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.
Wiener Kammeroper is a chamber opera theatre and company in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1948 by the conductor Hans Gabor, it was originally named Vienna Opera Studiom receiving its present name in 1953. It is located at 24 Fleischmarkt Street in the city centre. It has been managed by Theater an der Wien since 2012.
Mariusz Kwiecień is a Polish artistic director and retired operatic baritone who sang leading roles in the major opera houses of Europe and North America. He received particular distinction in the title role of Mozart's Don Giovanni, which he sang at the Metropolitan Opera, 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 2006–07 Artist of the Year award for the role.
Antoinette Halloran is an Australian operatic soprano.
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.
Caitlin Hulcup is an Australian mezzo-soprano, who has performed both in Australia and internationally, particularly in Europe.
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.
Matthias Rexroth is a German countertenor and voice teacher. Winning 1st prizes at the Francisco-Viñas in Barcelona and the 'Belvedere Competition' in Vienna in 2000, preceded an extensive international performing and teaching career.
John Ken Nuzzo is an American tenor of Japanese origin.
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.
Robin Adams is an English lyric baritone, a classical singer who has appeared in several major opera houses and concert halls.
Iva Mihanović, also known as Iva Schell, is a German operatic soprano and concert singer. She is the widow of Swiss actor 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.
Ildikó Raimondi is a Hungarian-Austrian operatic soprano and academic voice teacher. She has been a member of the Vienna State Opera since 1991, and has performed leading roles internationally, especially in Mozart operas. She also works in concert and lied, including contemporary compositions. She has received Austrian awards.
Peter Edelmann is an Austrian operatic baritone. Since 1 January 2018, he has been the artistic director of the Seefestspiele Mörbisch.
Olga Bezsmertna is a Ukrainian operatic soprano based at the Vienna State Opera. She was engaged there after winning the Neue Stimmen competition in 2011, and soon performed leading roles such as Dvořák's Rusalka and Rachel in Halévy's La Juive. She appeared as Tatyana in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin at the Zürich Opera House, as Diana in Cavalli's La Calisto at La Scala in Milan, and as the Countess in Mozart's Figaro at the Bavarian State Opera.
Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha is a South African operatic and concert soprano.
Key'mon Winkfield Murrah is an American countertenor singer. He has performed leading roles with many opera companies and concert venues, including Bavarian State Opera and the Los Angeles Opera.