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  • 2021 Competition Finalists Revealed!
  • 2021 Competition Semifinalists Announced!31 Young Artists Emerge from Record-Shattering Pool of 500 Applicants
  • Competition Judges for 2021 Semifinals Include Past Prizewinners!Lisa Vroman, Zachary James, Analisa Leaming
  • Judges Announced for 2021 Competition Finals!Victoria Clark, Andy Einhorn, and Mary Beth Peil Will Serve
  • New Rebecca Luker Award Created for Competition!Beloved Broadway Star Served Six Times as Judge
  • Now Available: Lotte Lenya Competition Songbook!16 Songs by Contemporary Writers Augment Repertoire
2021 Competition Finalists Revealed!1 2021 Competition Semifinalists Announced!2 Competition Judges for 2021 Semifinals Include Past Prizewinners!3 Judges Announced for 2021 Competition Finals!4 New Rebecca Luker Award Created for Competition!5 Now Available: Lotte Lenya Competition Songbook!6

 

The latest on the 2021 Lotte Lenya Competition:

  • The Final Round will take place in person on Saturday, 28 August 2021 in either Rochester, NY or New York City and will be livestreamed worldwide at www.kwf.org/LLC. The finals presentation will also be broadcast on OperaVision beginning in September.

  • In recognition of the exceptional level of talent displayed by this year's contestants, and the ongoing professional and financial challenges posed by the global pandemic, each participating finalist will receive a minimum award of $2,000, while non-advancing semifinalists were awarded $1,000 each.

About

In 1998, to honor the centenary of the birth of Lotte Lenya (1898-1981), an extraordinary singer/actress and one of the foremost interpreters of the music of her husband, Kurt Weill (1900-1950), the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music established an annual Lotte Lenya Competition.

The Lotte Lenya Competition recognizes talented singer/actors of all nationalities, ages 19-32, who are dramatically and musically convincing in repertoire ranging from contemporary Broadway scores to opera/operetta, including the works of Kurt Weill.

Total prizes exceed $75,000; individual prizes range from $500 (semi-finals) to $20,000 (finals). First round prizes include $500 “Emerging Talent” awards and $500 to non-advancing semifinalists.

“No vocal contest better targets today’s total-package talents.” — Opera News, August 2014

 

LLC 2020 finals program thumbnail

Click thumbnail to view full program (PDF)

 

LLC poster thumbnail

Click thumbnail to view full poster (PDF)

 

2021 Competition Dates

  • Application open 1 September 2020
  • Applications & audition videos due 16 February 2021
  • Semifinal audition videos 8 April 2021
  • Final auditions 28 August 2021

Eligibility

Open to singer/actors of all nationalities, ages 19–32 (born after 10 April 1988 and before 17 February 2002).

Repertoire

Contestants must prepare four contrasting selections, total duration not to exceed 15 minutes:

  • A theatrical selection (any genre) by Kurt Weill;
  • A song from a musical written before 1968;
  • A song from a musical written in/after 1968;
  • A selection from an opera or operetta.

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Questions? We’re here to help! Check our FAQ, or contact us at ; (212) 505-5240. Contact competition staff directly:

Brady Sansone, Director of Programs and Business Affairs: , (212) 505-5240 x204
Veronica Chaffin, Manager of Programs and Business Affairs: , (212) 505-5240 x201

© 2020 The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music. All rights reserved.