39 young opera talents from 19 nations reach the NEUE STIMMEN final round in Gütersloh

39 opera talents from 19 countries will be traveling to Gütersloh to prove their talent at the final round of the NEUE STIMMEN 2024 International Singing Competition in Gütersloh. From October 5 to 11, they will have a unique opportunity to convince opera and festival directors, agents and talent scouts in the music industry of their skills and personality. The highlight of the final round of the 20th NEUE STIMMEN competition is the grand final concert with orchestral accompaniment by the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Jonathan Darlington on Friday, October 11, at 7 p.m. in front of a live audience in the Stadthalle Gütersloh.

"We have discovered young and promising opera talents from many different cultures and nations. In the final round of NEUE STIMMEN, they will not only be able to compete with each other, but also develop artistically and personally. Through the competition, we are offering a renowned springboard for international opera careers", says Liz Mohn, founder of the competition and Chairwoman of the Liz Mohn Foundation. Singers from China (six) and the USA (four) are particularly well represented this year. The only German-born singer to prevail against the international competition in 2024 is 25-year-old Marlene Metzger. Having grown up in a musical household in Berlin, the young soprano now lives and works in Copenhagen. Whether she is awarded one of the prizes worth a total of 66,000 euros or special prizes will be revealed in October. The audience will also be invited to give their verdict. In the final, the audience will actively vote for the winner of the Audience Award 2024.

As with the previous competitions, it will be possible to watch the final and the semi-final (with piano accompaniment) via livestream. The semi-final will be available on the website www.neue-stimmen.de The final will be covered live by the opera streaming platform Opera-Vision (www.operavision.eu/de). If you are unable to attend the live event, you can also listen to the final concert on Deutschlandradio on October 20 at 8:05 pm or watch the recording later on YouTube. Social media users can also gain numerous impressions of the talents and the events behind the scenes via the NEUE STIMMEN Instagram channel. This way, the Liz Mohn Foundation wants to offer as many people as possible the opportunity to experience opera. Participation remains a matter close to the heart of competition founder Liz Mohn.

The renowned ten-member jury chaired by Dominique Meyer, Artistic Director of La Scala in Milan, welcomes a new member: German soprano and former NEUE STIMMEN participant (1991) Ricarda Merbeth, a well-known singer and internationally sought-after Wagner and Strauss interpreter, has joined the NEUE STIMMEN panel. The panel decides which up-and-coming talents will progress in Gütersloh.

Brian Dickie, former General Director of the Chicago Opera Theater, 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, and Samuel Gelber, Director of Artistic Planning and Operations at the Washington National Opera at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, have already functioned as jurors in the international pre-selections. They will now be joined in the final round by Christoph Seuferle, Opera Director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Elisabeth Sobotka, Director of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, and Sophie de Lint, Director of the Dutch National Opera. As in previous competitions, the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Jonathan Darlington, will provide the musical accompaniment for this year's final.

This year, NEUE STIMMEN is not only looking for successful singers of the next opera generation worldwide. The Liz Mohn Foundation aims to continue actively shaping the 'Future of Opera' with two new projects:

In the 2024 competition, there will be a junior jury for the first time. A maximum of 15 young people between the ages of 16 and 18 will be awarded their own prize of 500 euros in the semi-final. The young jurors themselves will determine which criteria will be decisive for the award. In this way, and with discounted tickets for pupils and students (from 6.50 euros), the goal is to not only inspire cross-generational enthusiasm for opera, but also to incorporate what is relevant for the next generation of audiences on and off the stage.

With the Masterclass 2023, the topic of virtual reality has been introduced to the world of NEUE STIMMEN. Last year, selected NEUE STIMMEN singers were coached in cooperation with the Staatstheater Augsburg, the leading theater in terms of digital music theater productions, to produce so-called "mixed reality" operas. On Friday, October 11, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., anyone interested can experience for themselves what it looks like when topics such as "3D sound", "singing in the metaverse" and "360-degree video recordings" come to life in virtual reality glasses. A VR lounge will be set up in the Stadthalle at the same time as the dress rehearsal, which is open to the public. Visitors can put on VR glasses and venture into the digital production.