Successful Auditions
Thuringian Opera Studio Welcomes Three New Scholarship Recipients for the 2026/27 Season
The Thuringian Opera Studio is pleased to welcome three new scholarship recipients for the 2026/27 season. From 95 applications, a jury comprising representatives from the participating Thuringian theaters and the FRANZ LISZT University of Music in Weimar invited a total of 22 applicants to audition at the German National Theater in Weimar in late February 2026. In three rounds of evaluation, the candidates were required to perform various arias as well as a prepared monologue.
As a result, three new members were selected for the Thuringian Opera Studio (TOS): Karin Blom (soprano), Sviatoslav Vynnyk (baritone), and Taku Hayasaka (baritone). Current TOS scholarship recipients Joel Andreasson (baritone) and Adèle Clermont (soprano) have had their contracts extended for another season. Former TOS members Antonia Schuchardt (soprano) and Alessio Fortune (baritone) have secured permanent contracts at theaters in Erfurt and Pforzheim. “This development confirms the artistic quality of the program as well as its lasting impact in the transition from student to professional,” says Opera Studio Director Prof. Jochen Biganzoli.
“Following its relaunch last year, the Opera Studio can already be considered an enormous success. The scholarship recipients to date have distinguished themselves in a wide range of leading roles and gained valuable stage experience,” says Biganzoli. The new TOS members will perform in the upcoming season at the German National Theater in Weimar, the Theater Erfurt, and the Theater Altenburg-Gera.
The Thuringian Opera Studio serves as a springboard to the stage—an advanced program for highly talented singers who wish to make the transition to a professional opera career. In collaboration with the German National Theater Weimar, the Theater Erfurt, the Theater Nordhausen, and the Theater Altenburg-Gera, the FRANZ LISZT University of Music Weimar offers a combination of academic study and professional engagement that is unique in Germany.
The Swedish soprano Karin Blom studied solo voice with Kammersängerin Prof. Linda Watson at the Music and Arts Private University of the City of Vienna. Prior to that, she graduated from the Vadstena Academy of Singing and Piano and Birkagårdens Folkhögskola in Stockholm. She gained stage experience at the Vadstena Opera Festival, including as Mrs. X in Margareta Hallin’s *Den Starkare* (2025) and in the world premiere of Anna Einarsson’s opera *Fotografen* (2024). At Theater Akzent in Vienna, she appeared as Berta in Xavier Montsalvatge’s “Babel 46” and as the Second Lady in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.” Karin Blom has been honored with several competitions and scholarships, including the Confidencen Scholarship from the Anders Wall Foundation (2025), the Gabriele Sima Scholarship (2024), and second prize at the Copenhagen Lied-Duo Competition (2025). In 2026, she is a Christina Nilsson Scholar.
Sviatoslav Vynnyk was born in Dolyna (Ukraine). He studied voice at the Mykola Lysenko National Music Academy in Lviv, where he graduated with honors; he subsequently earned a doctorate in creative writing. His teachers included Stefan Pyatnychko and Petro Onchul, among others. He also gained significant artistic inspiration through master classes and participation in international competitions. In 2018, the baritone was awarded the Richard Wagner Scholarship in Bayreuth. Engagements have taken him to venues including the Lviv National Opera, where he sang roles such as Giorgio Germont (La Traviata), Marullo (Rigoletto), and Morales (Carmen). Other roles include Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) and Belcore (L’elisir d’amore). In 2024, he made his debut at the Stara Zagora State Opera as Renato in Verdi’s “Un ballo in maschera.”
Taku Hayasaka was born in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. The baritone completed his master’s degree in musical theater at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz with honors and is currently pursuing a postgraduate program in art song, oratorio, and concert performance at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. His vocal teachers include Uwe Heilmann, Nicola Rossi Giordano, Ulf Bästlein, and Angelika Kirchschlager. He also gained artistic inspiration through master classes with Charles Spencer, Melanie Diener, and Thomas Hampson, among others. He is a prize winner of several competitions, including first prize at the Ibra Grand Award Japan, and performed at Carnegie Hall in New York in 2025.
Further information: www.hfm-weimar.de/tos
[17 June 2026]