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4rd Hans Staud Music Prize
8-19 November 2025, Vienna
COMPETITION RULES, GUIDELINES AND CONDITIONS

The 4th Hans Staud Music Prize for Singing with a focus on opera and operetta will take place for the fourth time this year.
All singers born after 19 November 1990 are eligible to enter the competition
Repeated participation in the competition is possible.

Jury 2024 (final concert)
MARIO STÖCKEL, Managing Director of artist agency ‘MACB’, jury chair
GÜNTHER GROISSBÖCK, opera singer
JOHANNA HERBST, Managing Director of the artist agency ‘Herbst Artists’
KATRIN KÖNIG, Opera Director Landestheater Salzburg
CHRISTINE MARQUARDT, Artistic Director of the Klagenfurt Municipal Theatre
Prof. CLAUDIA VISCA, University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna
XENIA HOFMANN, Head of Casting and Planning, Zurich Opera House
Prof. KS DANIELA FALLY, University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna; Director klassik.klang Berndorf
Further jury members will be announced during the registration phase

Selection of pieces
Five arias must be prepared for the competition. The selection is the responsibility of the participants and must be announced upon registration. The submitted selection is binding, subsequent changes are no longer possible.

There are no restrictions on the choice of pieces, as long as they are from the opera or operetta repertoire. For the sake of good order, please note that „Lieder“ (art songs) are not permitted in the selection of pieces.

Period and procedure
Preliminary round: Vienna (Musikquartier 1060, Mariahilfer Straße 52); Saturday, 8 and Sunday, 9 November 2025 (all day)

Final concert: Josephinum, 1090 Vienna, 19 November 2025 (evening)

Preliminary round
In the preliminary round, 2 pieces with piano accompaniment must be performed in front of a small jury (incl. jury chairperson). One piece will be selected in advance by the jury, the second piece can be freely chosen by the participant.

The participants of the final concert will be announced on 10 November 2025 by 22:00 at the latest.

The jury chairman will select two pieces per participant from the five pieces submitted for the final concert. The pieces will be performed in two rounds. The order of the pieces will be determined by the jury chairperson; the selected pieces will be announced in the course of the notification of participation in the final on 10 November 2025.

Prizes
1st prize € 3,000
2nd prize € 2,000
3rd prize € 1,000
Audience Award
all prizes donated by Dkfm. Hans Staud Privatstiftung

Rehearsal rooms (preliminary round)
Rehearsal rooms will be made available in the preliminary round

Piano accompaniment (preliminary round) and ensemble accompaniment (final concert)
In the preliminary round, accompanists will be assigned to the participants. Alternatively, participants may bring their own accompanist. In this case, this will be at the participant’s expense.
For the final concert there will be a dress rehearsal with conductor and ensemble on the day of the concert. The ensemble consists of violin, viola, violoncello, double bass, harp, accordion, flute (including piccolo), clarinet and horn.
The arrangements of the submitted pieces will be made in the run-up to the competition.

Audio and video documentation
The competition may be recorded by video or audio or documented photographically for archiving and documentation purposes. All participants undertake in their registration not to make any legal claims when using these media for PR and press purposes, provided they are not of a commercial nature.

Application and pre-selection
The pre-selection of participants will be made by a small jury (including the jury chairperson) based on the documents submitted. Notification of participation in the competition will be sent by e-mail by 15 September 2025 at the latest.

Participants agree that their personal data may be passed on to the jury members for information purposes by the competition organisation.

Participants agree that their artistic CV and photo will be printed in a program booklet if they reach the final round.

By submitting the dated and signed registration form, participants confirm that they have read and accepted the competition conditions.

Online registration
Registration for the 4th Hans Staud Music Prize is only possible via the website www.hs-mp.at from Monday, 26 May to Monday, 25 August 2025.

The following documents/data must be uploaded via the website as part of the registration process

• an artistic curriculum vitae
• a scan of an official photo ID
• a photo in high resolution (300 dpi)
• the competition repertoire list
• two live video recordings via weblink

Registration fee
€ 49,- (Last date for receipt of payment: 26 August 2025)
The registration fee will not be refunded! This also applies if the applicant is not admitted to the first round.

Bank details:
Dkfm. Hans Staud Private Foundation
BAWAG
IBAN: AT861400003610166538
BIC: BAWAATWW
Reason for payment: HSMP 20245/ Name of participant

Travel expenses
Travelling to and from the event is your own responsibility. Travelling and accommodation costs are to be borne by the participant.
Finalists who do not receive a cash prize will be provided with a one-off travel allowance of EUR 150 after the final concert.

Contact
Contact by mail to hsmp@stauds.com