Biennale College Music 2018

The project for the Biennale College – Music 2018 intends to promote and support the production of a maximum of 4 “low budget” chamber musical theatre operas on a comical, surreal, fantastic and/or playful theme, lasting no longer than 15/20 minutes each, to be presented by the Biennale di Venezia and released in suitable formats, as well as online.

The selection is open, internationally, to teams consisting of a composer and a librettist, aged 35 and under.

The composers need not necessarily be at their debut work and must apply in association with librettists for a musical theatre project composed for the following instruments: flute (any one of the series), clarinet, trumpet, French horn, 2 violins, cello, percussions (1 performer), piano or MIDI keyboard (not live electronics), plus a conductor.
The vocalists must number no more than 4 chosen among the following voice types: soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, bass.

The application must be submitted exclusively as a team (composer and librettist). No substitutions will be allowed within the selected teams.

The singers will be selected after auditions that will be held in Venice during the month of April 2018, and which the components of the team are obligated to attend.

The selected teams will be assisted through each phase in the development of the project, by a director selected by the Director of the Theatre Department of the Biennale di Venezia, Antonio Latella.

The project will be coordinated by the Director of the Music Department of the Biennale di Venezia, Ivan Fedele and by the Director of the Theatre Department, Antonio Latella as follows:

> March 2018: First workshop session in Venice, with the directors and with the masters from the various disciplines involved in the project, focusing on the general themes of traditional and contemporary musical theatre, especially as they concern the relationship between text and music.
The Artistic Director Ivan Fedele reserves the right to approve in full or in part the projects developed during this phase, and to invite the teams of the selected projects to participate in the next phase.

> April 2018: Second workshop session in Venice with the Biennale College team; during this phase, auditions will be held for the singers who will participate in the project. The selection of the singers will be made by the members of the team with Director Ivan Fedele.

> Late May / early June 2018: Third workshop session in Venice with the Biennale College team. At this time, the complete score must be submitted, pre-production will be formalized and the actual feasibility and costs of each selected project will be verified.
During this phase, the teams must organize the production of the works, including:
- the definitive draft of the production budget by the staff of the Biennale College Music;
- the development of a production plan that includes stage and musical rehearsals.

> Late September / early October 2018 (tentatively this will require two weeks of work): Fourth session in Venice, dedicated to the production of the works by the team, including stage and musical rehearsals with the support of the artists and masters involved in the project.

The performance of the works will take place during the month of October 2018 as part of the 62nd International Festival of Contemporary Music.

Selection and announcement
Deadline for registering for the selection: February 12th 2018

The selection is open internationally.

The selection will be made by the Artistic Director of the Music Department of the Biennale di Venezia Ivan Fedele, whose decision will be final, who may be assisted by consultants of his own choosing, who might include, merely as an example, a director, an actor, a writer, an expert in theatre productions, a composer. The selection, of up to a maximum of 4 projects, will be announced by mid-February 2018.

Attendance is mandatory for participation in the project.
The selected participants may stay in an apartment arranged for them by the Biennale di Venezia.
The participants must pay for their own travel, food and local transportation expenses during each phase of the project.
Each selected applicant will be required to pay a registration fee in the amount of € 80.00 (VAT included, non-refundable) to be settled by credit card following the announcement of their acceptance, and no later than the date that will be designated.

PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS
Documentation
The documentation – which must be submitted exclusively between January 22nd and February 12th by filling in the online form – must include:
a) A 1-page synopsis.
b) A low-budget project, indicatively 5 pages long, that describes the general idea of the project with an original subject.
c) The composers must submit two scores and relative recordings, if available, for a chamber ensemble with or without voice.
d) The librettists must submit two previously written texts, which need not necessarily have been written for the theatre.
e) The curriculum vitae of the composer and the librettist.
f) The casting project.
g) Release forms concerning full ownership of the rights to the submitted project or, should the rights of third parties be involved, the guarantee that the acquisition of all rights in view of production has been concluded or is currently being negotiated.