Froville International Baroque Singing Competition

14th Edition

Repertoires from the Baroque and Classical periods

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Applications are accepted until 2025 April, 30 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 14h edition of the Froville International Baroque Singing Competition will take place on from September 18 to 21, 2025

 
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.
— Documents to be attached for the application to be considered: By internet: a video (youtube, vimeo) less than 12 months old and of excellent quality, including 3 different arias, one of which is a recitative and the other a French aria.
— 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 April 30 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 I GEMELLI.
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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 2025 COMPETITION

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The final with orchestra: For each voice, in the final from the list of compulsory arias:

a) an aria by Johann Sebastian Bach

b) an aria by Vivaldi or Handel (must be the composer not chosen in the semi-final)

c) a 17th-century English or Italian aria (must be different from the one chosen in the semi-final).

 

No transpositions will be allowed in the pieces that each candidate chooses for his or her final round.

 

Please note that the single pitch for the Competition is A = 415 Hz.

 

The finalists will rehearse with the orchestra on Saturday 20 September. Rehearsals will last 50 minutes per candidate.

 

The final with orchestra I GEMELLI : The 6 finalists will choose from these compulsory arias lasting between 15 and 18 minutes:

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​​​​Applicants must submit all musical scores to the applicant’s assigned accompanist (appointed by the Organizing Committee) before July 1, 2025 (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, 2025.
All musical scores must be legible and coherent, should integrate the orchestral reduction when necessary, should avoid modern orhestral 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, 19.
The Finals, followed by the awards ceremony, will take place on at 2pm on Saturday, September 21 at the Romanesque church in Froville

 

Harpsichordist Violaine Cochard will accompany the singers as they make their way through to the semi-final, as well as during rehearsals for the semi-final on 19 September.

For the semi-final, candidates may be accompanied (at their own expense) by a musician of their choice. If this is the case, they must inform the competition management before 1 July.

The day and time of the preliminary round (as well as rehearsal times) will be sent by internet to each preselected singer.

This information, sent by e-mail, will be considered as a summons, and the candidate must acknowledge receipt by return e-mail.

The order in which the candidates will perform in the semi-final and final will be determined by the competition organisers by drawing lots.

Any changes to the schedule will be updated on the competition website https://www.festivaldefroville.com/presentation

 

The jury

 

Francesca Aspromonte, Soprano - President of the Jury

Christophe Ghristi, Director of the Capitole de Toulouse

Veronica Cangemi, Soprano

Jérôme Gay, President of Génération Opéra

Keymon Murah, Countertenor

Maximilien Hondermarck, Artistic Director of the Beaune Festival and former finalist in the Froville competition

Mathilde Etienne, Artistic Director of the Gemelli Factory label

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 22.

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All prizes will be awarded on Sunday, September 21

 

First Prize: € 4,000
Second Prize: € 2,500
Third Prize: € 1,000

Public Prize: € 500

 

Prix Génération Opéra of 1000 €, in support of the young baroque opera generation, presented by Jérome Gay.

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

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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.