Record-high number of applicants 2021

A fantastic number of 501 singers from 63 nations have applied to take part in this year’s Competition. Thank you for choosing The Queen Sonja International Music Competition as your career partner. For us, this is an honour and a privilege. We wish every one of you the very best of luck.

The pandemic brings a lot of uncertainty around the world. We hope to be a supportive career partner for young talents through the competition.

The Competition aims to help talents to a future career. The participants are, among other things, offered career guidance in our career development session with opera directors, casting directors, agents and PR expertise. QSIMC prizewinners also achieve engagements at Norwegian and international music scenes.

The International screening jury of singers, professors and opera directors will evaluate all applications during April. In early May, 40 singers will be invited to the preliminary rounds.The preliminary rounds will take place digitally on 15. and 16. of June. All applicants will hear from us when the results from the screening jury are in.

Our collaborating opera academies have nominated 12 singers, who will be admitted directly to the preliminary rounds in Oslo:

Bayerische Staatsoper Young Artist Program, Munich

Bolshoi Theatre of Russia Young Artist Program, Moscow

Internationales Opernstudio, Opernhaus Zürich

Jette Parker Young Artists Programme, Royal Opera House, London

Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Metropolitan Opera, New York

Our selection jury:

Karl-Magnus Fredriksson, Court Singer, The Royal Swedish Opera

Karl-Magnus Fredriksson, baritone, is a Lieder, Oratorio, Concert and Opera singer since 1991. He has performed with many of the foremost orchestras and conductors in the world and is a frequent guest in the Nordic countries. Karl-Magnus

Fredriksson has completed numerous performances on TV and Radio and has participated in traditional music programs as well as in productions of contemporary music. In 2004 he was appointed Royal Court Singer and in 2013 he received the Litteris et Artibus medal from His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. He is a member of The Royal Swedish Academy of Music and has worked with the Royal Opera in Stockholm since 1998.

Paul Hopper, Associate Artistic Administrator, Metropolitan Opera

Paul Hopper serves as Associate Artistic Administrator at The Metropolitan Opera where he oversees the casting of supporting roles and covers for roughly twenty-five productions per season. Previously, he was the Assistant Artistic Director at Houston Grand Opera where he assisted in long term artistic planning and casting, managed special artistic initiatives, and guided a variety of audiences in learning more about opera, including numerous events in support of the company’s first Ring Cycle. He has been a guest speaker at the OPERA America Conference, University of Houston, Houston Seminar, Czech Center Houston, and the Houston-Leipzig Sister City Association. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the University of Houston, he also has held positions at the Santa Fe Opera and ADA Artist Management. Paul is a regular judge for numerous international singing competitions.

Dominik Licht, Head of Artistic Department and Head of Casting, Bavarian State Opera

Dominik Licht, born in Munich/Germany, received his B.Mus.in Voice Performance at McGill University, Montreal. After a period of singing in the chorus of the Dresden State Opera (Semperoper) he decided to pursue a career backstage and after different positions at the State Theater Oldenburg, the Theater Bremen, the State Theater Wiesbaden he joined the Komische Oper Berlin (Artistic Director: Barrie Kosky).

In Berlin he worked for three years as the Head of Planning and the Head of the Young Artist Program. In 2019 he joined the Bavarian State Opera as their Head of Artistic Operations and Head of Casting and will perform in the same position at the Salzburg Easter Festival from fall 2021 on.

Mona Julsrud, Professor, vocal department, Norwegian Academy of Music

Mona Julsrud studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music and at the Opera School at the Royal College of Music in London. For nearly three decades she has been one of the most sought-after concert singers in Norway, with a repertoire that spans from early baroque to contemporary. She has performed at festivals all over the world and under conductors such as Frans Bruggen, Philip Herreweghe and Fabio Biondi. Julsrud is professor of singing at the Norwegian Academy of Music

Eytan Pessen, Pianist and vocal coach

Eytan Pessen was opera director of the Semperoper Dresden, casting director of the Stuttgart Opera and artistic consultant to Ruhr2010, Teatro Massimo in Palermo and Teatro San Carlo Napoli. Born in Israel, he studied in Tel-Aviv, Philadelphia and New York, where he started as a coach for the Metropolitan Opera young artists program. Performances as pianist, vocal and piano masterclasses in theaters, concert halls and festivals worldwide, including Frankfurt, Paris, San Francisco, Warsaw, Zurich, Concertgebouw, Wigmore Hall, Carnegie hall, Rheingau, Turku, Miskolc and Wildbad festivals. Jury member of many international voice competitions.