The opening ceremony of the 9th International Vocalist Competition, named after Bulbul, took place on June 3 at the Azerbaijan State Academic Philharmonic, named after M. Magomayev.
Over 140 vocalists aged 18 to 36 compete for victory in the competition held by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Bulbul International Foundation.
The competition includes a diverse group of participants. Along with Azerbaijan, over 25 countries, including Türkiye, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea, and Macedonia, will compete for the prizes in the Bulbul competition over the course of a week.
In line with tradition, before the opening ceremony, the organizing committee of the competition, representatives from the Ministry of Culture, jury members, and contestants gathered at the monument dedicated to the great artist, People's Artist of the USSR Bulbul (1897–1961).
Polad Bulbuloghlu, Head of the International Bulbul Foundation and chairman of the competition, welcomed everyone, saying, “I am pleased to see young vocalists from various countries arriving in Baku today, all eager for an opportunity to reach the big stage. I am deeply grateful to national leader Heydar Aliyev for signing the order to hold this competition back in 1997.” The competition is now taking place for the ninth time. Previously, the gala concert for the eighth competition and the prize-giving ceremony were hosted in Shusha, Bulbul's small homeland. Staying true to our tradition, this year's event will also be held there. Shusha has been known as the “Conservatory of the Caucasus” for centuries, and the competition named after Bulbul justifies this name.”
The Rector of the Baku Music Academy and People's Artist, Professor Farhad Badalbeyli, who has been the Deputy Chairman of the jury since the first competition, and Yusif Eyvazov, the newly appointed chairman of the jury and world-famous vocalist who won first place in the 4th competition named after Bulbul, extended their best wishes to the participants.
The opening ceremony of the competition was held at the Azerbaijan State Academic Philharmonic.
Polad Bulbuloghlu welcomed every member of the jury and mentioned the names of world-famous Russian vocalists such as Irina Arkhipova, Yevgeniy Nesterenko, and Sergey Leyferkus, who have chaired the jury in the competition named after Bulbul. He pointed out that the Azerbaijani vocalists who achieved success in this competition are now accomplished enough to evaluate new performers.
Deputy Minister of Culture Murad Huseynov highlighted that numerous singers who won this competition are now performing on the big stages of the world and contributing significantly to the promotion of this art: "The musicians participating in this competition will also become outstanding musicians and artists in the future. This competition will hold a special place in their hearts, just as it does in ours. Today's event, much like previous competitions, is a distinguished musical holiday. The name of the great singer Bulbul is inscribed in golden letters in the annals of world musical culture. He made significant contributions to the development and promotion of national vocal art in Azerbaijan and founded his own school. I wish every participant great creative success. I hope each participant achieves creative success. I am certain that, like previous competitions, this event will go down in the history of outstanding international musical projects held in our country.
People's artist Yusif Eyvazov, the chairman of the jury, gave a speech that was seen as valuable psychological guidance from a senior colleague to the younger participants: "The competition is an important event. I want the young artists here today to understand that if you don't win or don't make it to the next round, it doesn't mean that you can't have a successful career or that you are less capable than the winners. It's just that right now, when you're on stage, you're not at the level necessary to be a winner. So don't worry, keep trying, and most importantly, try to impress the judges with your voice. We will objectively choose the winners and finalists. Let a "star" shine in this competition!
After the opening ceremony, the first round of the competition started. Due to the high number of participants, the program allocated two days for this first round.
The second round of the competition will take place on June 5.
