Organization

Conductor

Jonathan Darlington

Singer

Hélène Carpentier

soprano

Marco Ciaponi

Tenor

Valerie Eickhoff

Mezzo Soprano

Anna El-Khashem

Enkeleda Kamani

Liv Redpath

Natalia Tanasii

Nombulelo Yende

Slávka Zámečníková

Yuriy Hadzetskyy

Baritone

Domen Križaj

Bongani Justice Kubheka

Luvuyo Mbundu

Jamez McCorkle

Long Long

Valentina Pluzsnyikova

Orchestra

Duisburger Philharmoniker

Theater Gütersloh

New Voices 2019 - Semifinals

With 43 opera talents from 26 countries, the international singing competition NEUE STIMMEN awaits for the 2019 final round. After the four-month selection process in 23 cities, the best of the originally around 1,500 applicants are now looking forward to the possibly unique opportunity to appeal to jurors and industry experts with their voice and their personality
to convince. The highlights of the competition are the concerts for the semifinals on October 24th and the finals on October 26th in the Stadthalle Gütersloh. “Music connects people across languages ​​and borders. In this way, even in these turbulent times, she can build a bridge between nationalities and cultures. This is particularly evident at NEUE STIMMEN. The young singers are in competition with each other, but they still enjoy the opera together and support each other. This is living community! During the final round, we help them to make valuable contacts and also support them after the competition with the next steps in their career,” says Liz Mohn, NEUE STIMMEN President and Deputy CEO of the Bertelsmann Stiftung.
For more than 30 years, the international singing competition has served as a springboard for talent, paving the way for artists such as Marina Rebeka, Franco Fagioli, Jakub Jósef Orlínski, Elsa Dreisig, Nadine Sierra, Christiane Karg and Emily D'Angelo. This year, singers from five continents are traveling to Gütersloh, 23 women and 20 men have qualified, with the soprano voice being the most strongly represented, as expected. An overview of all participants including nationality, age and voice type can be found below.

JURY:
• Dominique Meyer, chairman of the jury, director of the Vienna State Opera and designated artistic director of La Scala in Milan
• Brian Dickie, jury member (since 1999), former general manager of the Chicago Opera Theater
• Sophie Joyce, first-time jury member, director of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the New York Metropolitan Opera and designated casting director at the Opéra National de Paris
• Jürgen Kesting, jury member (since 2003), music critic and author
• Sophie de Lint, jury member (since 2017), director of the Dutch National Opera
• Bernd Loebe, member of the jury (since 2005), director of the Frankfurt Opera and chairman of the German Opera Conference
• Fortunato Ortombina, first member of the jury, artistic director and artistic director of the Teatro La Fenice di Venezia
• Elisabeth Sobotka, member of the jury (since 2017), artistic director of the Bregenz Festival
• Evamaria Wieser, member of the jury (since 2009), casting director of the Salzburg Festival and European casting consultant of the Lyric Opera Chicago
• Alexander Neef (Jury Member, 2019 Pre-Selections), General Manager, Canadian Opera Company

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