Regulations for the 13th Klaudia Taev Competition (2023)

Regulations for the 13th Klaudia Taev Competition (2023)

The 13th Klaudia Taev Competition for Opera Singers will take place on 12 – 17 September 2023 in Pärnu, Estonia. The registration for the competition is open from the 1st of April 2023: to women born after September 18th, 1992 to men born after September 18th, 1989

The Competition will be held in five rounds: 1. FIRST ROUND (selection round)

To register participation in the 1st round, there are two options available (A and B): A – LIVE AUDITION (recommended) – Auditions take place between April – June 2023. All details will be announced personally to every registered participant. The registration deadline for live auditions is 10 days before the chosen audition date. Information about available auditions will be found HERE Singers must perform with piano accompaniment two pieces of differing character. At least one of them should be an operatic aria. Chosen pieces can also (but not necessarily) be performed in later rounds. NB! The entire duration of performing time may not exceed 10 minutes. B – AUDITION BY VIDEO RECORDING – The registration deadline for video recordings is June 12th, 2023: Recordings must contain at least two pieces of differing character. At least one of them should be an operatic aria. Chosen pieces can also (but not necessarily) be performed in later rounds. NB! Titles of works and the date of a recording must be indicated! Two recordings must be at least 6 minutes in total length. Results will be announced before July 12th, 2023 on the website of the Competition and on Facebook, but also by e-mail to those who are selected. The singers who will be selected (both A and B options) must confirm their continued participation in Pärnu in the next rounds of the Competition by August 12, 2023. Every selected singer receives a questionnaire with extra information, which should be returned in time!

2. SECOND ROUND (stage presence and impression)

In the 2nd round at least 36 chosen singers will participate. They will perform two pieces with piano accompaniment, namely: one relarively short 18th-century aria (from Bach to Mozart inclusive) chosen by the contestant. The piece may not be one of the arias designated for any of the next rounds. one relatively short opera or operetta aria (also arietta, arioso, couplets, etc.). The piece may not be one of the arias designated for any of the next rounds. Important! The entire duration of both pieces together, including stage entrance and exit, must be a minimum of 6 minutes, but may not exceed 9 minutes!

3. THIRD ROUND (musical taste and intelligence)

In the 3rd round, a maximum of 26 singers will take part. They will perform two or three pieces with piano accompaniment, namely: two verses (couplets) of Franz Schubert’s “Ave Maria”** sung in German. Transpositions are allowed. one or two* Lieds, classical romances, chansons, etc., or folk songs OR Estonian art songs**, chosen by the singer. * Singers must perform two songs if the duration of one song is less than 2,5 minutes. ** Special scholarships or valuable gifts will be given for the best interpretation of the Estonian Song and Schubert’s “Ave Maria”. Important! The entire duration of pieces together, including stage entrance and exit, must be a minimum of 7 minutes, but may not exceed 10 minutes!

4. SEMI-FINAL ROUND (artistic skills)

In the 4th round, a maximum of 16 contestants will take part. They will perform two pieces with piano accompaniment, namely: one aria or selection from an opera, oratorio, cantata, or orchestral work with voice, which is composed after 1935. one operatic aria written in any period including extensive recitative (preferably an operatic solo scene), which is not shorter than 5 minutes. These works may not be among the works designated for the second and final rounds. Important! The entire duration of both pieces together, including stage entrance and exit, must be a minimum of 8 minutes, but may not exceed 12 minutes!

5. FINAL ROUND

In the last round, a maximum of six contestants will be chosen to perform with the orchestra. Each singer prepares four opera arias which they can choose from the repertoire list. Every singer will perform only two of them, namely: one of the four operatic arias, chosen by the singer’s personal preference; another opera aria is chosen by the jury from the other three options. The selection will be made by the Jury and announced to each finalist right after the semi-final round. Important! Singers are recommended to use the repertoire list provided by the Competition for choosing their arias for the Final round, but yet singers can also choose arias, which are not listed in this list. In this case, singers must bring the orchestral material (the conductor’s score and instrumental parts) by themselves. Every finalist will be allowed a 25-minute rehearsal with the orchestra on the same day, before the final round.

REHEARSALS and PIANISTS

The use of a pianist for the audition in the First round costs €15-25 paid in cash directly to him/her before the audition starts. A pianist is provided FREE of charge for up to 20 minutes of preparation for the 2nd and 3rd rounds and up to 30 minutes for the 4th round. Extra rehearsal time (also for the final round) can be arranged by personal agreement with a pianist for €5 per every 5 extra minutes paid in cash directly to the pianist. Important! The participants themselves must provide clear and easily readable sheet music for the pianists, which must be sent by email at least 2 weeks before the 2nd round of the competition. The singer is allowed to bring their own pianist.

REGISTRATION FEE and PAYMENT

Registration fee depending on which option the singer has chosen for the 1st round: Option A (live audition) – €55 Option B (video-recording) – €110 The registration fee must be paid before submitting the registration form. The payment receipt must be presented. Payment methods: bank transfer, credit card via PayPal. NB! If the competition is canceled due to the Pandemic, the registration fees will be refunded (excluding transfer fees).

If the singer selected for the second round is unable to participate due to global travel or visa restrictions, the competition will reimburse 50% of the registration fee. There is a discount of 50% for singers selected for the 2nd round of the previous competition (2021).

ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS

The singers must perform from memory. Once chosen, pieces cannot be changed after the official booklet of the Competition is printed. Exceptionally, it is possible to change works only with the consent of the majority of the jury. The Jury reserves the right to make any decisions not otherwise addressed in the official regulations, to ensure that the competition proceeds in a fair, efficient, and orderly fashion. All decisions of the Jury are final. All selected from the 1st round singers must be in Pärnu, Estonia on September 12th for the drawing of lots which will determine the order of participants in the second round. The exact time and place of the drawing will be announced beforehand. If the singer does not comply with the regulations of the competition, then he/she may be disqualified.

Travel and accommodation

Singers are responsible for obtaining their visas to enter Estonia (see Estonia Schengen Visa Application Requirements) It is highly recommended that participants provide their insurance with adequate coverage. The Competition will not accept any responsibility for accidents occurring to a singer during the competition. All participants must cover accommodation and traveling expenses by themselves. Our team will provide a list of hotels/hostels/guesthouses in Pärnu offering a special price (only for the competition’s participants).

Copyright

All rounds of the competition will be open to the public and may be recorded and broadcast by radio or television. Singers have no monetary claims on interviews, recordings, and broadcasts. Also, all the rounds will be video recorded (or live broadcasted) by the Competition and these recordings will be posted publicly on the website of the Competition and social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter) to promote the Competition. The singers are not entitled to charge fees for these recordings or to prohibit their public presentation. In exceptional cases, the singer may file an official request to remove the video and in convincing circumstances, the organizers may usually allow it. The organizers guarantee that the video recordings sent by singers for the 1st round will not be used for any other purposes except the selection of candidates for the second round.

Dresscode

We recommend being dressed respectfully to the audience. For the Finals, Ladies: evening dress and Gentlemen: suit/tuxedo/tailcoat.