About competition
01 Resumption of the Competition
The year 2019 will mark the 40th anniversary since the 1st National Adam Didur Opera Singers’ Competition was organised by the Silesian Opera in Bytom. The current edition is a truly exceptional and jubilee event - it is the tenth edition in the whole history of the Competition and it is the fourth international one.
We return after a seven-year-long break as the last competition took place in 2012. The first edition was organised in 1979. It was Napoleon Siess, at that time the director of the Silesian Opera in Bytom, who came up with the original idea. With the encouragement of Tadeusz Kijonka (then the literary director) and Zygmunt Folga (who would become the first director of the Competition), Siess presented the idea of organising a national cyclical competition for opera singers to the ministerial authorities.
02 The goal of the competition
The event was named after Adam Didur, the first director of the Silesian Opera, maestro of opera stages, teacher and founder of the Silesian opera stage.
The aim of the competition was to present and promote young talented opera singers, to select the most promising ones, to continue organising the event in the Silesian Opera and to promote the vocal art among the subsequent generations of opera lovers.
03 Musical career
The very participation in the Competition is an exceptional favour for the young singers; it opens the door to musical career and the contact with the top class experts sitting on the jury is invaluable.
As the previous editions have shown, after our Competition many laureates get invitations to participate in events and other competitions organised by the most important musical centres all around the world.
04 Details of the competition
The 4th International Adam Didur Opera Singers’ Competition is organised by the Silesian Opera in Bytom with the cooperation of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice.
The Competition will take place from 31st March to 7th April 2019 and is open to singers of all nationalities: graduates and students of music universities and conservatories, secondary schools, to soloists of opera houses and music theatres and members of professional choirs, who, on 01st April 2019, will be below the age of 32.
The opening ceremony of the Competition shall take place on 31st March 2019 at 6pm before the evening performance of “Aida” by G. Verdi.
05 Jury
Renowned Polish and foreign opera singers, conductors, composers and opera directors will be invited to sit on the Jury of the Competition. The Laureates’ Concert will take place on 7th April 2019 at 6 pm in the Silesian Opera in Bytom and its repetition will be held on 9th April 2019 in the Stanisław Wyspiański Silesian Theatre in Katowice.
The established position of the Silesian Opera, its history, world-class artists who debuted here (and the next generation earning their stripes), our present activities, opera performances created with and by the artists and singers or world renown predispose us to organise an event of that importance. We are proud to be promoting young and talented singers.
06 Musical emotions
The Competition is a time of moving and emotional musical meetings, an opportunity to demonstrate that - regardless of the changing reality - the opera music has got universal and timeless value and is admired by yet another generation of music lovers.
The audience is a witness to discovering new, exceptional talents, true stars of international opera stage. We wish this period to be inscribed in the history of the Silesian Opera as an unforgettable time full of the most beautiful impressions.