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 competition recognizes talented young singer/actors who are dramatically and musically convincing in contrasting modes of theater music by Kurt Weill and other composers. More than a vocal competition, the Lotte Lenya Competition is a theater singing competition that emphasizes wide-ranging repertoire and the acting of songs and arias within a dramatic context.

Previous Lenya Competition winners have:

• Won the Cardiff Singer of the World competition
• Performed with the Metropolitan Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper, San Francisco Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago
• Appeared at the Tanglewood, Spoleto, and Ravinia Festivals
• Played major roles on Broadway, in international tours of Broadway shows, and in major regional theaters.

Guidelines

See Press release on 2010 Competition Winners.

Read Peabody Award winner Michael Lasser's profile of the Competition from the Spring 2009 Kurt Weill Newsletter.

Watch previous Lenya Competition prizewinners' performances here.