{"id":470,"date":"2019-04-25T22:14:20","date_gmt":"2019-04-25T22:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/?p=470"},"modified":"2021-10-03T22:14:43","modified_gmt":"2021-10-03T22:14:43","slug":"italian-soprano-mariella-devia-to-chair-vii-concurso-internacional-de-canto-alfredo-kraus-2019-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/italian-soprano-mariella-devia-to-chair-vii-concurso-internacional-de-canto-alfredo-kraus-2019-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian soprano Mariella Devia to chair VII Concurso Internacional de Canto Alfredo Kraus 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2022\u00a0Cabildo de Gran Canaria<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Fundaci\u00f3n Internacional Alfredo Kraus<\/strong>\u00a0are calling for applications for the seventh singing competition.
\n\u2022 The competition will be held from\u00a023 to 28 September<\/strong>\u00a0in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
\n\u2022 In honour of Alfredo Kraus,\u00a0Mariella Devia has agreed to chair a singing competition for the first time<\/strong>.
\n\u2022 The event coincides with the\u00a020th anniversary of Kraus\u2019 death<\/strong>.
\n\u2022 The\u00a0preliminary rounds<\/strong>\u00a0will be held at\u00a0Teatro de la Zarzuela (Madrid) and MMF \u2013 Opera di Firenze (Florence) in June; at Teatro di San Carlo (Naples) in July; and at Auditorio Alfredo Kraus (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) in September<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Cabildo de Gran Canaria<\/strong>\u00a0(Gran Canaria Island Council) and\u00a0Fundaci\u00f3n Internacional Alfredo Kraus<\/strong>\u00a0are calling for applications for the\u00a0VII Concurso Internacional de Canto Alfredo Kraus 2019<\/strong>, to be held in the capital city of Gran Canaria\u00a0from 23 to 28 September<\/strong>\u00a0with a\u00a0jury chaired by Italian soprano Mariella Devia<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

After the recent launch of the competition in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, with the participation of Antonio Morales, president of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, the VII Concurso Internacional de Canto Alfredo Kraus was presented to the media in Madrid\u2019s Zarzuela Theatre. Participants in the Madrid launch included the tenor\u2019s daughter Rosa Kraus, Chair of Fundaci\u00f3n Internacional Alfredo Kraus, and Mario Pontiggia, artistic director of the FIAK. They were joined by Daniel Bianco, director of Teatro de la Zarzuela, and \u00d3liver D\u00edaz, musical director of Teatro de la Zarzuela and conductor for the concert of the competition final.<\/p>\n

True to the original idea of Alfredo Kraus,\u00a0the aim of the competition is to support young opera singers and help them secure employment<\/strong>. These were the\u00a0tenor\u2019s objectives<\/strong>\u00a0in 1990 when he created the competition, which he continued to organise until 1999, the year of his death. The seventh competition has\u00a0particular significance because it coincides with the 20th anniversary of the death of its creator<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The 2019 competition, second in the new phase of the event and seventh since its creation, is especially significant because it coincides with the 20th anniversary of Kraus\u2019 death. Tributes are being paid to Gran Canaria\u2019s great tenor this year in Naples (Teatro di San Carlo), Florence (MMF), and Madrid, at Teatro La Zarzuela, where Kraus made his d\u00e9but in Do\u00f1a Francisquita at the reopening of the theatre in October 1956. Teatro La Zarzuela will dedicate the performances of its new production of Vives\u2019 zarzuela to the memory of Alfredo Kraus.<\/p>\n

On this very special occasion,\u00a0the jury will be chaired by Mariella Devia, an almost legendary figure in international opera<\/strong>\u00a0who identifies with Kraus not only in her perception of singing, but also in her choice of repertoire and extensive professional career.<\/p>\n

Mariella Devia is a highly acclaimed artist at the world\u2019s major theatres and has\u00a0ample experience teaching younger generations<\/strong>. Invited to Gran Canaria for the Concert in Tribute to Alfredo Kraus in 2016, Devia performed pieces she had sung with Kraus in Oviedo, Rome and New York, a veritable shrine of bel canto.\u00a0In honour of Alfredo Kraus, the soprano has agreed to chair a singing competition for the first time<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The jury<\/strong><\/p>\n

The members of the jury are artistic directors\u00a0Daniel BIANCO<\/strong>\u00a0(La Zarzuela \/ Madrid),\u00a0Paolo PINAMONTI<\/strong>\u00a0(San Carlo \/ Naples),\u00a0Pierangelo CONTE<\/strong>\u00a0(Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino \/ Florence),\u00a0Stefano MAZZONIS DI PRALAFERA<\/strong>\u00a0(Op\u00e9ra Royal de Wallonie \/ Lieja),\u00a0Cesidio NI\u00d1O<\/strong>\u00a0(ABAO \/ Bilbao) and\u00a0Ulises JA\u00c9N<\/strong>\u00a0(ACO \/ Las Palmas de Gran Canaria).\u00a0Guillermo GARC\u00cdA ALCALDE<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Jer\u00f3nimo SAAVEDRA ACEVEDO<\/strong>\u00a0will act as honorary members, while\u00a0Rosa KRAUS LEY<\/strong>\u00a0will be Chair and\u00a0Mario PONTIGGIA<\/strong>\u00a0will be Artistic Director and Secretary of the competition.<\/p>\n

Seeking to\u00a0uphold the legacy of Alfredo Kraus<\/strong>, the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, headed by\u00a0Antonio Morales M\u00e9ndez<\/strong>, and the foundation chaired by the tenor\u2019s daughter\u00a0Rosa Kraus Ley, revived the competition in 2017, 18 years after it was last held during the \u201cfirst phase\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The basic precepts are that the competition should\u00a0involve young singers from Spain and abroad, be judged by a highly qualified jury<\/strong>, and\u00a0be held in the capital city of Gran Canaria<\/strong>, the tenor\u2019s birthplace. An essential part of achieving this is the contribution of the collaborating institutions:\u00a0Ayuntamiento de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria<\/strong>\u00a0(Las Palmas City Hall) and\u00a0Fundaci\u00f3n Canaria Auditorio y Teatro de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria,<\/strong>\u00a0administered by the City Hall and the Cabildo.<\/p>\n

The revival of the competition in 2017 was a major success<\/strong>, as seen in the\u00a0105 applications from singers of 22 nationalities<\/strong>, far exceeding the number of applicants for the five previous competitions.<\/p>\n

Applicants in 2017 were from<\/strong>\u00a0Angola, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Italy, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.<\/p>\n

The Official Jury of the 2017 competition, chaired by tenor Jaime Aragall, cast its votes after the\u00a011 finalists<\/strong>\u00a0performed for an enthusiastic audience that filled the\u00a0Symphonic Hall of the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium<\/strong>. The Jury awarded\u00a01st prize to baritone Carles Pach\u00f3n<\/strong>\u00a0(Spain),\u00a02nd prize to tenor Galeano Salas<\/strong>\u00a0(Mexico \/ USA) and\u00a03rd prize to soprano Leonor Bonilla<\/strong>\u00a0(Spain).<\/p>\n

Soprano Leonor Bonilla was awarded the Audience Prize and baritone Carles Pach\u00f3n received the Ayuntamiento de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Prize for the best singer of Spanish nationality.<\/p>\n

Seventh competition<\/strong><\/p>\n

The auditorium opened by the tenor in 1997,\u00a0Auditorio Alfredo Kraus<\/strong>, will host the\u00a0semi-final<\/strong>\u00a0(23 and 24 September) and the\u00a0final round<\/strong>\u00a0(28 September) of the\u00a0seventh competition<\/strong>. The final round will be held as a public concert, with accompaniment by the\u00a0Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra<\/strong>, conducted by\u00a0Oliver D\u00edaz<\/strong>, before the prize giving.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0preliminary rounds<\/strong>\u00a0will be held at Teatro de la Zarzuela (Madrid) and MMF – Opera di Firenze (Florence) in June; at Teatro di San Carlo (Naples) in July; and at Auditorio Alfredo Kraus (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) in September. Applicants for\u00a0these rounds will be judged by a committee<\/strong>\u00a0comprising the Chair and the Artistic Director of the FIAK and artistic directors of the collaborating institutions at each venue.<\/p>\n

The VII Concurso Internacional de Canto Alfredo Kraus is\u00a0open to singers of all nationalities aged 18 to 32<\/strong>\u00a0for soprano, countertenor and tenor voices and 18 to 35 for mezzo-soprano, contralto, baritone, bass-baritone and bass voices.<\/p>\n

Those interested in taking part can apply using the application form<\/strong>\u00a0available for downloading here<\/a>,\u00a0no later than 31 May<\/strong>\u00a0for the preliminary rounds in Florence and Madrid\u00a0and no later than 17 June<\/strong>\u00a0for the preliminary rounds in Naples and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.<\/p>\n

Prizes and invitations to perform<\/strong><\/p>\n

Participants will compete for\u00a0substantial monetary prizes<\/strong>\u00a0funded by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria.\u00a0Three official prizes of 14,000, 12,000 and 10,000 euros<\/strong>\u00a0will be awarded, plus\u00a0two special prizes<\/strong>: one from the Ayuntamiento de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria of\u00a03,000 euros<\/strong>\u00a0for\u00a0the best singer of Spanish nationality<\/strong>,\u00a0and the Audience Prize of 2,500 euros<\/strong>, for the singer who receives most votes from spectators at the final round.\u00a0Finalists will also be eligible to receive invitations to perform at European theatres<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Preserving and promoting the legacy of Alfredo Kraus<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Concurso Internacional de Canto Alfredo Kraus,\u00a0one of the most ambitious projects of the Fundaci\u00f3n Internacional Alfredo Kraus and the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, seeks to preserve and promote the artistic legacy of Alfredo Kraus<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Cabildo de Gran Canaria is working on another prestigious project to revitalise and reform part of the former residential home of San Antonio, in Vegueta, heart of the old town and birthplace of Alfredo Kraus, which will\u00a0house the Foundation and include a museum, archives and a centre for education, research and dissemination<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Foundation will also continue the conference cycles<\/strong>\u00a0on the artistry of Alfredo Kraus and\u00a0activities for young performers, two of the objectives Kraus wrote into the constitution<\/strong>\u00a0of the foundation he created.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2022\u00a0Cabildo de Gran Canaria\u00a0and\u00a0Fundaci\u00f3n Internacional Alfredo Kraus\u00a0are calling for applications for the seventh singing competition. \u2022 The competition will be held from\u00a023 to 28 September\u00a0in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":345,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":471,"href":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions\/471"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}