The Aim of the Competition:

The competition is held to commemorate the famous Latvian singer Jānis Zābers, and at the same time to provoke an interest towards the academic singing and to facilitate the professional growth of young singers. Its aim is also to remind that a really successful singer is capable to show his or her vocal skills in various types and genres of music.

The Schedule of the Competition:

Jānis Zābers 3-rd International Vocal Competition will take place in three rounds from September 13 to 17, 2023, in Riga (Latvia). It is open to academic music singers of any country, within the age of 10 to 35 years:

• Group A: 10 – 15 years (the category of the children’s music school);
• Group B: 16 – 21 years (the category of music secondary school, college or university);
• Group C: 22– 35 years (the category of professional singers).

Round 1 is open to any interested performer the vocal training of which meets the requirements of a certain group. He/she will have to perform two pieces, which will be appraised by the jury openly after each performance. The first – in the presence of video cameras, without seeing the performers in person and not knowing the sequence of their performance, whereas the second – seeing the performers in person and in the sequence of their previous performance. Total length of performance: up to 5 minutes.

Round 2 is open to twelve competitors with the best results of Round 1. Each of them will have to perform three pieces. All the performances will be appraised by the jury confidentially, without discussions, but providing comments. The score obtained by the competitors advanced to the Round 3 will be announced to them only after the final round of the competition. Total length of performance: up to 12 minutes.

Round 3 is open to six competitors with the best results of Round 2. Each of them will have to perform two pieces. The appraisal of the performances will be carried out by the jury without discussions, neither providing comments openly after each performance.

The performances will have to be made without the use of the sound equipment, and their sequence in the rounds of the competition will be decided by drawing lots. All the pieces will have to be performed in the original language and from the memory. The opera arias, meant for a particular voice type, will have to be performed only in the original key. Each piece may be performed only at one round of the competition.

While performing at any of the three rounds of the competition, the performers will be obliged to wear a stage costume fit for a particular performance, which will also be appraised.

All rounds of the competition will be open, and will be held as concerts with the presence of the audience. The activities of the competition may be shown by Latvian and foreign media. Consequently, all the participants of the competition and all the members of the jury will acknowledge that while participating in the activities of the competition, they will raise no objection to the recording of these activities in photo, audio and video files, and will receive no remuneration for the circulation of the above files in mass media. All rights of the audio and video recordings are reserved by the organizers of the competition.

The Competition Jury and the System of Appraisal

The jury is comprised of soloists and vocal teachers with international experience from Latvia and abroad:

1. Russian opera singer, soloist of Moscow Bolshoi Theatre, People’s artist of the USSR, Head of the Chair of Vocal Performance, Music Theatre Faculty, Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (Российский институт театрального искусства), professor Tamara Sinyavskaya (Тамара Ильинична Синявская),
2. American opera singer, professor of the Department of Vocal Studies and Music Theatre (Institut für Gesang und Musiktheater), University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna (Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien), Claudia Visca,
3. Romanian pianist and vocal teacher, head of a singing studio in Vienna and vocal consultant at the Finnish National Opera Irina Gavrilovici,
4. Latvian opera singer with present-day worldwide singing experience Inga Kalna,
5. Latvian chamber singer, soloist of Latvian National Opera and lecturer at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music Ieva Parša,
6. Intendant of the Latvian National Opera, Latvian opera singer with present-day worldwide singing experience Egīls Siliņš,
7. Latvian musicologist, teacher, program manager of Latvian radio “Klasika” Juris Griņēvičs,
8. Latvian conductor Normunds Vaicis,
9. Musical theater actor, director and vocal teacher, artistic supervisor of Jānis Zābers International Vocal Competition Dr.paed. Edgars Kramiņš.

Each round of the competition will be appraised by five members of the jury. At all rounds of the Competition, each member of the jury will have the right to a one vote and will state his/her appraisal on the nine point scale. The Chairman of the Jury has the right to award additional score one time per each round of the competition.

In case several competitors obtain equal score, the jury will decide, after discussion, the sequence of places. If somebody refuses from further participation in the competition, the jury will decide on whether to award the place to the next competitor with the highest score. It will have the right to divide places and money prizes among several competitors, in case several competitors have obtained equal appraisal, or not to award all the places.

Likewise the jury will have the right to expel a competitor from the competition for breach of competition regulations and showing unethical behavior.

The results obtained at separate rounds of the competition are not summed up, and the decision of the jury is beyond appeal.

The criteria of appraisal are as follows:

• voice material;
• vocal mastery / preparation (breath, intonation of vocals, diction, emotionally timbre sound);
• artistic performance – procedural activity (ability to think, maintain dialogue and make music) and cultural-social aspect (will, energy, knowledge of content);
• relevance of the program / repertoire (singer’s intelligence, set of mind and understanding, level of complexity of the chosen performance);
• personality and visual correspondence to the nature of the performance (style, stage appeal);
• Originality.

The Repertoire of the Competition:

Group A

Round 1

1. A folk-song of free choice in the native language /a capella/
2. An Italian old classic aria or an arietta of free choice.

Round 2

1. A song from the creative work by Jānis Zābers’ favorite composers /chamber music/*
2. A vocal piece of free choice
3. A children’s song by Arvīds Žilinskis from Jānis Zābers’ repertoire /in Latvian/*

Round 3

1. An opera aria from a performance in Jānis Zābers’ repertoire*
2. A Neapolitan song of free choice**

Group B

Round 1

1. A folk-song of free choice in the native language /a capella/
2. An Italian old classic aria of free choice

Round 2

1. A song from the creative work by Jānis Zābers’ favorite composers /chamber music/*
2. An opera aria by a Russian, Latvian or Lithuanian composer from a performance in Jānis Zābers’ repertoire *
3. A children’s song by Arvīds Žilinskis from Jānis Zābers’ repertoire /in Latvian/*

Round 3

1. An opera aria by a Western European composer from a performance in Jānis Zābers’ repertoire *
2. A Neapolitan song of free choice**

Group C

Round 1

1. A folk-song of free choice in the native language /a capella/
2. An Italian old classic aria of free choice

Round 2

1. A song from the creative work by Jānis Zābers’ favorite composers /chamber music/*
2. An opera aria by a Russian, Latvian or Lithuanian composer from a performance in Jānis Zābers’ repertoire*
3. A Latvian composer’s pop song from Jānis Zābers’ repertoire /in Latvian/*

Round 3

1. An opera aria by a Western European composer from a performance in Jānis Zābers’ repertoire*
2. A Neapolitan song of free choice**

*The list of compulsory pieces from the repertoire of Jānis Zābers can be viewed at the website www.zaberscompetition.lv section Repertoire.

**The competitor must coordinate the title, tonality and orchestral notes of the Neapolitan song with the competition administration, if necessary, submitting the necessary copies of the notes on the day of registration.

The Participation Fee and Prizes of the Competition:

The participation fee of the competition is as follows:

• EUR 100 payable until 31.06.2023,
• EUR 130 payable until 31.08.2023.

The organizers of the competition will provide:

• rooms for rehearsals with concert pianist, to rehearse the program of Round 1 (up to 20 minutes), the program of Round 2 (up to 30 minutes) and the program of Round 3 (up to 40 minutes).
• for competitors of Round 1, not advancing to Round 2, consultations and talks with the participation of the members of the jury;
• for competitors of Round 2, not advancing to Round 3, a possibility to attend the master-class;
• a diploma, indicating the achievements of the competitor;
• information on the discounts at the hotels, hostels, and information on the nearest places of public catering.

The expenses for traveling, visa processing, insurance, accommodation, catering and all other expenses pertaining to the stay are borne by the competitors themselves.

The prizes of the competition in each age group are as follows:

• 1-st place: EUR 1200
• 2-nd place: EUR 700
• 3-rd place: EUR 500

The state and local government institutions, patrons of the competition, mass media, creative unions and social organizations, after coordinating with the administration, may award special prizes to the competitors.

Prize awarding for all of the competitors will take place solemnly at the competition final. Therefore it is mandatory for all competitors not advancing to the final to participate in the concert of the laureates.

Applying for the Competition:

The application is open till August 31, 2023 by filling out the form on website www.zaberscompetition.lv, form contains the following requirements:

• personal information in Latvian or English;
• a scanned copy of passport;
• a biographic description on the competitor’s level of education and achievements in singing (up to 1500 characters);
• a digital photo in square format (at least 300 dpi in the resolution of 273 x 273 pixels);
• for the soloists of group C, a scanned copy of the diploma or a certificate from the workplace confirming compliance with the relevant competition category.

Upon receipt of an official invitation to competition, competitors should send in the printed music sheets of vocal pieces to be performed in Rounds 1, 2 and 3, one copy per each, till September 1st, 2023 via e-mail [email protected]

The organizers of the competition respect the Data Protection Regulation and shall be responsible for the security of data to be submitted in the application.

The participation fee (indicating surname and name of the competitor, and the aim –  participation in Janis Zabers International Vocal Competition) should be transferred to the following bank account:

„Vocale”

Reg. No.: 40008042799

Bank: A/S Swedbank

Account No.: LV 87 HABA 0551032664947

SWIFT: HABALV22

Within ten days after the reception of all the documents the administration of the competition will digitally send to the e-mail address indicated by the competitor an official invitation to participate in the competition. The competitors are entitled to participate in the competition with a concert pianist of their own, or they may use, without additional charge, the concert pianist offered by the organizers.

Further information about the location and the activities of the competition can be obtained by the competitors at the website or via e-mail.

Competitors from abroad, in case necessary, should, on their own account, process visas for entering Latvia, on the basis of the invitation.

If a competitor cannot attend the competition due to sudden illness or other objective reason, the participation fee is not refunded.

Contacts:

Jānis Zābers International Vocal Competition

Bruņinieku 33- 9, Rīga, LV-1001, Latvija

info@zaberscompetition.lv

www.zaberscompetition.lv

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