REGULATIONS of the 6th Minsk International Christmas Singing Competition

REGULATIONS of the 6th Minsk International Christmas Singing Competition

REGULATIONS

of the 6^th Minsk International Christmas Singing Competition

           I. General Terms and Conditions

1. The 6^th Minsk International Christmas Singing Competition, hereinafter referred to as competition, is organized by the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of Belarus (Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus).
2. The competition takes place from 4 to 10 December 2020 in Minsk, the capital of the Republic of Belarus.
3. Male singers born in or after 1985 and female singers born in or after 1987, with higher music education (or still students) or employees (guest singers) of professional musical theatres or concert organizations, are invited to participate in the competition.
4. The winners of second and third prizes of the previous editions of the Minsk International Christmas Singing Competition are eligible to participate in the competition straight from the second round.
5. The winners of grand and first prizes of the previous editions of the Minsk International Christmas Singing Competition are not allowed to take part in the competition.
   
   II. Application and Registration
   
   
6. Applications should be emailed at the address of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , hereinafter referred to as official email address of the competition, by 25 October 2020. They must include:

completed application form in accordance with Annex 1 (sample attached) in Microsoft Office Word document file format (.docx, .doc, .rtf);

personal photograph (portrait) (at least 1.5 Mb, .jpg, .bmp);

scanned copies of the documents listed below:

passport (for foreign citizens – copy of the international passport)

diploma of graduation from a music educational establishment or a letter from  the education provider confirming the applicant’s enrolment  (for students)

certificates of international competitions for the past five year (if applicable)

letter proving current employment (if applicable)

Applications failing to meet the aforementioned requirements will not be considered.

Application deadline: 25 October 2020, 23:59 Minsk time

The organizing committee is entitled to extend the deadline for applications.

7. Each admitted participant, hereinafter referred to as competitor, will be given a written confirmation note no later than 5 November 2020.
8. The competitors are obliged to register personally and take part in the draw at the secretariat of the competition at the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus (entrance No.8) from 10:00 to 16:30, 4 December 2020. The presentation of the passport is required. The welcome meeting begins at 17:00.
9. To enter the competition, the competitors shall pay the registration fee of 100 US dollars during the registration.

The fee shall be paid in Belarusian roubles at the exchange rate of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus on the payment day.

In case of non-attendance or failure to participate in the competition even if caused by sickness the registration fee will not be refunded. 

10. When an application is submitted, the competitor is obliged to follow the rules of the competition and respect the decisions of the organizing committee and the jury. The competitors who do not observe the terms and conditions of the Regulations may be withdrawn from the competition
    
    III. Music

11. The competitors who need a theatre’s pianist shall send a legible copy of music at the official email address of the competition by 15 November 2020.
12. The Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus will provide all the music necessary for the 3^rd round in accordance with Annex 3.
    
    IV. Schedule
     
13. The competition has three rounds.

1^st round              5-6 December

2^nd round             8 December

3^rd round              10 December

14. 30 competitors will be selected to take part in the 2^nd round; 10 competitors will be selected for the 3^rd
15. The organizing committee reserves the right to change the number of the competitors selected for the 2^nd and the 3^rd
16. The order determined by the draw will be valid in all the rounds.
17. A competitor’s failure to appear in the arranged order may cause disqualification from the competition. In case of sickness the competitor may be given an opportunity to perform later than previously arranged but till the end of the round (provided the sickness is proved by a sick note).
18. The organizing committee provides competitors with a rehearsal before the 1^st round and a rehearsal before the 2^nd round with a theatre’s pianist in a rehearsal room by prior request (to be indicated in the application form) at no charge.
19. Each competitor has the right to:

• one rehearsal with piano accompaniment in a rehearsal room before the 1^st round up to 6 (six) minutes;
• one rehearsal with piano accompaniment in a rehearsal room before the 2^nd round up to 10 (ten) minutes;
• one rehearsal with orchestral accompaniment on the main stage before the 3^rd round up to 20 (twenty) minutes.

20. The final of the competition will take place on 10 December 2020. The organizing committee is entitled to involve the winners of the competition in singing at the gala concert of the 11^th Minsk International Christmas Opera Forum in December 2020. No fees will be paid for their participation in the gala concert of the forum. The organizing committee will bear the accommodation and meals expenses of the competition winners performing in the forum gala.
    
    V. Repertoire List
    
    
21. 1. Rounds:

The 1^st round takes place with piano accompaniment on the small stage. The competitors shall sing one aria of their choice not exceeding 6 (six) minutes and in accordance with the list of Annex 2.

The 2^nd round takes place with piano accompaniment on the main stage. The 2^nd round performance must not exceed 12 (twelve) minutes. The repertoire should comprise two pieces of the competitor’s choice from the list of Annex 2; one of them must be performed in Russian or Belarusian.

The 3^rd round takes place with orchestral accompaniment on the main stage. The competitors will sing a lead role in a scene from an opera of their choice according to Annex 3. The chosen scene must include a solo number and an ensemble number, e.g. an aria and a duet. Ensemble numbers are performed with soloists of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus. The final round auditions will be held with costumes, make-up, props.

     21.2 Competitors wishing to present an individual repertoire shall send the organizing committee an email with the individual repertoire and the grounds. The request for an individual repertoire shall be sent before the application deadline, 25 October 2020.
     22.2 In the event that the repertoire chosen for auditions exceeds the time limit (6 (six) minutes for the 1^st round, 12 (twelve) minutes for the 2^nd round), the competitor must make cuts.

22. Any piece or its parts can be performed only once.
23. No changes can be introduced or made within the submitted repertoire.
    
    VI. Performance Rules
    
    
24. The competitors must come to the theatre for registration one and a half hours prior to their performance (staff entrance No. 7). The presentation of the passport is required.
25. All the pieces are performed from memory in the original key or according to the generally accepted transposition and in the original language.
26. The competitors are entitled to arrange the order of the pieces from their 2^nd round audition repertoire at their discretion. The time limits of the performance in the 1^st and the 2^nd rounds set by the Regulations must not be exceeded. Shall this occur, the secretary of the competition is entitled to stop the performance after 6 (six) minutes in the 1^st round and 12 (twelve) minutes in the 2^nd
27. The competitors shall perform pieces chosen for the 2^nd round without intermission.
28. A competitor’s performance in the 1^st and the 2^nd rounds may be stopped at the discretion of the jury.
29. The competition is open to the public.
30. The organizers of the competition reserve unqualified exclusive rights to radio and television broadcasts, audio and video recording, filming and photographing during the competition, as well as to post videos of the competition performances on the Internet and other informational networks without payment of fees to the competitors and their pianists.
    
    VII. Prizes

31. The amounts of the competition prizes are set in Belarusian roubles and shall be equivalent to the following sums in accordance with the exchange rates of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus on the payment day:

Grand prize          US$ 10,000

First prize            US$ 8,000

Second prize        US$ 6,000

Third prize           US$ 4,000

Prize money shall be paid at the cash office of the theatre on 11 December 2020. Taxes, charges and other payments imposed by the law of the Republic of Belarus shall be deducted from the sums thereof (income tax rate 13 %, insurance contribution to the Social Security Fund 1 %, total 14 %).

32. Grand prize cannot be shared.
33. The jury is entitled:
    33.1   not to award grand prize;
    33.2   not no award one or several prizes;
    33.3   within the total prize money, to equally share prizes (except for grand prize) between tied finalists; in this event, the subsequent prize amounts cannot be bigger than the previous prize amounts.
    33.4   to award incentive prize and jury special prizes.
34. The winners of grand and first prizes receive a proposal from the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus to appear in a lead role in a performance from the company’s current repertoire.
35. All the 2^nd round participants apart from those selected for the final will receive certificates of participation.
36. All the 3^rd round participants apart from the winners of prizes under clause 31 herein will receive finalist certificates.
    
    VIII. Supplementary Information

37. To avoid any ambiguities arising out of submitting applications, the senders are obliged to make sure that their applications and accompanying documents have reached the receiver. To do that, they should choose the option “notification of delivery” in their mailbox settings or call: +375 17 3600285.
38. While choosing their repertoire, the competitors must respect copyright and related rights law, and shall be responsible for their violation.
39. The competitors cover all travel expenses, pay for accommodation and meals, as well as cover the costs arising out of their pianists’ visit. If necessary, the organizers of the competition will provide the competitors with information on accommodation possibilities in Minsk.
40. The competitors who need a visa to enter Belarus are solely responsible for receiving it well in advance.
41. It’s the sole responsibility of the competitors to learn the results of the draw, rehearsal schedules, performance time and results of the jury’s vote which will be posted on the theatre’s website and the competition board.
42. The competitors and their pianists will receive a participant card which serves as a pass to the theatre within the competition schedule.
43. The competitors give consent to the theatre to process and use all personal data relevant to the competition.
44. According to the decision of the organizing committee, the competitors selected for the 3^rd round will be provided with meals at the theatre’s expense.

 

Enquiries: +375 17 3600285, +375 17 2931889, +375 17 3340772