A new singing competition in Lausanne

Founded on the desire to create a meeting point between students of the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne (HEMU) and "alumni", those alumni who have already been able to make their mark on international stages, Kattenburg is a new opera singing competition. Created in 2017 in memory of Claire and Willy Kattenburg, great friends of the arts and lovers of music, the Kattenburg Competition aims to promote and support the new generation of singers at the HEMU. Comprising a first round behind closed doors, public semi-finals at the HEMU and a public final at the Opéra de Lausanne, the competition will feature no fewer than 40 candidates, all HEMU students or graduates.
 
At the end of the first round, only 12 of the initial 40 candidates will be selected to take part in the public semi-finals to be held on September 28 and 29. These rounds will qualify 5 competitors for the final, to be held on October 5 on the Opéra de Lausanne stage. The HEMU Orchestra will accompany the finalists under the direction of American conductor John Fiore.
 
For this first edition, the jury of the Kattenburg Competition will be made up of leading figures from the world of classical music and opera: the Dutch Sophie de Lint, the Norwegian Anne Gjevang, the French Nadine Denize and Eric Vigié and the Swiss Philippe Huttenlocher and Yvonne Naef, as well as the American-Swiss Todd Camburn, who is also entrusted with the artistic direction of the competition. The Jury will be chaired by Hervé Klopfenstein, General Director of the Haute École de Musique et du Conservatoire de Lausanne.
 
Price list
Several prizes will be awarded to the Competition's best candidates: a third prize worth 5,000 francs, a second prize worth 20,000 francs and a first prize worth 30,000 francs. The Competition also includes special prizes, including the Audience Prize, awarded like all the others at the end of the final at the Opéra de Lausanne.
  
Find out more: www.kattenburg.ch