PromFest
Encyclopedia
Promfest, or The Pärnu Opera Music Festival - is a festival
dedicated to opera
that takes place biannually in the resort town of Pärnu
in Estonia
.
The program of the festival concentrates mostly on young singers, the audience attend four different sections: the Klaudia Taev Competition
for opera singers, opera production, master classes and concerts.
The festival is organized by the PromFest NGO in cooperation with the Endla Theatre in Pärnu. The artistic director of the festival is the conductor Erki Pehk
.
. The first competition was held in 1996, it takes place biannually.
It is the only competition for opera singers in Estonia and one of the leading competitions in the region. Barbara Hendricks
, Yevgeny Nesterenko
, Teresa Żylis-Gara
, and Irina Arkhipova, among others, have been jury members of the Klaudia Taev Competition.
" by Giuseppe Verdi
; in 2005 "The Demon
" by Anton Rubinstein
; in 2007 "Carmen
" by Georges Bizet
; in 2009 "Thaïs
" by Jules Massenet
and in 2011 "Attila
" by Giuseppe Verdi
The opera productions have the winners of previous competitions in the leading roles.
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
dedicated to opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
that takes place biannually in the resort town of Pärnu
Pärnu
Pärnu is a city in southwestern Estonia on the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. It is a popular summer vacation resort with many hotels, restaurants, and large beaches. The Pärnu River flows through the city and drains into the Gulf of Riga...
in Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
.
The program of the festival concentrates mostly on young singers, the audience attend four different sections: the Klaudia Taev Competition
Klaudia Taev Competition
The Klaudia Taev Competition is a competition for young opera singers. It is a main event of the Pärnu Opera Music Festival PromFest. The Competition has been named after an local legendary singing teacher Klaudia Taev...
for opera singers, opera production, master classes and concerts.
The festival is organized by the PromFest NGO in cooperation with the Endla Theatre in Pärnu. The artistic director of the festival is the conductor Erki Pehk
Erki Pehk
Erki Pehk is Estonian conductor, artistic director of opera music festival PromFest.- Career :*1982–1986 studies of piano and choir conducting at the Tallinn Music High School in Tallinn...
.
Competition
The competition for young opera singers is the main event of the festival. It has been named after local singing teacher Klaudia TaevKlaudia Taev
Klaudia Taev was an Estonian Vocal pedagogue.Born into a teacher’s family on the Estonian island of Saaremaa, she studied as an opera singer at the Tallinn Conservatoire, under the tutorage of Aino Tamm, the first professional opera singer in Estonia.During World War II, she taught singing in...
. The first competition was held in 1996, it takes place biannually.
It is the only competition for opera singers in Estonia and one of the leading competitions in the region. Barbara Hendricks
Barbara Hendricks
Barbara Hendricks is an African American operatic soprano and concert singer. Hendricks has lived in Europe since 1977, and in Switzerland on Lake Geneva since 1985, She is a citizen of Sweden.-Early life and education:...
, Yevgeny Nesterenko
Yevgeny Nesterenko
Yevgeny Nesterenko is a renowned Russian operatic bass.Nesterenko's first profession was architecture, graduating from the Engineering and Construction Institute in Leningrad. But he was called to music, and he studied under Vasily Lukanin at the Leningrad Conservatory...
, Teresa Żylis-Gara
Teresa Zylis-Gara
Teresa Żylis-Gara is a Polish operatic soprano who had a major international career during the 1950s through the 1990s...
, and Irina Arkhipova, among others, have been jury members of the Klaudia Taev Competition.
Operas
During the festival an original opera production is staged at the Endla theatre. In 2003 "RigolettoRigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
" by Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
; in 2005 "The Demon
The Demon (opera)
The Demon is an opera in three acts by Russian composer Anton Rubinstein. The work was composed in 1871. The libretto was by Pavel Viskovatov, based on the poem of the same name by Mikhail Lermontov.-Background:...
" by Anton Rubinstein
Anton Rubinstein
Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein was a Russian-Jewish pianist, composer and conductor. As a pianist he was regarded as a rival of Franz Liszt, and he ranks amongst the great keyboard virtuosos...
; in 2007 "Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
" by Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
; in 2009 "Thaïs
Thaïs (opera)
Thaïs is an opera in three acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Gallet based on the novel Thaïs by Anatole France. It was first performed at the Opéra Garnier in Paris on 16 March 1894, starring the American soprano Sybil Sanderson, for whom Massenet had written the title role...
" by Jules Massenet
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...
and in 2011 "Attila
Attila (opera)
Attila is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the play Attila, König der Hunnen by Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias Werner. Initially, Verdi had enlisted Francesco Maria Piave to prepare the libretto, after Verdi's own scenario...
" by Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
The opera productions have the winners of previous competitions in the leading roles.