Competitions › Blue Danube International Opera Conducting Competition
Blue Danube International Opera Conducting Competition
Next edition
No future edition is announced on the official pages we could check.
Overview
International opera conducting competition run by the Vienna-based Blue Danube Musikimpresario; the 9th edition (2023) was held with the State Opera Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. Open to conductors of any age; current or former chief/music directors of professional opera companies and previous prizewinners are excluded. Limited to 39 participants.
- Organiser
- Blue Danube Musikimpresario GmbH (Vienna)
- Instruments
- Conducting
- Category
- Orchestral conducting
- Age limits
- No minimum or maximum age
Rules & repertoire
Registration & fee
Application form and CV by e-mail or post, plus recent conducting video examples; EUR 50 application fee. Accepted candidates pay a EUR 325 deposit and EUR 620 balance (total EUR 995).
Rounds & time limits
- Round I: up to 39 conductors, 30 min each (Die Zauberflöte and Rigoletto excerpts)
- Round II: 12 conductors, 60 min each (Tosca)
- Round III: 4 conductors, 90 min each; gala and award ceremony
Repertoire
2023: Verdi Rigoletto, Mozart Die Zauberflöte, Puccini Tosca (original languages).
Jury & prizes
Jury
- Elena Casella (president)
- Ivaylo Krinchev (Round I)
- Larry Newland
- Cristian Sandu
- Concetta Anastasi (Round II)
- Gergely Kesselyak (Round III)
Prizes
- 1st-3rd prizes
- Guest-conducting engagements with partner opera houses and orchestras (e.g. Hungarian Opera Cluj-Napoca, Opera Brasov, State Opera Stara Zagora) at standard fees
Past editions
- 2023 — State Opera Stara Zagora, Bulgaria (14-21 September 2023) source
1st: David Schlager (Austria); 2nd: Geoffrey Loff (USA); 3rd: Justin Pambianchi (Italy/Canada); Jury special prize: Youngtae Park (South Korea)
Summarised from official sources, last checked 11 Nov 2026. Main source