MUT
MUT - COMPETITION FOR MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT THEATRE
The MUT competition for musical entertainment theatre, organised by the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, aims to discover and promote outstanding artistic personalities in musical entertainment theatre.
Founded in 2009 by Josef E. Köpplinger, editions of the Singing Competition were held at the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in 2015, 2017 and 2023. The competition is aimed at classically trained singers throughout Europe with an affinity for the operetta and musical genre, musical theatre performers with a preference for operetta and chanson interpreters. Young artists were thus given the opportunity to present themselves to renowned jurors from the musical entertainment industry. Prizewinners from previous rounds of the competition have gone on to receive engagements at the Komische Oper Berlin, the Volksoper Wien, the Stadttheater Klagenfurt, the Theater St. Gallen, the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien and the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, among others.
In 2016 and 2018, MUT was expanded to include an Authors’ Competition. German-speaking and international composers, songwriters and book authors of any nationality with an affinity for musical entertainment theatre (musicals, operettas) were invited to develop play ideas on a topic of their choice. An international jury of experts selected six concepts from the submissions, which were then rehearsed by students from the August Everding Theatre Academy and the Munich Academy of Music and Theatre and presented live in front of an audience. Award-winning plays have subsequently found their way to the Landestheater Linz, the Next Liberty Children’s and Youth Theatre in Graz, Theatre Calgary (Canada) and New York’s West End Theatre, among others.
In 2024, a Special Edition of the MUT Singing competition will take place to mark the 200th anniversary of Johann Strauss’ birth in cooperation with the Johann Strauss Festival Year 2025 Vienna.
