Ruggero Leoncavallo International Voice Competition

The Association of Friends and Supporters of the Ruggero Leoncavallo Museum, in collaboration with the Ruggero Leoncavallo Museum in Brissago and the institutional partners of the event, hereby announces the first edition of the Ruggero Leoncavallo International Voice Competition.

The Competition aims to:

• promote the knowledge and appreciation of Ruggero Leoncavallo's operatic and vocal works;
• support young opera singers at the beginning of their professional careers;
• encourage artistic exchange among performers from different cultural backgrounds;
• promote the cultural heritage of Brissago, a place closely associated with the composer's final years;
• provide concrete artistic development opportunities through prizes, concert engagements, and professional collaborations.

The Competition will take place in Brissago, Switzerland.

Schedule:

• 30 September 2026: deadline for applications and submission of videos for the preliminary selection;
• 15 October 2026: announcement of candidates admitted to the Semi-final;
• 21 November 2026: Semi-final;
• 22 November 2026: Final Round and Award Ceremony.

The Organising Committee reserves the right to modify the schedule if required for organisational reasons.

The Competition is open to opera singers of all nationalities.
Applicants must not have reached their 36th birthday by 21 November 2026.
All voice categories are eligible to participate.

Applications must be submitted by 30 September 2026 using the online application form available on the Competition's official website.

The following documents must be attached to the application:

• an up-to-date artistic résumé (CV);
• a copy of a valid identity document or passport;
• a recent high-resolution artistic photograph;
• links to the videos required for the preliminary selection;
• the programme proposed for the Semi-final and the Final.

The Organising Committee reserves the right to request additional documentation.

The entry fee is CHF 50.
The fee is non-refundable, except in the event of cancellation of the Competition by the Organising Committee.

Candidates must submit two unedited video recordings, performed with piano accompaniment and recorded without interruptions or post-production editing:

1. one opera aria in Italian;
2. one Lied, chanson, mélodie, or chamber vocal work.

The Jury will evaluate the submitted materials and select the candidates admitted to the Semi-final.
The Jury's decisions are final and not subject to appeal.

The Semi-final will take place in person in Brissago on 21 November 2026.
The Semi-final will be open to the public.

Candidates shall perform:

1. one work by Ruggero Leoncavallo from the operatic or chamber vocal repertoire;
2. one work in a language other than Italian from the operatic or chamber vocal repertoire;
3. one opera aria in Italian.

The Final will take place in public on 22 November 2026.

Candidates admitted to the Final shall perform a programme including:

1. one work by Ruggero Leoncavallo from the operatic or chamber vocal repertoire, different from the work performed in the Semi-final;
2. one Lied, chanson, mélodie, or chamber vocal work;
3. one work in a language other than Italian from the operatic or chamber vocal repertoire;
4. one opera aria.

Transpositions of the operatic repertoire are not permitted, except where authorised by the publisher or established performance practice.
Transpositions of the chamber vocal repertoire are permitted.

Works performed in the various rounds may be repeated only if requested by the Jury.
The Jury reserves the right to interrupt a performance at any time if deemed necessary for evaluation purposes.

The Organising Committee will provide an official accompanist.
Candidates may perform with the official accompanist at no additional cost or may choose to be accompanied by their own pianist at their own expense.
Instructions regarding the submission of scores will be communicated to candidates admitted to the Semi-final.

The Jury will consist of internationally recognised musicians and distinguished professionals from the field of classical music.
The names of the Jury members will be published on the Competition's official website.
Any Jury member who has an ongoing professional relationship with a candidate shall abstain from evaluating that candidate.
The Jury's decisions are final and not subject to appeal.

The Competition offers a total prize fund of CHF 7,500.

The prizes will be awarded as follows:

• First Prize: CHF 3,000
• Second Prize: CHF 2,000
• Third Prize: CHF 1,000

The following special prize may also be awarded:

• Ruggero Leoncavallo Special Prize: a paid concert engagement at the Ruggero Leoncavallo Museum in Brissago, with a fee of CHF 1,500 for a duo performance.

The Jury reserves the right not to award one or more prizes.

1. Each member of the Jury shall evaluate the candidates by awarding a score on a scale from 0 to 100.
2. The following criteria shall be taken into consideration:

• vocal quality and technical proficiency;
• musicality and interpretative skills;
• stylistic awareness and suitability to the repertoire performed;
• diction and linguistic competence;
• stage presence and communicative ability;
• the overall artistic quality of the programme presented.

3. For each round, the final score shall be the arithmetic mean of the scores awarded by the members of the Jury, excluding any abstentions provided for under these Regulations.
4. To qualify for the Final, candidates must obtain a minimum score of 80/100 in the Semi-final.
5. Prizes shall be awarded on the basis of the score obtained in the Final, according to the following scale:

• First Prize: 95/100 or above;
• Second Prize: 90/100 or above;
• Third Prize: 85/100 or above.

6. In the event of a tie, the Jury shall determine the final ranking by a simple majority vote.
7. The Jury reserves the right not to award one or more prizes if it considers that the artistic standard of the candidates is insufficient.
8. The official records of the Jury's deliberations shall be retained by the Organising Committee. The Jury's decisions are final and not subject to appeal.

Prize winners may be invited to participate in concerts, festivals, opera productions, and other artistic initiatives organised by the Competition or its partners.
Any such engagements shall be agreed upon separately.

The Organising Committee reserves the right to make audio, video and photographic recordings, as well as broadcasts, of all Competition rounds and related events.
Participation in the Competition implies the free and irrevocable assignment of the rights to use such recordings for cultural, promotional, editorial and educational purposes, without limitation as to time or territory.
No remuneration shall be due to participants for such use.

Personal data shall be processed in accordance with the applicable Swiss data protection legislation and shall be used exclusively for purposes related to the organisation and administration of the Competition.

Submission of an application constitutes full acceptance of these Regulations.

For any matter not expressly provided for in these Regulations, the Organising Committee reserves the right to adopt any decisions deemed necessary for the proper conduct of the Competition.
In the event of any dispute concerning the interpretation of these Regulations, the Italian version shall prevail.