The Sixth International Competition for Young Opera Singers Genа Dimitrova 2025

I. General Provisions

The International Competition for Young Opera Singers “Gena Dimitrova” is organised by the Pleven Philharmonic Orchestra with the support of the Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Pleven.
The competition will take place in the Katya Popova Concert Hall from 19th May 2025 to 22nd May 2025. The draw for the competition will be held at the Regional Historical Museum in Pleven on 18th May 2025 at 4:00 PM.
The Director of the Pleven Philharmonic Orchestra issues an order to establish an organising committee responsible for the conduct, organisation, and promotion of the competition, as well as the composition of the jury.

II. Rules and Conditions for Participation

The competition is open to young opera singers, both Bulgarian and international citizens, who are at least 16 years old and no older than 32 years for women and 35 years for men.
The auditions are conducted by voice type and in the order determined by the draw held the day before the competition begins.
Participants who fail to appear in the designated order will be disqualified.
No changes are allowed to the competition programme submitted with the application.
Registration fees are non-refundable.
The deadline for submitting documents is 2nd May 2025.
Along with the submission of documents for the competition, applicants must mandatory specify the pieces they will perform in the I and II rounds.
Participants who have won the First Prize in previous editions of the competition are not eligible to participate.
The competition has a limit of 60 participants!
Required documents:

A) Application form (as per the template)
B) Copy of the birth certificate
C) A recent photograph of the participant
D) Proof of payment of the fee – to the bank account of the Pleven Philharmonic

For participation: 100 BGN.
For the accompanist provided by the organisers: 70 BGN for rehearsal and 100 BGN for the competition performance.

III. Competition programme:

The competition consists of two rounds:

A) 1st round – The candidates perform one aria of their choice and one song or aria by a Bulgarian composer.
B) 2nd round – The candidates perform one aria by Mozart and one aria of their choice, different from those performed in the 1st round.
*All arias (lyrics and music) must be performed in their original form.

2. Both rounds are conducted with piano accompaniment, and candidates must arrange their own accompanist. The organisers can provide an accompanist for a fee, which must be specified in advance in the application form.

IV. Jury and Awards

The composition of the jury is determined by the organisers and submitted to the Director of the Pleven Philharmonic Orchestra for approval. The jury is composed as follows:
Chairman
Prof. Dr. Grigor Palikarov – Conductor
Members:
Erjan Dautov – Conductor at Astana Opera, Kazakhstan
Ilmar Lapins – Conductor at Novi Sad Opera, Serbia, and the Novosibirsk Philharmonic
Stephan Knies – Opera Critic and Dramaturge, Germany
Kiril Manolov – Opera Singer

2. The jury, composed of renowned musicians, will award the following prizes:

A) The Grand Prize “Gena Dimitrova” (Grand Prix) – 10,000 BGN.
B) For women – three prizes (5,000 BGN, 3,500 BGN, 2,000 BGN).
C) For men – three prizes (5,000 BGN, 3,500 BGN, 2,000 BGN).
D) For participants under 23 years old – one prize for women and one for men (1,500 BGN).
E) For the best performance of a song or aria by a Bulgarian composer – a prize of 1,000 BGN.
F) For the best accompanist – 800 BGN.

3. The jury has the right not to award all the prizes.

4. The decisions of the jury are final.

5. All awarded laureates will participate in the final concert of the Pleven Philharmonic on 22nd May.

6. The winner of the Grand Prix is guaranteed a performance in a concert with the Sofia Philharmonic.

7. The “Gena Dimitrova” Foundation may award a prize to a well-performing participant who did not place in the rankings.

8. Additional prizes in the form of professional engagements may be awarded by the jury.

V. Documents and Useful Information

All required documents should be sent to the following email address: plevenphil_konkurs@abv.bg
Competition Accompanist – Zornitsa Getova ; email – zorigetova@gmail.com
The application form can be downloaded, filled out, and digitally signed using Adobe Acrobat Reader (click the link for a free download), or you can fill it out by hand, scan it, and send it to the corresponding email.
Download the PDF form:

4. Payment information for the fee:

PLEVEN PHILHARMONIC – COMPETITION ACCOUNT
BIC: UBBS
IBAN: BG18UBBS80023106160900
PAYMENT REFERENCE: COMPETITION FOR YOUNG OPERA SINGERS – 19-22.05.2025

5. For information and inquiries:

Pleven Philharmonic – 5800 Pleven, 9 “Resen” Street, P.O. Box 233

phone – +359 89 9562286, email: plevenphil_konkurs@abv.bg