Guide for Applicant

    Preliminary Audition

    Application Instructions

The 6th Shizuoka International Opera Competition

The Shizuoka International Opera Competition aims to discover young talented musicians and give a boost to their careers in the field of vocal music. It also hopes to contribute to the world-wide promotion of Shizuoka's culture through international cultural exchange. In commemoration of the diva, MIURA Tamaki*, profoundly related to Shizuoka Prefecture, the Competition has been held every three years since 1996, the 50th year after her death.

＊MIURA Tamaki
MIURA Tamaki is regarded as the very first Japanese soprano to achieve world renown. She played the title role in the opera, Madama Butterfly, and the number of her performances around the world reached more than 2,000. The composer, Puccini, greatly admired Ms. Miura, stating that it seemed Madama Butterfly had been written for her. Ms. Miura's parents and husband were Shizuoka natives and she herself had once lived in this prefecture.

Conductor： GENDA Shigeo

Orchestra： Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra

WATABE Sachiyo

The Secretariat for the Executive Committee of the Shizuoka International Opera Competition
Shizuoka University of Art and Culture
2-1-1 Chuo, Naka-ku, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka-ken, 430-8533, JAPAN
TEL: 81-53-457-6446 / FAX: 81-53-457-6447
E-mail opera@suac.ac.jp
Website http://www.suac.ac.jp/opera/

Act City Hamamatsu Main Hall (111-1 Itaya-machi, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka-ken, Japan) , and others

Age 33 or younger (Limited to applicants born on or after November 12, 1977.)

1. Application form
   Application forms can be downloaded from official website of Shizuoka International Opera Competition.
   (http://www.suac.ac.jp/opera/)
• ・[the other address] Write a secondary contact address where you can be contacted by the Secretariat if
  you are away from your home or primary address.
• ・[the category of competition background] Write 《Opera》,《Lied》, or《Oratorio》.


2. Three glossy photographs taken within six months of the date of application
   (4cm x 5cm, front view of head and shoulders, with your name printed on the back, one photo to be attached to application form)
• ・Photographs may also be submitted in digital data format (at least 300 dpi; print name on label of CD-ROM).
• ・Photographs should be free from copyright.
• ・Photographs submitted are to appear in the official program and other advertisement media.


3. Identification
   Copy of your passport or other official documentation that proves your name, nationality and date of birth



4. CD recording (MD or Cassette tape also acceptable) of two arias for preliminary audition and the recording certificate. For more information on preliminary audition, see Preliminary Audition for details.



5. List of pieces to be judged
   Observe the following guidelines when completing this list (see the attached example)
• [1] There must be one 《self-chosen aria》for the 1st round , four《proposed arias》, and one 《self-chosen aria》for the finals. Each of these six arias must be different.
• [2] The《self-chosen role》for the 2nd round must be selected from the list of self-chosen roles for the 2nd round.
• [3] The six arias mentioned in [1] must be different from any of the arias of the《self-chosen role》for the 2nd round.
• [4] Six registered arias (《self-chosen arias》and《proposed arias》) and aria(s) sung by《self-chosen role》must include arias sung in at least 2 different languages.
• [5] Oratorios and concert arias cannot be accepted.
• [6] The name of the composer, opera, aria, role and lyrics from where the performance starts must be written in the original language. he key and the time length must also be given.
• [7] Pieces to be judged cannot be changed once they are submitted to the Secretariat.


6. Piano scores for accompanist
   Piano scores of one《self-chosen aria》for the 1st round and four《proposed arias》should be submitted.
   The piano scores are not required if contestants are accompanied by their own accompanist.



7. Checklist of application materials / Questionnaire

*Submitted application materials will not be returned to the applicants.

The Secretariat for the Executive Committee of the Shizuoka International Opera Competition
Shizuoka University of Art and Culture
2-1-1 Chuo, Naka-ku, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka-ken, 430-8533, Japan

Saturday, January 1 through Saturday, April 30, 2011.
Please note that all application materials MUST BE RECEIVED BY APRIL 30, 2011.

The results of the preliminary audition shall be mailed to all the applicants by Sunday, June 26, 2011.

Applicants who have received the notification of acceptance as a result of the preliminary audition must wire an application fee of 20,000JPY to the designated bank account by Monday, August 8, 2011. The details of the bank account shall be enclosed in the notification of acceptance. Any wiring fees charged by the bank must be paid by the applicant.The application fee is not refundable for any reason.

Contestants who need to acquire a visa to enter Japan must apply for the visa at their nearest Japanese embassy. If a certificate of invitation is required for the visa application, contestants must immediately notify the Secretariat of this need.

The Secretariat will provide official competition accompanists.
Contestants are allowed to bring their own accompanists.

The schedule of contestants' performances will be determined by random drawings.

Contestants' surnames will be listed in alphabetical order. For each round, a starting letter will be drawn at random and the order of contestants' performances will begin from the first surname beginning with that letter.
Each contestant will be notified of his/her 1st round performance date along with the results of the preliminary audition.

Finalists themselves participate in the drawing in order to determine their performance schedule.

1.Piano rehearsals with the conductor are scheduled for Friday, November 18th.

2.The orchestral rehearsals are scheduled in the Main Hall for Saturday, November 19th.

Each contestant will be provided a rehearsal room with a piano for 60 minutes a day, free of charge, starting two days prior to his/her very first performance.

The Adjudication process of the competition adopts the judging committee's adjudication guidelines.

The contestant shall perform one《self-chosen aria》and one《proposed aria》. The Judging committee specifies which《proposed aria》to be performed by the contestant on the day of the 1st round (total of 2 arias).

*The time length required to perform the two arias must be within ten minutes. If the performance takes more than ten minutes, contestants should make his/her   performance shorter by omitting some parts of the arias.

*Contestants can decide the order of the two arias.

The contestant shall perform a part/parts of the《self-chosen role》. The judging committee specifies which part(s) to be performed by the contestant from among the whole opera score after the 1st round. Contestants CANNOT choose which part(s) of the《self-chosen role》to perform.

*If a part/parts involving a duet is assigned, the contestant shall perform his/her part only.

The contestant shall perform one《self-chosen aria》and one《proposed aria》. The judging committee specifies which《proposed aria》to be performed by the contestant after the 2nd round (total of two arias).

*Contestants can decide the order of the two arias.

*When impossible for the Secretariat to get hold of the orchestral scores for the《self-chosen aria》and the 《proposed aria》to be performed on the finals,   contestants may be asked beforehand to make a change in their repertoire.

（1）All performances must be presented from memory in the original key and language. The particular arias that are customarily sung in a different key and language may be exempted from the above-mentioned rule.

　　【Ex】Barbiere di Siviglia by Rossini
　　　　　Rosina's aria from Act 1
　　　　　Una voce poco fa: originally written in E major but customarily sung in F major
　　　　　Martha by Flotow
　　　　　Lionel's aria from Act 3
　　　　　M'appari,tutt'amor: originally written in German but customarily sung in Italian

（2）The judging committee reserves the right to end contestants' performances in the case of critical / hazardous situations.

（3）Every stage of this competition is open to the public.

The finalists who win the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes are defined as the official prize winners. Each remaining finalist will receive a Finalists prize of 400,000 Japanese yen.

1st prize : 3,000,000 JPY
2nd prize : 1,500,000 JPY
3rd prize : 750,000 JPY
Finalists prize : 400,000 JPY

*All prize amounts shall be subject to taxation in compliance with Japanese tax laws.
*When the same prize is awarded to more than one finalist, the prize money may be equally divided among the prize winners and finalists.

A special scholarship for the purpose of further education overseas will be granted to a distinctly talented contestant from among Japanese nationals.

Special gifts donated by certain groups or individuals who agree with the mission of this competition may be given to finalists.

The winners of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes as well as the MIURA Tamaki Special Prize are required to appear in the prizewinners' concerts without further compensation.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at the Concert Hall Shizuoka (Aoi-ku, Shizuoka-shi)
Thursday, November 24, 2011 at Kioi Hall (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)

Accommodation and travel expenses will be fully covered.

The Secretariat shall provide the financial aid to the contestants as specified below. The amount of financial aid depends on the contestant's country of residence when the notification of acceptance is received.

1. 30,000 JPY per contestant residing in the region of Asia
2. 80,000 JPY per contestant residing outside of the region of Asia

*For Japanese contestants residing overseas, half of the above mentioned amount will be provided.

*The financial aid shall be given after any necessary taxes are deducted according to the Japanese tax laws.

No aid will be provided.

The applicable amounts of financial aid will be given to contestants in person before the 1st round begins.

As long as contestants stay at the accommodation facilities specified by the Secretariat, their room charge will be covered by the Secretariat based on the following guidelines.
(Please note that this aid will not be applied to contestants' own accompanists.)

(1) For contestants of the 1st round:
Two days prior to contestants' very first performance date through Tuesday, Nov. 15, 10:00 AM.

(2) For contestants of the 2nd round:
Two days prior to contestants' very first performance date through Friday, Nov. 18, 10:00 AM.

(3) For finalists:
Two days prior to contestants' very first performance date through Monday, Nov. 21, 10:00 AM.

The Secretariat will make no liability or warranty for any type of physical, mental, emotional or material damage or loss caused by, or experienced by contestants during the period of the competition or in regard to anything related to the competition.

The host organization reserves the right to make additions, corrections or changes to the clauses in the application rules even after the publication of the official application guides.

The host organization reserves the right to use any recording or video made or photograph taken during the competition and prizewinners' concerts. No compensation will be granted to any contestant with respect to the use,sale or distribution of these materials in print, broadcasting, streaming or any other media formats.

Any problems arising from or related to these Guidelines shall be settled in accordance with the Japanese version of the Guidelines and the laws of Japan.

In the case of any situation not stated in the application guide, contestants are to submit to the decision of the host organization.

The preliminary audition shall be done by way of CD (or MD, or cassette tape) submitted by the applicants. Please follow the guidelines below.

（1）Two arias (Oratorios and concert arias cannot be accepted.)

（2）Arias must be presented in the original key and language.The only exceptions are arias that are traditionally sung in a different key or language from the original score.

（3）The arias for the preliminary audition may overlap with the arias from your competition repertoire.

（1）Two arias (Oratorios and concert arias cannot be accepted.)

（2）)The recording of the applicant's performance of two arias must be made on one CD (or MD or cassette tape).(More than one recording should not be provided.)
＊Do not record anything but two arias written on the recording certificate.

（3）When recorded on cassette tape, both arias must be on one side of the cassette tape.

（1）The names of the composers and the titles of operas and arias must be written in the original language.

（2）The order of the titles must reflect that of the audio recordings themselves.

（3）As for the place of recording, give specific names of buildings, facilities, and institutions.

（4）The certificate must be signed by someone other than the applicant him/herself.

Applicants must carefully review recordings to insure good sound quality before submitting. Recordings with poor quality may not be accepted.

Please make sure of the following points before submitting application materials. The applications must be RECEIVED BY APRIL 30, 2011. This is not a postmark deadline.

1. Audio recordings must be carefully packed in order to avoid damage during mail delivery.

2. Applications must be made individually. (One envelope must not contain application materials of more than one applicant.)

3. Applicants residing overseas are requested to mail the application materials early enough to allow them to arrive in the office by the deadline. Please note that mail may sometimes be delayed due to customs procedures.

4. Applicants are responsible for keeping copies of the application form and the List of Pieces to be Judged.

5. Please notify us of any changes in your contact information or addresses.