At the International Singing Competition for Baroque Opera 'Pietro Antonio Cesti', you can hear the great voices of tomorrow – right in the heart of Innsbruck. Young singers from all over the world come together here to sing live on stage for the jury and audience.

The Cesti Competition is both an invitation and a promise: for singers who want to take their baroque opera career to the next level, and for all listeners who want to witness how talents become festival favourites and international opera stars.

Those who register and are invited to Innsbruck will immerse themselves in the special atmosphere of the Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik: every day, singers perform on the stage of the Großer Saal, and some of the voices that are heard here for the first time return to the festival and can soon be heard in opera houses throughout Europe.

The final night is the spectacular conclusion to the festival summer: a musical frenzy of arias, emotions and discoveries. Even the audience behaves differently on this night – they cheer, discuss, compare, keep their fingers crossed and vote.

Launched in 2010 as part of the Innsbrucker Festwochen under the artistic direction of Alessandro De Marchi, the competition has developed in recent years into one of the world's most important competitions in the field of Baroque opera singing. Closely linked to the competition is the Barockoper:Jung project, which was launched at the same time. Together, the competition and BO:J offer a unique opportunity for the sustainable promotion of young talent, thus forming a link to the origins of the Innsbrucker Festwochen. Today, the Cesti Competition is under the direction of Eva-Maria Sens and managed by Marion Feichter.