Elvirissima 2025

For Elvira Lüthi-Wegmann, a singer, singing teacher and patron of the arts from Schaffhausen, the training and promotion of her singing students was a matter close to her heart, and she was closely associated with the Swiss Music Pedagogical Association SMPV throughout her life. She therefore bequeathed a large sum to the SMPV with the proviso that it be used to set up a foundation to support the most talented Swiss students of SMPV members. To identify these, the foundation board will once again organize the "Elvirissima" singing competition in 2025.

On Whit Monday, June 9, 2025, a maximum of 20 finalists will be able to present themselves to the jury in the singing competition for the following prizes:

1st prize: CHF 9'600.-
2nd prize: CHF 4'800.-
3rd prize: CHF 2'000.
4th prize: CHF 1'000.

The Board of Trustees selects the finalists after carefully reviewing the submitted dossiers. These must each contain two video recordings of the candidates. As a special feature, the second piece must be sung a cappella. This is a remnant from the pandemic period, when a "home office video" was one of the requirements for the online-only competition in 2020. At the time, the Board of Trustees determined that it was even easier to hear who was particularly musical in the unaccompanied pieces.
Swiss vocal students whose singing teacher is a member of the Swiss Music Pedagogical Association SMPV, qualified Swiss singers who are themselves full members of the SMPV and foreigners who have been resident in Switzerland for at least two years can apply and are studying singing with a member of the SMPV for at least the fourth semester or have been a full member of the SMPV for at least one year. The age limit is 30 years.
The jury consists of the Board of Trustees and two external experts. For 2025, we were able to recruit Dr. Ursula Benzing, Opera Director at Lucerne Theatre, and Mr. Thomas Barthel, Deputy Director of the International Opera Studio, Zurich Opera House, for the jury.

We look forward to once again discovering beautiful voices, highly musical voice owners and interesting young artistic personalities, and we invite you to travel to Lucerne on June 9, 2025 to watch the public audition live from 10:30 a.m. and cheer along with the young singers when the winners are announced from 4:30 p.m. onwards.

The competition rules, the link to the registration form and information for the public can be found at www.elvirissima.ch

The Board of Trustees of the Elvira-Lüthi-Wegmann Foundation: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Hunziker, Dr. Lena-Lisa Wüstendörfer and President of the Board of Trustees, Marianne Wälchli