The International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition is an annual competition for young opera singers. It has been described as "THE 'springboard' for a career in opera", [1] or the "singers' stock exchange, the 'Wall Street of Voices'". [2]
Hans Gabor (founder of the Wiener Kammeroper) created the contest in 1982 to promote the careers of emerging opera artists. Categories for operetta and accompaniment were added later. The competition is judged by a panel of opera managers, agents, and media representatives. Competitors from around the world participate, with the qualifying round of competition taking place in 50 cities. [3] A number of different prizes are awarded, including cash and opera engagements. [2]
The competition was the subject of a 2012 documentary film, Wall Street of Voices. [4]
Angelika Kirchschlager is an Austrian mezzo-soprano opera and lieder singer.
Elīna Garanča is a Latvian mezzo-soprano. She began to study singing in her hometown of Riga in 1996 and continued her studies in Vienna and in the United States. By 1999 she had won first place in a significant competition in Finland and had begun a career in Europe. Worldwide engagements followed her 2003 Salzburg Festival appearances.
Wiener Kammeroper is an opera theatre and opera company founded by conductor Hans Gabor. As early as 1948 he initiated the "Vienna Opera Studio" - a company without a theatre of its own. The new name of the company, "Wiener Kammeroper", reminiscent of chamber music and society plays in an intimate setting, was first used officially in 1953.
Mariusz Kwiecień is a Polish operatic baritone who has sung leading roles in the major opera houses of Europe and North America. He has received particular distinction in the title role of Mozart's Don Giovanni which he has sung at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Vienna State Opera, Bilbao Opera, Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Warsaw Opera, Royal Opera House, London, and Seattle Opera where he won the company's 2006-2007 Artist of the Year award for this role, and the Metropolitan Opera.
Antoinette Halloran is an Australian operatic soprano.
Marek Kalbus is a German opera and concert singer. He has the voice of a typical basso cantante and sings bass and bass-baritone roles.
Burak Bilgili is a Turkish operatic bass-baritone who was born in Akşehir, a town in the Konya Province of Turkey. He has sung in leading opera houses in the United States and Europe.
Armando Chin Yong, also known as Chen Rong in Mandarin Chinese pronunciation, was a Malaysian opera singer. He received much of his singing education in Rome, Italy and Vienna, Austria. He died unexpectedly, aged 52, of a heart attack after walking his dog in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 2 February 2011 leaving his widow, Chu Shoo Woan and their 12-year-old son, Ian Chin Yi. Armando Chin was a devout Christian and worshipped at Gereja Kristen Grace Taman Bukit Maluri, Kepong, Kuala Lumpur.
Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg is an international opera festival for young singers, founded and first directed by composer Siegfried Matthus. It takes place every summer at the historical Schloss Rheinsberg, in Brandenburg, Germany. The festival presents the winners of the International Singing Competition Schloss Rheinsberg, in which about 450 candidates from all over the world participate every year.
Valentina Nafornița is a Moldavian operatic soprano. She is best known for her interpretation of Mozart and Bel Canto repertoire.
Latonia Moore is an American soprano. Of African-American ancestry, she grew up with Black music, and at age 8 began to sing in the church choir of the New Sunrise Baptist Church, where her grandfather Cranford Moore was a pastor. In her youth, she sang in the Texas All-State Choir.
Pretty Yende, OIS is a South African operatic soprano. She has performed leading roles at opera houses internationally, including La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera.
Matthias Rexroth is a German countertenor and voice teacher. Winning 1st prizes at the Francisco-Viñas in Barcelona and the 'Belvedere Competition' in Viennain 2000, preceded an extensive international performing and teaching career.
John Ken Nuzzo is a Japanese-born Italian tenor.
Audun Iversen is a Norwegian baritone. He began singing at the age of twenty-two. He won the Queen Sonja International Music Competition in 2007 and made the final of the Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition in Vienna as well as winning the Ingrid Bjoner Scholarship, the first singer to do so.
Iva Mihanović is a German-Croatian soprano opera and concert singer and the widow of the actor, producer, director and Oscar prize winner Maximilian Schell.
Gaston Rivero is an Uruguayan-US American operatic tenor.
Marina Costa-Jackson is an American soprano. One of three daughters to Walt Jackson and Emilia Costa, her sisters, Miriam and Ginger Costa-Jackson, are also singers.
Tuuli Takala is a Finnish classical singer and operatic soprano.
Lise Davidsen is a Norwegian opera singer. She came to prominence after winning the Operalia competition, and is known as a lyric dramatic soprano.