Young Voices Alpe Adria (YVAA)

International Vocal Competition

“Musikverein offers young singers a prestigious platform for a week to showcase their talents. The large number of entries speaks to the Musikverein’s national significance.”

(Michael Nemeth, Artistic Director of the Musikverein Graz)

For years, Musikverein Graz has been committed to providing a stage for young talent. In 2024, a new singing competition for singers aged 20 to 28 was therefore launched in cooperation with the Johann Joseph Fux Conservatoire. The competition, which is explicitly geared towards young talent and their targeted development, takes place every two years at the Johann Joseph Fux Conservatory in Graz and is aimed at singers seeking the opportunity to present themselves to interested professionals and the public. Individuality and artistic expression are key. The choice of repertoire is deliberately left to the young performers so that they can best showcase their artistic direction. The competition is open to singers in the age categories 20–24 and 24–28.

The first edition of the Young Voices Alpe Adria (YVAA) international singing competition took place at the end of August 2024 and attracted considerable interest right from the start. Fifty-four singers from 23 countries performed a range of works, from art songs to opera and musicals. The distinguished jury, chaired by Prof. Mario Steller, included conductors Svetoslav Borisov and Michael Güttler, and artistic directors Florin Estefan (Romanian National Opera), Roland Ott (Brandenburg State Orchestra) and Piotr Sulkowski (Krakow Opera).

Der nächste Wettbewerb 2026

The second edition of the competition will take place at the end of August 2026. Singers from all over the world who were born between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2006 are eligible to apply.

Further information: youngvoices@musicproductions.net

Schedule

Until 10 June 2026: Submission of applications via video

From 20 June 2026: Announcement of shortlisted participants

25 & 26 August 2026, 11am–7pm: Auditions in Graz (max. 60 participants)

27 August 2026, 10.30 am–7 pm: Semi-finals in Graz (max. 20 participants)

28 August 2026, 10.30 am–2 pm: Finals in Graz

28 August 2026, 4.30–6.30 pm: Awards ceremony & final concert in Graz

Auditions and the final concert will take place in Graz at the Johann Joseph Fux Conservatory (Nicolaigasse 2, 8020 Graz).

Applications

Singers from all over the world who were born after 1 January 1997 and before 31 December 2006 are eligible to apply.

Category A: 1 January 1997–31 December 2001 (age group 24–29)

Category B: 1 January 2002 – 31 December 2006 (age group 20–24)

Please submit the following with your application:

a copy of your valid identity document (passport, ID card, etc.)
your repertoire, which you would like to sing in the competition
a portrait photograph (with photo credits)
a CV (tabular format, max. 1 page)
3 video links, including 1 German song

Please send applications in digital format only to this address: youngvoices@musicproductions.net

Submit your application

Registration Young Voices 2026

This is what became of the participants from 2024

Singers of 2024 and their development

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

There is no registration fee.

Participants are responsible for organising and paying for their own travel and accommodation. This also applies to the necessary travel documents, visas and travel insurance.

Participants may bring their own piano accompanists at their own expense. For piano accompanists provided on site, a fee of €30.00 is payable per competition round, which must be paid in cash and in advance to the competition organisers on site.

The competition is open to the public. By participating in the competition, entrants expressly consent to the publication of the individual rounds in any form (including the video preliminary round). This consent expressly includes a waiver of any claim for compensation for any publications (photographs, text, video, audio).

The jury’s decisions are final and irrevocable. No legal recourse is available.

REPERTOIRE

The full repertoire must be submitted before the competition begins. The jury reserves the right, in exceptional cases, to remove pieces from the repertoire and have them replaced with new ones. The order of the competition programme may be determined by the participants themselves. All pieces must be performed from memory.

Preliminary selection (video):

2 arias of your own choice and
1 song from the German lieder repertoire of the 19th century or the first half of the 20th century (e.g. Brahms, Berg, Mahler, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann, Strauss, Wolf).

Please submit links to previously published recordings. The recordings must be accessible on a freely accessible platform (e.g. YouTube). Due to time constraints, the A’ section of a Baroque aria may be omitted.

Round 1:

1 aria from an opera, operetta, oratorio, cantata or musical of your own choice and
1 song from the German song repertoire of the 19th century or the first half of the 20th century (e.g. Brahms, Berg, Mahler, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann, Strauss, Wolf)

Pieces from the video pre-selection may be presented (in part or in full). The total performance should not exceed 10 minutes. If necessary, please shorten it at your own discretion.

Semi-final

2 arias from an opera, oratorio, cantata, operetta or musical of your choice
No works from the repertoire sung up to this round may be performed. The total performance must not exceed 20 minutes.

Final