FOUNDATION OPERA WORLD STAGE FOR YOUNG CLASSICAL TALENTS

Tomorrow’s opera sin­gersand clas­sical musi­cians live their dreams who­le­he­ar­tedly. On their ambi­tious path, which is often cha­rac­te­rized by pri­vation, young opera artists from all over the world can benefit from the foun­dation opera, an inter­na­tio­nally unique pro­mo­tional platform wlth many links to renowned music experts. The annual classic night, the high­light of the one-week master class con­ducted by star tenor fran­cisco araiza, serves asthe main event.

What once started as a small event … with one pianist, one tenor and around 30 guests, has deve­loped into an exclusive event with inter­na­tional signi­fi­cance over the past eight years, and is now held in high regard by experts. So in order to do justice to the increased pro­fes­sio­nalism and the com­mitment of all those involved, the Swiss Foundation Opera in Zurich was estab­lished in January 2011‑a non­profit and tax-exempt orga­nization that can count on the support of many renowned com­panies, Corner Bank Ltd. being one of them. From the beginning, the pro­sperous union of business and culture was based on the fun­da­mental idea of the pro­motion of young talents in the area of clas­sical music, focusing on talented young singers of all voice types. …

What is special about the Foundation Opera’s concept is that it is not based on the prin­ciple of com­pe­tition, as is the case with similar insti­tu­tions. «Here, young artists find an atmo­sphere that does justice to them as opera singers and also to the opera itself,» explains Uwe Nautsch, President of the Foundation Opera, one of the ori­gi­nators of the Classic Night.

«They have to be con­vincing both with their vocal skills and their pre­sen­tation on stage under pro­fes­sional direction, which will ulti­m­ately be of great igni­fi­cance for the overall impression of their inter­pre­tation of an opera role. There are no winners as would be the case in a com­pe­tition; that is not the aim. The young artists who come to us all display excellent qua­lities. It is much more important for them to be able to demonsrrate their talent during rehearsal in front of reco­gnized inter­na­tional music experts for a week, and then prove them­selves in front of the gala audience at the Classic Night. This pro­vides them with inva­luable contacts and opens up highly inte­resting per­spec­tives for their con­ti­nuing edu­cation at renowned opera studios and uni­ver­sities, or even for a role on stage.»
The encoumer wich Francisco Araiza, star tenor, Kammersänger, and pro­fessor at the College of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart, who himself was dis­co­vered by the legendary con­ductor of ehe 20th century, Herbert von Karajan, was a stroke of Juck for the platform’s early years. The native Mexican, one of the most important voices of our time, gained extensive stage expe­rience at the most famous opera houses and has excellent contacts in the world of music. Together with Uwe Nautsch, Francisco Araiza forms the Foundation Opera’s Council and, as a gifted maestro and artistic director, has com­mitted himself to the young talents with great passion. This starts with the worldwide search for and sel­ection of new talent, which is pre­sently carried out via a widely spread inter­na­tional partner network of extra­or­dinary music insti­tu­tions, and includes demanding rehearsals, which are often attended by Francisco Araiza and the Foundation Opera’s president.

Most of the invi­ta­tions can be traced back to the close coope­ration with and recom­men­da­tions from the network; however, the Foundation is also open to indi­vidual requests and con­siders these carefully. Those who are invited to par­ti­cipate in the Classic Night can benefit from Maestro Araiza’s master classes for one week, working on singing tech­niques and the inter­pre­tation of roles. These days are inva­luable to the artists. In addition, they benefit from the attending experts› attention in this short but extremely intensive trial period. Many important steps for future careers have been initiated at the Classic Night, many dis­co­veries have been made during this week. «The Classic Night itself is the reward for all the hard work, a source of great joy for the young people, while the Foundation can thank its pro­moters and guests with this inspiring music event,» explains Uwe Nautsch. The pre­sident of the Foundation Council is con­sidering the pos­si­bility of holding such an event in New York or Beijing, due to its great success and many requests. However, the core, i.e., the Foundation and the Classic Night, will remain in Switzerland, with the coope­ration of many more musi­cally talented indi­vi­duals from all over the world, who are yet to be dis­co­vered and encou­raged to provide num­erous lovers of the opera and clas­sical music with great pleasure through their art. For this they work hard day after day, this is what they live for- a fact that still fills Uwe Nautsch with admi­ration after all these years: » lt is j ust so fasci­nating for me to see these young people strive for perhaps the most meaningful con­quest of them all- the ful­fillment of their dreams.»