Learn About The Lotte Lenya Competition And Songbook!

If you’re a singer and actor looking for a free competition to showcase your talents, then look no further. The 2021 Lotte Lenya Competition is now open for entries!

2021 Lotte Lenya Competition

Established in 1998 by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music (KWF), the annual Lotte Lenya Competition recognizes talented singer/actors of all nationalities, ages 19-32, who are dramatically and musically convincing in repertoire ranging from contemporary Broadway scores to opera/operetta, including the works of Kurt Weill. To date, there have been over $1.1 million in prizes awarded.

Check out the video below to find out more about this exciting opportunity:

Eligibility

Open to singer/actors of all nationalities, ages 19–32 (born after 10 April 1988 and before 20 January 2002).

Repertoire

Contestants must prepare four contrasting selections, total duration not to exceed 15 minutes:

• A theatrical selection (any genre) by Kurt Weill;
• A song from a musical written before 1968;
• A song from a musical written in/after 1968;
• A selection from an opera or operetta.

All of the guidelines can be found on the KWF website.

This year’s application is open now through January 19, 2021. It’s completely free to apply and you have the chance to win up to $20,000! To learn more about how to apply to this competition, visit kwf.org/LLC.

Songbook

In response to the hardships the coronavirus has caused for creators and performers alike, the Kurt Weill Foundation has inaugurated a new program this year that will provide financial support to emerging writers of musical theater and past winners of the Lenya Competition, along with benefiting future Competition contestants seeking new and challenging repertoire. This also helps foster relationships between writers and signers, and gives each an opportunity to practice their craft, even amidst the pandemic.

The KWF wanted to find and showcase theater songs that haven’t been as widely known. They found the demand for high-quality contemporary musical theater repertoire for singing actor entering the Lotte Lenya Competition, which has led to this collection of music.

This year’s Competition Songbook consists of sixteen songs from a collection of thirteen promising musical theater writers, and is accompanied by audio recordings of the repertoire sung by sixteen Competition prize winners, including Tony Award nominee Lauren Worsham, Broadway regulars Analisa Leaming, Jacob Keith Watson and Amy Justman, and rising opera star Brian Vu.

2016 1st Prize Winner, Brian Vu

Broadway luminaries Andrew Lippa, Andy Einhorn, and Kelli O’Hara selected the songs from a pool of sixty-six submissions. With the music being selected by such talented and respected artists, singers will find that these audition pieces can also serve as repertoire for professional auditions beyond the competition.

You can find the full songbook on the Kurt Weill Foundation’s website, and most songs are available on Musicnotes.com:

• “Lullaby” by Anna Jacobs
• “Killin’ Time” by Ben Wexler
• “Day 23” by Daniel Rudin
• “But You’ll Be Fine” by Derrick Byars
• “The Waiting World”  by Will Reynolds
• “A591” by Tidtaya Sinutoke
• “Outside” by Tidtaya Sinutoke
• “Mama Cries Into Her Tea” by Joshua Schmidt
• “The Switch” by Julianne Wick Davis
• “Sunday Morning Paul” by Katya Stanislavskaya
• “Coffee For Two” by Katya Stanislavskaya
• “Moving” by Mark Sonnenblick
• “Loser Dumplings” by Melissa Li

You can also check out the song recordings in a playlist on the Kurt Weill Foundation’s YouTube channel.

We wish the best of luck to everyone who auditions!