To celebrate the competition’s silver jubilee, the Bertelsmann Stiftung has invited 14 especially talented singers from last year’s NEUE STIMMEN competition to return to Gütersloh. While there they are being given the chance to further develop their skills during the 9th NEUE STIMMEN International Master Class, which is being led by some of the world’s most acclaimed musicians.
From October 20 to 27 they are receiving in-depth instruction from NEUE STIMMEN Artistic Director Gustav Kuhn, conductor, opera director and festival manager; Prof. Edda Moser, world renowned soprano and Kammersängerin; Prof. Francisco Araíza, tenor and Kammersänger; and movement coach John Norris. The four instructors will use arias from operas and other works to help the singers develop their vocal technique, musical interpretation and stage presence.
Assisting them will be experienced pianists such as Céline Dutilly, Peter Nelson, Manuel Lange and Raffaele Cortesi. As part of the non-musical program, the master class will for the first time include a training session on giving interviews and advice on using social media.
The singers will present the results of their work on Saturday, October 27, 2012 in the foyer of the Bertelsmann Stiftung to an audience of 300 guests from the business, cultural and social spheres. “Our NEUE STIMMEN Master Classes offer young opera talents the outstanding opportunity of developing musically, artistically and personally, an opportunity that helps them prepare step by step for their coming careers,” said Liz Mohn, vice-chair of the Bertelsmann Stiftung Executive Board. “I’m pleased every time I see the progress that these young singers have made.”
In addition to performing operas and other works, interpreting lieder is an integral part of a singer’s training. For the first time the Bertelsmann Stiftung has therefore invited four NEUE STIMMEN performers to join a lied master class, organized in cooperation with the Konzerthaus Berlin in a partnership that will run for an initial three years. The foundation is thus helping to promote this important aspect of vocal training for next-generation singers. Instructed by Prof. Edda Moser, participants are receiving in-depth training and will conclude their efforts with lieder recitals on October 26, 2012 in the Gütersloh Theater and October 31, 2012 in Berlin’s Konzerthaus.
Two internationally acclaimed artists will serve as instructors for the lied master class in coming years: Angelika Kirchschlager in 2013 and Christian Gerhaher in 2014.