Brissago is preparing to welcome young voices from all over the world. On 21 and 22 November it will host an international competition, promoted by the Ruggero Leoncavallo Foundation, dedicated to young opera singers, aged between 18 and 35 years. The aim, explains the President of the Foundation, Regula Kuchler, is to promote new talents and make known, or rediscover, the repertoire of the Neapolitan composer who rests in Brissago, after spending the most prolific years of his artistic career in the country. In the intentions of the promoters, the competition will be an important opportunity for artistic growth for young singers and, at the same time, will strengthen the link between the territory and the great European musical tradition.

Not only a competition, therefore, but a real event, which aims to involve the entire community. “We would like those two days to become a festival of opera music – explains the president –, for the population to participate in public moments, and for those who have rooms or apartments to make them available to host artists. In fact, our project focuses on the active involvement of the local community, so as to transform Brissago into a meeting place between culture, music and young artists.”

Ottavio Palmieri, tenor and municipal head of the Dicastery of Culture, has always been linked to the musical figure of Leoncavallo and has been organizing the Festival dedicated to him for years. Therefore, he can only appreciate an event that bears the name of the Neapolitan Master. “I would like to be on the jury – he says – and I would like to see quality artists on stage. I can already anticipate that we intend to invite the winner of the Competition to the next Festival, and that she will perform with an established artist.”

Today, making a career in the world of opera is very difficult, he adds. ‘Welcome, therefore, any initiative that promotes opera and classical music in general.’

The next few years, Palmieri points out, will be important: 2027 will mark the 160th anniversary of Leoncavallo's birth, and 2029 the 110th anniversary of his death.

But let's go back to the competition scheduled for November. The performances – semi-final and final – will take place in the hall of the City Council. Participants will also have at their disposal the spaces of Palazzo Branca-Baccalà and the Cultural Circle to be able to prepare before the rehearsals.

The competition will be divided into several phases: an initial pre-selection, via video, a semi-final open to the public and the final final, also public, with the award concert. Participants will be asked to engage not only with the traditional opera repertoire, but also with the compositions of Leoncavallo, who is the central figure of the initiative.

Information and methods of participation are available through the organisation of the competition and the secretariat coordinated by Cristiana Perlini, while the artistic direction is entrusted to the artistic director of the Foundation, Tommaso Maria Maggiolini. Cristiana Perlini can also be contacted by those who wish to participate actively in the event by providing rooms for artists to stay.