Froville International Baroque Singing Competition

12th Edition

Repertoires from the Baroque and Classical periods

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Applications are accepted until 2023 March, 31 st (midnight) Registrations can ONLY be made at the following address

contact@festivaldefroville.com

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About the Competition
 
The Friends of Froville Cultural Heritage Association, a non-profit organization founded under the French law of 1901, is committed to supporting the next generation of talented young singers pursuing careers as professional vocalists.
Annual singing competitions at the international level are organized by the Festival of Froville and are held in the Lorraine region of northeastern France on the sumptuous grounds of the Château de Lunéville (or the Castle of Enlightenment and one-time residence of King Stanislas Leszczynski, Duke of Lorraine).
Our aim is to give aspiring singers the chance to perform before a wider audience and a jury of internationally renowned experts in Baroque and early- Classical performance and style. Against a rich historical backdrop, contestants are judged on their skills interpreting and performing repertoires from the Baroque periods.
 

The 12h edition of the Froville International Baroque Singing Competition will take place on from September 22 to 24, 2023

 
Participation conditions
The competition is open to singers of all nationalities and vocal ranges. Contestants must be of legal age up to 32 years of age at the time of registration (confirmed by identity document and registration postmark).
Winners of previous competitions are not permitted to take part in the competition as contestants.
 
Competition Registration
Those who wish to become contestants in the competition must provide a completed application, as a compulsory condition of entry, comprised of the following elements:
— A completed registration form, which can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.
— A high-quality video recording (Youtube or Viméo) that includes 3 different songs from the Baroque period.
— A list of the songs included in the video recording.
— A photocopy of a valid passport or other forms of identification (an identity card, driving license, etc.)
— A curriculum vitae (CV), in French if possible, listing the applicant’s educational background and relevant degrees and diplomas.
— Two recent photographs of the applicant: one in passport format, and one artistic photo of the applicant as a performing artist.
— A signed statement authorizing the competition organizers to use and distribute recordings submitted by the applicant as deemed necessary by the organizers for the purpose of promoting the competition, as well as the right to photograph, film and record the applicant during the competition. All such photographs and recordings shall remain the property of the Froville Singing Competition.
Please note that files, documents, recordings and photographs submitted by the applicant for the purpose of registration will not be returned to the applicant.
Submitting an incomplete application will disqualify the applicant from participating in the competition.

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Fees / Costs
An administration fee of €50 is payable to the Association des Amis du Patrimoine Culturel de Froville by all applicants at the time of application. This administration fee is non-refundable under any circumstances, even if the applicant’s initial application is unsuccessful.
The applicant’s registration will only be accepted once all necessary elements have been received by post or by email, and only after the administration fee of €50 has been received by check or bank transfer.
The bank details of the competition organizers, the Friends of Froville Cultural Heritage Association are as follows:
 

Bank: CREDIT AGRICOLE DE LORRAINE
Address: Avenue de la Gare, 54290 Bayon, France

Account number: 86106465034

SWIFT code or Bank Identifier Code (BIC): AGRIFRPP861
IBAN (International Bank Account Number): FR76 1610 6840 0286 1064 6503 486

Account holder: Association des Amis du Patrimoine Culturel de Froville

 

Applicants who submit their applications and attached documents by email are themselves responsible for ensuring that all requested application elements have been received by the Competition Organizing Committee by requesting an acknowledgement of receipt.
 
The deadline to receive applications is March 31 st (midnight).

 
Program submission & Competition Organization
Program submission
Each applicant must submit several programs comprised of works chosen from the Baroque period and in a minimum of three languages to be performed

 

in their original language. No song may be sung twice by the same singer over the course of the competition. All performances should last between no less than 15 minutes and no more than 17 minutes. The semi-final and final stages will be open to the public.
 
Competition Organization
 
Applicants will be pre-selected on the basis of the songs recorded on video included with their applications. The video recordings must include 3 different songs including a recitative and an aria in French. Applications including video recordings of poor quality will not be considered.
All applications will be submitted for review by an Artistic Committee appointed by the Competition Organizing Committee. The Artistic Committee will then select a maximum of 16 applicants who will be eligible to proceed to the semi- final stage. This selection process will take place in closed session. Final selection decisions by the Artistic Committee are to be considered final and no appeals will be accepted.
Applicants who reach the Semi-final stage should develop their programs by selecting works from the repertoire of the Baroque period included in the categories listed below. The entire program performance should last between 15 and 17 minutes. To arrive at the minimum 15 minutes, applicants may include songs of their personal choice.
 
The applicant’s program to be performed before a jury for the semi-final audition with harpsichord must include:

For each vote, in the semi-final :
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a) 1 aria in French (17th or 18th century)
b) 1 aria by Händel or Vivaldi with recitative
c) 1 aria from the 17th century including obligatorily 1 rare or unpublished tune.
                      

The program must be interpreted in 3 languages and the timing will be between 15 and 18 minutes.
The candidate will avoid introductions or instrumental passages that are too long.
At the end of the semi-finals, 6 candidates will be selected for the final.
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At the end of the semi-final performances, 6 applicants will be selected to proceed to the final competition stage with ORCHESTRE DE L'HOSTEL DIEU.
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The 6 applicants who reach the Final stage will sing before a panel of judges Choice of program from the list of imposed works for a duration of 15 to 18 minutes.

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FINAL REPERTOIRE FROVILLE 2023 COMPETITION

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For each voice, in the final among the list of imposed tunes:
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a) 1 tune by Johann Sebastian Bach to choose between 1 small effective tune & 1 complete string tune
b) 1 aria by Vivaldi or Händel (obligatorily the author not chosen in the semi-final)
c) 1 aria from the 17th century, to choose between 1 middle English aria and 1 middle Italian aria (obligatorily different from the one chosen in the semi-final).
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We remind you that, on merely practical grounds, the official pitch for the whole Competition is a = 415 Hz. 
No transposition whatsoever will be accepted for the pieces which every candidate is asked to choose for final round. The only exception is given by both excerpts from J. S. Bach's Magnificat : both exist in two different keys and may be chosen in either version (D major or E flat major for Soprano-Aria "Et exultavit" and f # minor or g minor for Tenor-Aria "Deposuit potentes").

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The finalists will rehearse with the orchestra on Saturday, September 23. The rehearsal time is set at 50 minutes.
The 6 finalists will choose among these imposed tunes (subject to modifications) for a duration between 15 and 18 minutes:

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1) SOPRANO

Johann Sebastian BACH - “Bereite dir, Jesu” BWV 147
Johann Sebastian BACH - "Et exultavit" - Magnificat BWV 243 (D) / 243a (Eb)
Georg Friedrich HÄNDEL - “Un pensiero nemico di pace” - Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno HWV46a
Antonio VIVALDI - In furore RV 626
Henry PURCELL - “Strike the viol” - Ode for the Birthday of Queen Mary
Claudio MONTEVERDI - “Laudate Dominum” - La Selva Morale

 

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2) MEZZO SOPRANO (female and male)
Johann Sebastian BACH - “Schlafe mein Liebster” BWV 213
Johann Sebastian BACH - "Vergnügte Ruh" - BWV 170
Georg Friedrich HÄNDEL - "Qui ti sfido" - Arianna in Creta HWV 32
Antonio VIVALDI - "Armatæ face" - Juditha triumphans RV 644
Henry PURCELL - “When I am laid” - Dido & Aeneas
Francesco CAVALLI - "Io resto solo? ... Misero, così va" - Eliogabalo

 

 

3) ALTO (female and male)
Johann Sebastian BACH - “Erbarme dich“ Matthaüs Passion
Johann Sebastian BACH - "Agnus Dei" - H-Moll-Messe BWV 232
Antonio VIVALDI - "profondo" - Orlando furioso RV 819
Georg Friedrich HÄNDEL - "Voglio stragi, e voglio morte" - Teseo HWV 9
Henry PURCELL - “An Evening Hymn" - Harmonia Sacra Z193
Claudio MONTEVERDI - "Di misera regina"  - Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
 
Mezzosoprani can choose indifferently in sections 1,2 & 3

 

 

4) TENOR
Johann Sebastian BACH - "Deposuit" - "Magnificat" BWV 243 (f#) / 243a (g)
Johann Sebastian BACH - "Sie werden euch in den Bann tun“ BWV 183
Antonio VIVALDI - "Il Piacer de la vendetta" - Il Giustino RV 717
Georg Friedrich HÄNDEL - “D’instabile fortuna" - Rinaldo HWV 56
Henry PURCELL - “Wake, Quivera” - The Indian Queen Z630
Claudio MONTEVERDI - "O dolor, o martir" - Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
 
 

5) BARYTON & BASSE
Johann Sebastian BACH - "Hier, in meines Vaters Stätte" - BWV 32
Johann Sebastian BACH - "Ich freude mich” - BWV 82
Antonio VIVALDI - "Se tu sprezzar pretendi" - L'Olimpiade RV 725
Georg Friedrich HÄNDEL - "Dal fulgor di questa spada" - Giulio Cesare
Henry PURCELL - "See, see, the Heavens smile" - The Tempest Z. 631
Francesco CAVALLI - "Come si beff Amor" - Ercole amante

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Applicants must submit all musical scores to the applicant’s assigned accompanist (appointed by the Organizing Committee) before July 1, 2023 (midnight). The contact details for each applicant’s accompanist will be sent to the applicants by the Organizing Committee. The applicant’s programs must be sent to the Organizing Committee no later than July 1, 2023.
All musical scores must be legible and coherent, should integrate the orchestral reduction when necessary, should avoid modern orchestral arrangements, and should reflect as closely as possible the composer’s original meaning or vision while remaining a clearly understood tool for the accompanist (with a reminder that the score is intended solo voice and harpsicord). Ideally, applicants should select period copies, reductions or an autographed copy.
In the event that the applicant uses transposed scores, this should be communicated to the accompanist.

 

The Semi-finals will be held at the castle of Lunéville on September, 22.
The Finals, followed by the awards ceremony, will take place on at 2pm on Saturday, September 24 at the Romanesque church in Froville

 

Two accompanying harpsichordists will be made available to the singers during their rehearsals and for their semi-final and final performances.
Applicants may be accompanied at their own expense by a musician of their choice.
For applicants who have passed through to the finals, the day and time of the qualifying round of performances (as well as the rehearsal schedule) will be communicated to each by email. Applicants receiving these notifications should confirm receipt of this notification by email.
The order in which applicants sing during the Semi-final and Final stages will be determined by the Organizing Committee. Any changes to the dates and timing of events will be posted on the Competition website: www.concours‐chant‐baroque.com

 

The jury
The jury panel will include professionals who are internationally renowned experts in music from the Baroque and Classical periods.
If an applicant has been a student of one of the members of the jury, that jury member is obliged to inform the other members of the jury.
The decisions of the jury are final and cannot be appealed. By participating in the competition, each applicant undertakes to accept decisions made by the jury and not contest these decisions.
 

Prizes

The winners of the competition will be provided with accommodation by the Competition Organizers beginning the day before their performances up to the morning of September 25.

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All prizes will be awarded on Sunday, September 24

First Prize: € 3,000
Second Prize: € 2,000
Third Prize: € 1,000

Public Prize: € 500

 

Prix Génération Opéra of 1000 €, in support of the young baroque opera generation, presented by Matthieu Rietzler, member of Génération Opéra (formerly Centre Français de Promotion Lyrique)

New partnership: Gemelli Factory Prize (recording of a digital EP with Ensemble Gemelli)

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One winner of the competition may be invited to perform with the Concert de l’Hostel Dieu conducted by Franck-Emmanuel Comte (www.concert‐hosteldieu.com)
One of the winners may be invited to perform with Ensemble I Gemelli conducted by Emiliano Gonzalez Toro & Mathilde Etienne (www.gemelli-factory.com)
 
 
The jury may decide, if justified by the quality of the performances, not to award any prizes.
 
General Rules and Regulations of the Competition
The Association, or any other representatives appointed thereby, reserves the right to photograph, film or reproduce in any form the performances of the applicants throughout the duration of the competition and all associated events. By accepting the rules of the competition, applicants agree to transfer all rights of reproduction to the Association.
In the event of a complaint or litigation arising from these rights or other aspects of the competition, only the French version of these Regulations shall be legally binding. The Organizing Committee reserves the right to modify the rules of the Competition if the Association deems such changes are necessary for technical or organizational purposes. The Organizing Committee has full
authority to make changes to the rules of the Competition should extenuating circumstances require it to do so. The Association reserves the right to cancel the Competition for any reason beyond its control and without compensating applicants for costs or other loss incurred as a result.
Participation in the Competition implies full acceptance of these rules.
 
Please note that only the transport costs to Froville will be paid by the candidate. Accommodation and meals will be provided by the host family.