Dundee to host national opera contest

Dundee will host the Young Artists Singing Competition, the first national operatic singing competition to take place in Scotland.

Hosted by Opera Festival Scotland and accompanied by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO), the contest will give young singers the opportunity to sing with a professional orchestra in front of judges, including the head of casting for Scottish Opera and English National Opera (ENO).

The competition, which received more than 100 applications, will take place at the Caird Hall at 3pm on September 25, bringing the three-day festival to a close.

Prizes include a recital performance opportunity with the ENO, a masterclass with conductor Kamal Khan from Opera for Peace, a £1,500 grant from the Wavendon Foundation and the festival trophy.

Master of the Queen’s Music, composer and festival patron Judith Weir will present the prizes.

The festival has been praised for developing this initiative and providing singers with opportunities to perform.

Competition finalists include Ireland’s Susie Gibbons, Colombia’s Julieth Lozano and Jacobo Ochoa, and Ted Black from England.

All the singers have completed studies at music schools and are moving to professional work in the performing arts.

RSNO chief executive Alistair Mackie said: “We can’t wait to be back in the Caird Hall for the first Opera Festival Scotland.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for the RSNO to accompany the finalists performing in the Young Artists Singing Competition, and its brilliant to end the festival programme celebrating emerging talent”.