A dozen singers from around the world and Cuba will perform at the First Countertenors Festival in Havana, Cuba, in October.

With more than 50 national premiers, international guests include Canada’s Daniel Taylor, Spain’s Xavier Sabata, Poland’s Artur Stefanowicz and Portugal’s Manuel Brás de Costa, according to the event’s organizing committee. Darryl Taylor from the US, Ricardo Astrano from Italy and Brazil’s Rodrigo Ferreira, along with Cuba countertenors Lesby Bautista, Eduardo Sarmiento and Frank Ledesma also make up the roster of participants. The cultural gathering includes concerts, master classes, exhibitions, video screenings and lectures and the Second Countertenors competition with contestants from Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Cuba.

The festival, organized by renowned Cuban musician, maestro Leo Brouwer, is set to open with the show Humor with Class Mozart 260, featuring the master performance of Cuban Osvaldo Doimeadiós, and scheduled to close with the Cuban Countertenors Vocal Ensemble Sine Nomine’s concert dedicated to Spanish composer Manuel de Falla, directed by Brouwer. The Martí and Karl Marx Theaters, the Fine Arts Museum and the Minor Basilica of San Francis of Assisi Concert Hall, plus the Hispanic American Cultural Center are the venues.