Competition Regulations
Singers born in 1993 or later are eligible to apply for the 2025 competition. The online application form will be made available here from 1 February – 1 April 2025.
A screening jury evaluates the applications based on the submitted footage. All applicants will be notified by e-mail in May 2025.
Up to 12 candidates in total may be nominated by the competition’s participating opera academies. These candidates will be admitted directly to the preliminary rounds.
To achieve a good geographical spread among the contestants, no more than four candidates of one nationality will be admitted to the preliminary rounds. This does not include any candidates nominated by the competition’s participating opera academies.
To be accepted as an official participant of the Queen Sonja Singing Competition, all invited participants must pay € 200 to the competition’s bank account within the given deadline. In addition, all invited participants who do not have their own pianist must provide clear and easily legible sheet music for their repertoire in the preliminary round and semi-final. The sheet music must be sent by e-mail to the competition within the given deadline.
All participants must be present in Oslo for registration. Participants must be available to participate in all stages of the competition.
Participants will receive a refund of € 100 after the registration in Oslo.
The order of performance in the preliminary rounds will be determined by draw. The draw will take place after the registration in Oslo.
Participants will be provided with free hotel accommodation in Oslo for as long as they remain in the competition.
Piano accompanists will be provided by the competition for the preliminary rounds and semi-final. Candidates are free to bring their own accompanists if they prefer.
All rounds of the competition in Oslo are open to the public.
Practical Information
Accommodation
Participants will be provided with free hotel accommodation in Oslo for as long as they remain in the competition.
Travel
Participants must book and pay for their own travel to and from Oslo.
Practice facilities
Practice rooms at the Norwegian Academy of Music are available free of charge to all participants.
Accompanists
The competition will provide experienced accompanists for all participants in the preliminary rounds and semi-final of the competition. Participants who wish to use their own accompanist may do so.
Copyright
The Queen Sonja Singing Competition reserves the exclusive right to make sound and video recording as well as photographic documentation of the competition, and owns all the rights for this material. Any income arising from such material will be retained by the competition.
Fees
The application fee is €90 and must be paid upon submission of the application.
Successful candidates who are invited to the competition will be required to confirm their acceptance by transferring €200 to the competition’s bank account. The applicant will be accepted officially as a contestant when the competition receives this fee and the requested sheet music. €100 will be returned to candidates after the registration in Oslo.
Sheet music
All invited participants who do not have their own pianist must provide clear and easily legible sheet music for their repertoire in the preliminary round and semi-final. The sheet music must be sent by e-mail to the competition within the given deadline.