Int`l competition of opera singers to open in St Petersburg.

St PETERSBURG, November 23 (Itar-Tass) - St Petersburg is playing host
to the 4 International Competition of Operatic Singers.
Titled 'St Petersburg', this competition will be held in the Smaller
Hall of the world-famous St Petersburg Philharmonic Society.
The panel of judges is chaired by Irina Bogachova, a long-time prima
donna of the Mariinsky theater and a veteran of the Russian operatic stage.
This contest has some specific features related to the host city and
its expansive musical tradition. For instance, the participants will be
expected to perform a romance to the lyrics of a poet who lived in St
Petersburg, and a special prize will be awarded for a romance to Alexander
Pushkin's lyrics.
The requirements for the second round include a vocal miniature by a
St Petersburg composer and in the final round the contestants will be
expected to perform an opera aria by one of the many Russian composers who
lived in this city.
Other elements of the contest are quite traditional for operatic
competitions.
The winners will be named at a gala concert in the Philharmonic
Society's Grand Hall December 2.
Applications for participation have been filed by about 150 performers.
The qualification requirements say that a participant should be an
opera or chamber singer who is a graduate or an undergraduate of a school
of higher musical education.
Apart from Irina Bogachova, the panel of judges includes Galina
Vishnevskaya, Galina Pisarenko and Sergei Leiferkus /representing Russia/,
Virgilius Noreika of Lithuania, Alexandrina Milcheva, Carmen Balthrop of
the U.S., as well as musical producers from Metropolitan Opera, Pittsburgh
Opera, the IMG corporation, and leading European performing agencies.
Auditions of the first and second rounds and master classes will held
on the premises of the St Petersburg Conservatory. Admission will be free
of charge.
-0-kle