VOX

Submit Work

Download an application
The next postmark deadline is September 1, 2008

All entries will be reviewed carefully by a panel comprised of opera professionals and members of City Opera’s artistic and production staff.

All members of the jury make recommendations based on the following criteria:
• The work defines itself as an opera with music and words serving a theatrical purpose.
• Score and libretto are stage-worthy and crafted with dramatic savvy.
• Submitted material shows technical skill in composition for vocal writing and instrumental ensemble.
• The creators have a unique voice with the potential to enrich the operatic literature.
• The topic and subject matter of the opera are exceptional, relevant, and well suited to a music-theater form.
• The composer/librettist team will benefit from hearing their work with a full orchestra and soloists.
• The material is performable based on the resources available to the project.
• The work contributes to a wider diversity of styles and perspectives sought out for the festival as a whole.

All entries will also have to meet the following eligibility:
• The competition is open only to composers who are US citizens or composers currently living in America with plans to stay in the country on a long-term basis (proof required).
• The work may not have had a professional stage premiere; if a stage premiere is anticipated, it must be scheduled for after the VOX workshop dates.
• Works of all ensemble sizes will be considered but should not exceed the size of the New York City Opera orchestra (listed below). Instrumental requirements beyond the forces listed below may be considered but not guaranteed.
• Traditional and non-traditional operatic forms and musical styles are welcome.

City Opera Orchestra
The maximum ensemble size usually available for VOX is:
Strings: 10/8/6/5/4
Woodwinds: 3/3/3/3
Brass: 4/3/3/1
Timpani, 2 Percussion, Harp, Piano, Celesta

Additional and non-traditional instruments required for specific excerpts will be considered but not guaranteed. These numbers are intended as guidance in considering a work’s suitability for VOX; this is not a guarantee of what will be available for this year’s festival.

Frequently Asked Questions

I live in the New York area. Can I pick up my materials after the judges’ decision has been made rather than send a self-addressed envelope?
Yes, you can opt to pick up your materials rather than have them sent back to you. If you would like to pick them up, please indicate this on your application form.

Does the submitted selection need to be 20-30 consecutive minutes of music?
The excerpt you submit to VOX does not need to be fully consecutive. However, it should not be an overwhelming number of non-consecutive segments. Three or four arias, or a couple of non-consecutive scenes would be good excerpts. You should not send ten 2- or three-minute segments.

The selection I would like to submit has chorus parts. Will there be a chorus available for the VOX performance?
What we have done in the past for choral sections is to have one singer per voice part sing these sections.

My piece is scored to include some specialty instruments. Will these be available? My piece is scored to include electronics. Is this acceptable? My piece has accompanying video projections. Can I use them for the VOX performance?
We will make every effort to satisfy these requests. We have in the past performed pieces using both electronics and video projections, as well as specialty instruments. If a particular instrument is not available, we will work with you to find a replacement.

I have applied to previous VOX seasons, or have already had an opera performed at VOX in a previous season. Can I apply again?
You are definitely welcome to apply to VOX multiple times, even if you have had a piece performed at VOX in the past. Each year we try to find not only the best new works to present, but also a group of selections that work together as a whole. A piece you submitted for consideration last year may look different among the applications for this year.

My piece has had a performance, reading, or workshop already. Am I still eligible to apply?
If your piece has already been performed somewhere, please include with your application a description of how this performance was a workshop, reading, or academic performance, or how your piece has changed since the initial performance.

I have an orchestral score for my piece. Do you still want me to send the piano/vocal score?
Yes. If you have both the orchestral and piano/vocal versions of your score, please send 4 copies of each for the submitted excerpt, and 1 copy of each full score.

I have a piano/vocal score written for my piece, but have not yet orchestrated it.
If you have not yet orchestrated the submitted excerpts, please include 4 copies of a score from something else you have written to demonstrate orchestral skill. Please note, though, that orchestral materials will be required by February for accepted submissions.

I have an orchestral score for my piece, but do not yet have a piano/vocal score prepared.
If you do not yet have a piano/vocal score, sending in the orchestral score materials will be sufficient. Please note, though, that piano/vocal materials will be required by January for accepted submissions.

Can I send just the return postage without a box or envelope?
Please send return postage on a box or envelope. With the number of submissions we receive, we need to be able to just slip materials into an envelope and send them off.

My selected excerpt includes some spoken dialogue. Is this acceptable?
Spoken dialogue in your excerpt is acceptable, and has been done in past VOX seasons. However, the final decision of whether or not to use extensive passages of dialogue in the final performance will be made between NYCO and the composer/librettist closer to the date of performance, based on casting, rehearsal time, etc. If the dialogue is not performed, the audience will be given the omitted passages as part of a libretto handout.