Who Can Compete

Opera Birmingham’s Vocal Competition is open to all non-managed singers aged 21-35 (as of the finals on March 17, 2024) who are permanent residents of the United States. Previous first prize winners of the Vocal Competition and artists wtih professional management are ineligible to compete. For more information on Competition procedures, please see our FAQs.

COVID Guidelines

All artists must show proof of full vaccination (and all recommended booster shots) to participate in the Vocal Competition. Contestants will be asked to provide proof of vaccination if invited to participate in the finals.

Full details of our COVID guidelines can be found here. Our protocols my be modified as new information becomes available.

Application

Deadline

January 31, 2024

Contestants will be notified of decisions by February 17, 2024.

Application Procedures

All applications must be submitted through the online application available on Resonance. Information about the competition, including the application link, is also posted on YAP Tracker.

Applications should contain the following:

Professional resume, including performance experience and education information
Professional headshot or recent photo
Proof of age (examples include a copy of driver’s license or birth certificate)
Recordings of two arias with piano accompaniment only (see below for more information)

The application should include a list of five (5) arias the contestant will offer for the Competition.

Arias should represent a variety of languages and styles, and should include at least one selection in English.
Arias must be sung in the original key, and should be sung in the original language.

*Applications that are incomplete as of the deadline will not be considered. Opera Birmingham reserves the right to disqualify contestants for any misrepresentation on their applications. All decisions by Opera Birmingham and its judges are final.

Judges
Keith A. Wolfe-Hughes

General Director, Opera Birmingham

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Prizes

First Prize - The Martha Dick McClung Award

$3,500; plus an invitation to perform a role in a future Opera Birmingham production in the next two years (pending appropriate repertoire)

Second Prize

$2,500

Third Prize

$2,000

Fourth Prize

$1,500

Fifth Prize

$1,000

Audience Favorite - The Jerry and Sis Levin Prize