20th Edition

The 20^th Festival will take place in Tirana on March 27^th, 28^th, and 29^th, 2024.

Regulations: 

• The Festival is open to participants from all countries between 20 to 34 years old.

• The applications for the selection phase should be submitted via email at operafestalbania@gmail.com and include the following materials: 2 big arias (in audio or video format) which the applicants are free to select from their own repertoire, Curriculum Vitae, and two artistic pictures. The online sources where their materials are uploaded must be specified in the application message. These online sources can be Dropbox, Google Drive, the applicant’s websites, or other online links. All the applications should reach the organizers of the Festival no later than February 13^th. The notification on the outcome of the selection process will be made no later than February 15^th, 2024. 

• Among the applicants, the Festival will select  the semi finalists who will come to Tirana to compete in the next phases.

• The organizers will cover the travel and accommodation expenses for all participants selected to the semi final phase.

• The participants selected to the semi final phase of the Festival will pay an entry fee of 150 Euro.

• The participants selected to the semi final phase must arrive in Tirana one week before the Festival, in order to arrange piano and orchestra rehearsals with the conductor, and the stage mise-en-scènes with the stage director, as required (details can be agreed upon separately on individual bases).

• The selected participants will go through two stages of competition: 

• The semifinal stage which will take place on March 27^th and 28^th. On the first day,  March 27^th the semifinal participants will appear before the Jury only with their first aria. The next day March 28^th, they will appear before the Jury and the public on a live TV broadcast with their second aria.

• The final stage will take place on March 29^th. The top 8 semi finalists will be the finalists who will compete in the final with one aria selected between the two ones they have presented in the semifinal. The names of the finalists will be announced in the morning of the day of the final.

• The prize winners will be announced at the end of the final. During the time that the Jury will make the selection of prize winners, the Festival will continue with its unofficial part of show.

• In addition to the competition of arias, there will also be a competition of classic songs (more details on this will be announced after the semifinalists to the Festival are notified).

• On both stages, semifinal and final, singers will perform their arias with the Symphonic Orchestra of the National Radio-Television.

Prizes: 

• First Prize “Marie Kraja”                          5 000 Euro
• Second Prize                                             4 000 Euro
• Third Prize                                                 3 000 Euro
• Song Prize                                                 1 000 Euro

Jury:

• The Jury will be international. The ballot of the Jury is secret, and its decisions are final.

• The Jury will meet after each stage to make the judgment. A ranking of the singers will be drawn up to make possible the selection of finalists, and the selection of  Prize winners.

• The Jury members will judge individually each singer in competition based on a system of points which ranges from 1 to 10. A final evaluation sheet with names will be signed by the Jury at the end.

• The Jury of the 20^th Festival is the following: 

• Ms. Cecilia Gasdia, General Manager and Artistic Director of Arena di Verona Foundation
• Ms. Zana Çela, Founder of the International Opera Festival “Marie Kraja”, Tirana
• Mr. Alessandro Ariosi, President of “Ariosi Artists Management”, Los Angeles
• Mr. Christoph Seuferle , Director of the Deutsche Oper of Berlin
• Mr. Tobias Hasan, Director of the Staatsoper Unter Den Linden of Berlin
• Ms. Karen Stone, Director General of “Opera Europa”, Brussels
• Ms. Julia Lagahuzère, Director General of “Opera for Peace”, Paris
• Ms. Ervis Gega, Artistic Director of the Foundation Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz
• Mr. John Allison, Editor of the Opera Magazine, London 
• Ms. Vikena Kamenica, first soloist of the National Theatre of Opera of Albania

Information:

• Any questions about the competition can be submitted at  operafestalbania@gmail.com
• For more information about our past festival, juries, winners, etc. please explore this website and you can find all the details, videos, photos, and others.