2024 - Voice

The 78th Concours de Genève is dedicated to Voice & Composition and will be held from 15-22 October 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Voice Competition is open to all singers born after 22 October 1992. Candidates who have already won a First Prize at one of the earlier Concours de Genève are not allowed to enter for the same discipline again.

> See official rules
> Apply for the Competition

Application deadline: 17 April 2024

After the preselection round, the following young singers have been selected to participate in the Voice Competition 2024:

Eight candidates have been selected for the semi-final round of the Voice Competition 2024:

Stefanie Bruggeling, Mezzo
Shelen Hughes, Soprano
Junho Hwang, Ténor
Jungrae Noah Kim, Baryton
Franciana Nogues, Soprano
Jaeeun Shin, Soprano
Barbara Skora, Mezzo
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh, Soprano
 

Jungrae Noah Kim (baritone), Barbara Skora (mezzo) and Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh (soprano) have been selected as finalists for the Voice Competition 2024. They will be performing this upcoming Tuesday October 22nd at 7:00PM at the Grand Théâtre de Genève with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, conducted by Alevtina Ioffe.

OFFICIAL PRIZES

FIRST PRIZE (CHF 20,000. -)
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh

SECOND PRIZE (CHF 12,000.-)
Jungrae Noah Kim

THIRD PRIZE (CHF 8,000.-)
Not attributed
 

The official prizes are generously funded by the Fondation Francis & Marie-France Minkoff

SPECIAL PRIZES

HONORABLE MENTION PRIZE (CHF 3,000.-)
Barbara Skora

AUDIENCE PRIZE (CHF 1,500.-)
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh
The Audience Prize is awarded by the spectators of the Final Rounds. The finalist who receives the most ballots is the winner of this prize.

YOUNG AUDIENCE PRIZE (CHF 1,000.-)
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh
The Young Audience Prize is awarded by a group of students from public and private schools in Geneva, having formerly received a specific training. They evaluate the two Final Rounds.

STUDENTS' PRIZE (CHF 1,000.-)
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh
The Students’ Prize is awarded by a group of students from the Faculty of Music and the Department of Musicology of the University of Geneva, who evaluate both Finals. It is integrated in their official curriculum. The Students’ Prize is offered by Ms. & Mr. Hervieu-Caussse.

ARTS SOCIETY PRIZE (CHF 3,000.-)
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh
The Société des Arts Prize is awarded by the Jury to one of the three finalists in the Voice Competition and consists of a chamber music concert organised by the Société des Arts as part of its mentoring programme. The winner will perform in 2024 with an experienced professional musician chosen by agreement between the Competition and the Société des Arts.

CONCERTS DE JUSSY PRIZE (CHF 2'000.-)
Jungrae Noah Kim
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh
The «Concerts de Jussy» Special Prize is awarded to the three prizewinners of the Voice Competition and consists in a concert on October 24th at the Temple de Jussy

YVONNE SIGG FOUNDATION PRIZE (CHF 3,000.-)
Junho Hwang
The Yvonne Sigg Foundation Prize is awarded by the Jury to one of the three semi-finalists of the Voice Competition and consists of a half-recital at the annual Yvonne Sigg Foundation Scholarship Recipients' Evening in autumn 2025.

FONDATION ETRILLARD PRIZE (CHF 5,000.-)
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh
The “Fondation Etrillard” Prize is awarded by the Jury to the voice finalist who has presented the most remarkable personal artistic project during the semi-final round.

ROSE-MARIE HUGUENIN PRIZE (CHF 10,000.-)
Jungrae Noah Kim
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh
This prize is awarded to the prizewinners of the Voice Competition and gives them the opportunity to benefit from a personal grant to help them carry out their artistic projects. The grant is administered by the Competition..   

OSR MUSICIANS' PRIZE
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh
Awarded by the musicians of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande to a finalist of the Voice Competition. It consists of a concert engagement during the two seasons following the award.

CERCLE DU GRAND THÉÂTRE PRIZE (CHF 3,000.-)
Chelsea Marilyn Zurflüh
The Cercle du Grand Théâtre Prize is an engagement at the Grand Théâtre de Genève as a first or a second opera role and is awarded to one of the finalists of the Voice Competition.

• 17 April: Application deadline
• 24-26 May: Video preselection round
• 25 July: Deadline for submitting videos for the online recital
• 2 – 8 September: Online Recital broadcast
• 10 September: Announcement of Semi-Finalists
• 13 October, 5 PM Conservatoire de Genève: Welcome Ceremony
• 15 October, 7 PM, Salle Franz Liszt, Conservatoire: Semi-Final Opera Recital
• 16 October, 8 PM, Salle Franz Liszt, Conservatoire: Semi-Final Opera Recital
• 17-18 October, 7 PM, Salle Franz Liszt, Conservatoire: Semi-Final Lieder/Song Recital
• 17-18 October, 11 AM, Salle Bartholoni, Conservatoire: Semi-Final Artistic Project
• 22 October, 7 PM, Grand Théâtre de Genève: Final Round with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande

• 1 baroque or classical aria (oratorio or opera)
• 1 opera aria
• 1 Lied/song

NB: The works chosen must be from three different periods and in three different languages. Works chosen for the Preselection Round may be performed again during the competition.

Candidates must join to their application a short text or video presentation (max. one page / 3 minutes), introducing themselves and explaining why they want to participate in the 2024 Concours de Genève.

B. ONLINE RECITAL (MAX. 40 CANDIDATES / 25-30 MINUTES)

• 2 opera arias
• 1 oratorio aria / sacred music
• 2 Lieder / songs

NB: The works chosen must be from three different periods and in three different languages. At least one work must have been composed after 1950. The recital should not exceed 30 minutes including stage entrances/exits and possible pauses.

C. SEMI-FINAL ROUND IN 3 PARTS (MAX. 8 CANDIDATES)
15-18 OCT. SALLE FRANZ LISZT, CONSERVATOIRE, GENEVA

PART 1 - OPERA RECITAL (MAX. 30 MINUTES)
45% of the evaluation

4 to 6 opera, operetta or zarzuela arias of your choice from 3 different periods and in 3 different languages.

The Opera Recital must be constructed as a concert. Candidates are highly encouraged to include a variety of genres in their recital.

NB: The Opera Recital should not exceed 30 minutes including stage entrances/exits and possible pauses. All pieces must be performed by heart. Exceptions may be granted upon request.

PART 2 - LIEDER/SONG RECITAL (MAX. 30 MINUTES)
35% of the evaluation

Free recital of Lieder/songs written for voice and piano or a capella, comprising at least one of the following pieces:

• At least 1 Lied/song written in a contemporary style for voice and piano or a capella voice.*
• At least 1 Lied/song for voice and piano, written by a woman composer between 1900 and 1940. See list in Appendix 1.

NB: The Lieder/song Recital should not exceed 30 minutes including stage entrances/exits and the possible pauses. All pieces must be performed by heart except for the contemporary Lied/song. Additional exceptions may be granted upon request.

* The contemporary piece must be in a resolutely contemporary style, with innovative writing. The piece must make use of extended vocal techniques, with unconventional modes of emission, e.g. micro-intervals, Sprechgesang, timbre modification, vocal noises, disarticulation of the text.

• Semi-Finalists are invited to propose an artistic project to be carried out during the two years following an official Prize in Geneva.
• The project may take various forms. It can be purely musical in nature (recital programme, concerts tour) or involve other forms of artistic expression (visual, textual, dance) with other artists.
• The artistic project must be an original proposal, intimately linked to the artistic personality of the semi-finalist (no projects already proposed in the past or copied from other artists).
• The project may be presented in the form of a text, a projected presentation, a video or any other medium.
• The project will be prepared, adapted (if necessary) and further developed during the one-month timeframe between the announcement of the semi-finalists and their arrival in Geneva. Online interactive sessions with professional coaches are organized.
• When in Geneva, a journalist will conduct a filmed interview in English, which will allow to better understand the personality of the semi-finalist and the relevance of the artistic project.
• The Jury will review the projects at the end of the semi-final phase. It will evaluate the project, taking into consideration its artistic interest, its originality, whether it is adapted to the artist who presents it, and its relevance in the context of the beginning of a career.
• The Jury will take into account the report of the specialist(s) who assisted the semi-finalist and examine the stages of realization of the project, judging to what extent they are realistic.

D. FINAL ROUND WITH ORCHESTRA (3 CANDIDATES)
GRAND THÉÂTRE DE GENÈVE

- 3 opera arias to be chosen from the list in Appendix 2.

NB: Arias already sung in previous rounds may be repeated in the Final. Chosen arias must be from at least two different periods and in at least two different languages.

With the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, dir. Alevtina Ioffe

GENERAL CONDITIONS

• Performing by heart is mandatory, unless otherwise specified in the rules.
• For each round of the Competition, candidates may choose the order in which they wish to perform their programme.
• Transposition (changing the key of a work) is permitted at the candidate's own responsibility. If no transposed edition is available, the candidate must provide a transposed score for the official piano accompanists.
• For the Final Round with orchestra, only arias in the original key are permitted. Exceptions may be made in the case of well-known, published transpositions with complete orchestral material.

Official Jury

Patricia Petibon, Chair
Aviel Cahn
André Comploi
Jean Denes
Sophie de Lint
Susan Manoff
Waltraud Meier

Preselection Jury

Jean Denes, member of the official jury
Waltraud Meier, member of the official jury
Heidi Brunner
Mireille Delunsch
Markus Hollop

In 2003, the Concours de Genève launched an ambitious Career Development Programme. Consisting of various modules, it is designed to help our laureates explore and define their artistic identity, while providing them with the necessary tools to launch an international career.

MANAGEMENT & CONCERTS
In addition to the official prizes, laureates benefit from two years of services from the concert agency Sartory Artists, Paris. This includes career management, personal coaching and multiple concerts, enabling them to take their first steps on the Swiss and international music scenes. A unique opportunity for prizewinners to establish an international reputation.

WORKSHOPS
Each year, the Concours de Genève offers a Prizewinners’ Workshop: over the course of a week, participants take part in a series of workshops on topics such as performance, health, career management, image and social media. From 2023 onwards, laureates will benefit from a more extensive offer of workshops thanks to the newly founded “Association Crocus”, which brings together the Concours de Genève, the Rencontres Musicales d’Évian and La Belle Saison.

ARTISTIC PROJECT
During the third stage of the semi-final round, candidates must present and defend an artistic project that the Concours de Genève will help to realise as part of its Career Development Programme. A fantastic opportunity for young musicians to express their artistic personality while pursuing a dream.