The preliminary rounds will be held between April and August of 2009 at 23 international locations: Beijing, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Copenhagen, Düsseldorf, Florence, London, Mexico City, Moscow, Munich, New York, Oslo, Riga, San Francisco, St. Petersburg, Sydney, Tbilisi, Toronto, Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw and Yokosuka.
For one week – from October 25 to 31, 2009 – the jury will carefully assess the potential of the 40 to 50 talented young opera singers who have qualified for the final week of competition. Factors to be considered include voice, technical skill, musical expression and stage presence.
This year's chairman of the NEUE STIMMEN competition jury is Dominique Meyer, currently general manager of the Théâtre des Champs Élysées and designated director of the Vienna State Opera. The conductor and opera director Gustav Kuhn, president of the Tyrolean Festival Erl and director of the Accademia di Montegral, will serve as the competition's artistic director. Brian Dickie, general director of Chicago Opera Theater, is in charge of the international preliminary round auditions. The jury also includes Bernd Loebe, director of the Frankfurt Opera, Nicholas Payne, director of Opera Europa, Evamaria Wieser, artistic director of the Salzburg Festival, and music critic Jürgen Kesting, as well as singers Francisco Araíza, Siegfried Jerusalem and Anja Silja, all of whom have been awarded the coveted title of Kammersänger.
This year marks the third time that the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra will be accompanying the competition. It will be conducted by John Fiore, a highly regarded guest conductor at such venues as the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Dresden's Semperoper, Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Australian Opera in Sydney.
Prospective participants may submit their applications on the website www.neue-stimmen.de. The website contains comprehensive information about all aspects of the competition, from the compulsory repertoire from four stylistic periods (16th to the 20th century) to the locations where the preliminary rounds will be held. Male singers must be no older than 32, female applicants no older than 30 years of age. Online applicants will receive a personal access code for the "members only" section, which contains the latest information. All information may also be requested by telephone (+49 5241 81-81171) or fax (+49 5241 81 6-81171). The deadline for applications is April 10, 2009.