Stignani Competition

the stars of tomorrow

DEAR SINGERS,

DEAR APPLICANTS TO STIGNANI COMPETITION 2020,

IT IS WITH GREAT REGRET TO INFORM YOU THAT THIS YEAR´S STIGNANI COMPETITION HAS TO BE POSTPONED TO YEAR 2021.

DUE TO CONTINUED RESTRICTIONS ON PUBLIC GATHERINGS CAUSED BY COVID-19 PANDEMICS, AND IN THE INTEREST OF PUBLIC SAFETY, STIGNANI ORGANIZATION HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO MAKE THIS SAD DECISION. WE HAVE BEEN CLOSELY MONITORING THIS UNPRECEDENTED SITUATION AND WERE HOPEFUL TO PRESENT YOU THE 3RD EDITION OF STIGNANI COMPETITION IN OCTOBER 2020. HOWEVER, IT IS NOW CLEAR THAT IT IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR THIS YEAR’S COMPETITION TO GO AHEAD. IT HAS BEEN A DIFFICULT DECISION TO MAKE, BUT WE BELIEVE IT IS THE BEST ONE CONSIDERING THE PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES. YOUR HEALTH AND SAFETY ARE OUR FIRST PRIORITIES.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING.

WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING AND HEARING YOU NEXT YEAR IN IMOLA AT TEATRO EBE STIGNANI!

YOUR STIGNANI TEAM

ABOUT US

The aim of Stignani Competition is to honor the name of the celebrated leading dramatic mezzosoprano of her time, Ebe Stignani. Hardwork and seeking the technical vocal excellence were the two main pillars in her long and succesfull career. To follow her legacy, the collaboration of the City of Imola and the Internationaler Musikverein Ebe Stignani München, e.V., organize in 2019 the 2nd Stignani Competition.

EBE STIGNANI

Born in Naples in 1903 (some sources cite her year of birth as 1904), Stignani studied music for five years at the San Pietro a Majella Conservatory in Naples, including piano and composition as well as singing.

The date of her singing début is usually said to have been in 1925 at the San Carlo opera house in Naples, in the role of Amneris in Verdi’s Aida, but there is evidence that she may have sung a number of roles in the previous year.

In 1926, she was invited to La Scala Milan by Arturo Toscanini to sing the part of Princess Eboli in Verdi’s Don Carlo, and Milan continued to be a principal stage for her during the rest of her career. She sang all of the major Italian mezzo-soprano roles, but also tackled Wagner’s Ortrud (Lohengrin) and Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde), and Saint-Saëns’s Dalila (Samson et Dalila) conducted by Victor de Sabata.

She retired from the stage in 1958 after appearances in London (as Azucena) and in Dublin (as Amneris). Thereafter, she lived quietly in retirement at her home in Imola. She had married in 1941 and given birth to a son in 1944.

STIGNANI COMPETITION IMOLA

REGULATIONS

Stignani competition is open to all trained singers of classical music or students of voice.
No age limits.
Female and male singers of all nationalities are welcome to apply to Stignani competition.
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REQUIREMENTS

Register 5 opera arias of your own choice.
If you apply for the prize “dramatic voice”, at least one of the registered arias needs to be of dramatic character.