Bayreuth Scholarships and Wagner Young Talent Prize Announces 2024 Winners

Three winners were chosen from a pool of 17 candidates for scholarships to the 2024 Bayreuth Festival

Awarded by the Richard Wagner Association Leipzig in cooperation with the Leipzig Opera the Bayreuth Scholarship recipients are also awarded the Richard Wagner Young Talent Prize.

The annual nationwide competition is open to applicants aged up to 35 who are enrolled at a European university, conservatory, or equivalent institution. 

This year, 17 young artists competed at the Leipzig Opera for scholarships to the 2024 Bayreuth Festival. They performed works of Richard Wagner in vocal, correpetition, and instrumental music categories (piano solo and organ excluded).

First prize and €2,000 went to baritone Frieder Flesch, second place with €1,000 was awarded to Jasper Timm for exceptional accompaniment, and the €800 third prize went to soprano Victoria Matt.

The winners were selected from an initial pool of 80 musicians who submitted applications. Due to the high quality of the entries, two additional Bayreuth scholarships were awarded to soprano Jessica Leão, and baritone Daniel Gwon.

As winners, the young artists will receive tickets for the Bayreuth Festival, Festival Theatre tours, visits to the Wagner and Liszt museums, and other sightseeing and social events. They will also receive funds for travel expenses, meals, and accommodation.

Chaired by Jasmin Solfaghari, the competition jury comprised Christoph Gedschold, Dr. Cornelia Preissinger, Prof. Helmut Kukuk, and Peter Korfmacher.

Held every summer, the Bayreuth Festival was created in 1876 by Richard Wagner as a platform to perform his own works. His operas The Ring Cycle and Parsifal were both performed there to great acclaim.