' Group of the German Stage Association, Munich
Christoph Groszer, Director of the Zurich Opera House
Prof. Dr. Hans Hirsch, Head of the Theatre and Music Department of the Second German Television, Mainz
Gundula Janowitz, Kammersängerin, Designated Director of the Graz Opera House
Dr. Gustav Kuhn, Director Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
Prof. Josef Metternich, Kammersänger, Cologne University of Music
Hans Pischner, former General Director of the German State Opera Berlin (GDR)
Prof. Dr. Hermann Rauhe, President of the University of Music and Performing Arts, Hamburg
Sir John Tooley, General Director of the Royal Opera House, London
South Westphalian Philharmonic Orchestra, Hilchenbach; conductor: Neil Varon.
On November 5, 1989, there was once again a symposium to accompany the competition. This year's theme: "The opportunities of our young artists - career influences of modern media and the emerging European cultural area"
Prof. August Everding (Director and Moderator), General Director of the Bavarian State Theatres and Chairman of the Directors' Group of the German Stage Association
Günter Hensler, President Bertelsmann Music Group Classic, New York
Dr. Gustav Kuhn, Director Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Gérard Mortier, Directeur du Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels
Lucia Popp, Kammersängerin, Bavarian State Opera Munich and Vienna State Opera
More than 140 young singers from 13 different countries applied for the second competition. The number of entries more than tripled compared to the previous year. The second event took place from October 21 - 22, 1988. Izabela Labuda from Poland won the final against Heike Thea Terjung from Germany and Ingrid Kertesi from Hungary.
Izabela Labuda, soprano, 1961*, Poland, 1st place
Heike Theresa Terjung, lyric mezzo-soprano, Germany, 2nd place
Ingrid Kertesi, coloratura soprano, 1957*, Hungary, 3rd place
Prof. Theo Adam, Dresden University of Music
Prof. Inge Borkh, Kammersängerin
August Everding (Director), General Director of the Bavarian State Theaters, Munich
Christoph Groszer, Director of the Zurich Opera House
Prof. Dr. Hans Hirsch, Head of the Theater and Music Department of the Second German Television, Mainz
Gustav Kuhn, Director of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
Prof. Dr. Hans Pischner, former General Director of the German State Opera Berlin (GDR)
Robert Schulz, Impressario, Munich
Sir John Tooley, Royal Opera House, London
South Westphalian Philharmonic Orchestra, Hilchenbach; conductor: Neil Varon.
In addition to the competition, a symposium was held on October 23, 1988 on the topic of "What impulses determine work in the cultural sector?".
Prof. August Everding (Director), General Director of the Bavarian State Theatres and Chairman of the Directors' Group of the German Stage Association
Prof. Justus Frantz, pianist and director of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival
Dr. Volker Hassemer, Senator for Cultural Affairs of the State of Berlin
Reinhard Mohn, Chairman of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, Gütersloh
Following a discussion with Herbert von Karajan about the lack of young singers in opera and based on an idea by Prof. August Everding, General Director of the Bavarian State Theatres in Munich, Liz Mohn initiated the "New Voices - European Singers' Competition". The first competition took place on October 23 and 24 in cooperation with the directors' group of the German Stage Association in the Gütersloh Stadthalle. 36 participants from 13 different countries applied and 29 traveled to Gütersloh. Nathalie Stutzmann won first prize under the chairmanship of Everding, who will hold this position until the 1997 competition. Second and third place went to Tania Christova and Andrzej Dobber.
Nathalie Stutzmann, contralto, * 1965, France, 1st place
Tania Christova, lyric soprano, * 1958, Bulgaria, 2nd place
Andrzej Dobber, baritone, * 1961, Poland, 3rd place
August Everding (Chairman), General Director of the Bavarian State Theatres and Chairman of the Directors' Group of the German Stage Association, Munich
Christoph Groszer, Director of the Zurich Opera House
Erika Köth, Kammersängerin
Gustav Kuhn, Director of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
Arnold Petersen, Director of the Nationaltheater Mannheim
Hans Pischner, former General Director of the German State Opera Berlin (GDR)
Robert Schulz, Impressario, Munich
South Westphalian Philharmonic Orchestra, Hilchenbach; conductor: Neil Varon.
In addition to the competition, a symposium on "Culture between State and Commerce" was held on October 25, 1987 with the following participants.
Dr. Klaus von Dohnanyi, First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
Prof. August Everding (Director), General Director of the Bavarian State Theatres and Chairman of the Directors' Group of the German Stage Association
Prof. Hilmar Hoffmann, Department of Culture of the City of Frankfurt am Main
Prof. Dr. Alexander Kluge, filmmaker, film producer and writer
Reinhard Mohn, Chairman of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, Gütersloh